Practical Strategies for Improving Manufacturing Productivity

Written by Doug Hanawalt, Lead Productivity Improvement Specialist, Purdue MEP

Manufacturers often turn to Purdue MEP when they recognize the need to improve productivity within their operations. Whether driven by rising costs, workforce challenges, capacity constraints, or competitive demands, these organizations are seeking practical ways to produce more value with their existing resources. Throughout my years of experience at both Purdue MEP and my time spent in the manufacturing industry, I’ve outlined some common productivity improvement strategies and recommendations I make to manufacturers.

1. Adopt Lean

Lean is a term that has been applied to manufacturing and associated processes since the 1980’s. The word Lean was first used in an academic research paper. The concepts, many of which were acknowledged by past diverse leaders such as Henry Ford, Frederick Taylor, and Taiichi Ohno, go back much farther into manufacturing history. Successful companies in today’s world have either adopted someone else’s lean program or developed their own internal processes to remain relevant and competitive. Regardless, eliminating waste is key as companies can no longer just state a return on a cost because there are many competitors out in the world that drive most companies to a very high level of productivity.

2. Optimize Processes and Workflows

Manufacturing is often performed by employees who do not realize the importance of stability in a process. They attempt to use various methods to obtain equivalent results. Ultimately, they experience poor quality, low productivity, and high-cost results. Correct training and stable processes lead to “one best way” of achieving consistent results.

3. Focus on Workforce Development

Workforce development is central to building a strong, sustainable organization. Don’t let the fear of “what if we train them and they leave?” override the benefits of training and having them stay for many years. The greater risk lies in not developing employees and having them remain disengaged for decades.

By committing to workforce development, organizations can transform themselves through standard work, stable processes, and a culture of continuous improvement. This approach not only strengthens operational performance but also improves employee retention by increasing job satisfaction, boosting morale, and creating a safer, more supportive work environment. Keep in mind that effective employee development begins with a thoughtful new hire orientation and continues throughout an employee’s career. Lean provides the foundation; people sustain it.

4. Implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Minimizing the “six big losses”, including equipment failures, setup and adjustments, idling and minor stops, slow cycle time, production rejects, and startup losses, will lead to increased overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), which is defined as fully productive time. The primary goal of TPM is to prevent equipment breakdowns before they occur, rather than reacting to failures after they disrupt production. To put it into perspective, just three minutes of downtime per hour equates to 12.5 days lost / year.

5. Implement Technology

If manpower is ever a consideration or a constraint in the operation, automation should be considered. Either robotics or cobots should be considered for operations that can run around the clock or where labor/skill deficiencies exist. Machine monitoring is more affordable now than at any other time in the past and should be considered where constant process monitoring is desired or required.

6. Measure

How do you know if you are continuously improving if you don’t measure first? How old is your organization? Whether in existence for 5 or 50 years, what is the company doing to exist for the next 5 or 50 years? Who is the competition, and how well do you know them? Stating and measuring KPI’s is the best way to realize we are relevant and competitive in our world of manufacturing.

The strategies discussed here represent proven, practical approaches that help organizations increase efficiency, strengthen their workforce, and remain competitive in a constantly evolving manufacturing landscape. Purdue MEP partners directly with manufacturers to turn these improvement opportunities into measurable results through hands-on expertise, training, and implementation support. If your organization is ready to take the next step in improving productivity, contact Purdue MEP to start the conversation and build a roadmap for sustainable success.

Writer: Doug Hanawalt, 317-275-6810, dhanawa@purdue.edu