Continuous improvement and the automotive industry were made for each other.
Without the automotive industry, continuous improvement wouldn’t exist like it does today. Without continuous improvement, the automotive industry might not be as profitable and competitive.
Today, we want to show you the true benefits of continuous improvement for the automotive industry, so that, like others, you can achieve OEE% of over 90%.
In today’s article, we’ll cover:
- What’s continuous improvement?
- How does continuous improvement help manufacturers?
- Why is continuous improvement especially relevant for the automotive sector?
- Benefits of continuous improvement
- All-in-one software for continuous improvement
What’s continuous improvement?
Like any great idea, there are many variations and subcategories of continuous improvement, so we want to keep this definition nice and simple.
Continuous improvement is looking for, acting on, and learning from flaws in your production cycle.
There are three main methodologies to continuous improvement in manufacturing: Kaizen, Six Sigma, and the Ohno Circle. We’re not going to define these here, but each follows the same simple logic.
You can pursue continuous improvement in lots of different ways, with most factories following a process that involves making short-term experiments, or looking at one metric in particular over a period of time.
In the end, it’s all about setting your factory and team up to be on the lookout for improvement opportunities.
From shaving a second off the average time to complete a manual task, to saving a % on wasted material, all these improvements add up to greater efficiency, and profitability.
You might think that this approach is best for factories lagging behind, but it’s not just struggling factories that implement continuous improvement. In fact, 62% of companies pursuing this strategy are attempting to go from ‘good’ to ‘great’.
So it’s just as much about tightening your operations as it is about solving the biggest issues.
Which brings us on to the main benefits of continuous improvement in action.
How does continuous improvement help manufacturers?
Studies have shown that the success of a continuous improvement project relies on three core factors: prioritisation, management commitment, and training.
Taken together, all three are about attitudes and knowledge. Create the right attitude and educate staff properly, and you’re set to succeed.
And that’s the first benefit continuous improvement promises: a change of mindset.
It discourages complacency, and helps managers understand that there’s always room for improvement across the production line.
Once this mentality is baked into how you do business, you’re set to make a real difference to the sharpness of your production.
And for a global economy in a state of transition, your factory needs to be as sharp as it can.
So what benefits can you expect?
Greater insight = greater control
Continuous improvement practices turn your factory into a data harvesting machine.
Right across your line, you’ll be getting crucial information that you can act on and learn from. This, in turn, will give you much better control over your plant.
Knowledge is power. And if you want to remain competitive in manufacturing, you need as much knowledge as you can.
An empowered workforce
A workforce that’s told to stick to one routine forever without question may end up a little demotivated. Make your staff change agents and you can benefit from the practical know-how of your frontline people.
Continuous improvement encourages you to empower your staff, giving them greater ownership over their area and tasking them with making it run more smoothly.
Eventually, when continuous improvement practice sees you improving how your people are deployed, you’ll also benefit from staff that are positioned according to their skills and experience.
Incrementally better results
Of course, the whole point of continuous improvement is to see better results.
By creating greater transparency over how you’re performing, what you’re aiming towards, and making active efforts to improve across all areas of your factory, you’ll see improvements coming more naturally.
As the months go by you’ll notice some real gains.
In fact, according to research, you could see a 10 to 30% efficiency improvement.
Why is continuous improvement especially relevant for the automotive sector?
Modern continuous improvement was born in the car factories of postwar Japan.
Back then, manufacturers were looking to gain a vital competitive advantage in an internationally crowded market.
And at least in this aspect, absolutely nothing has changed.
However, with reports now pointing towards a 6% international overproduction of cars, the industry is facing new problems as well as old.
How can companies cope?
Here are 3 major reasons automotive manufacturers need to go back to basics and embrace continuous improvement principles.
Safety
At best, a safety failure in car production is a PR disaster waiting to happen. At worst, it’s a lot more serious.
With the car industry now undergoing yet another revolution in the form of driverless vehicles, EVs, and more, it’s absolutely essential to sharpen your safety measures.
Continuous improvement practices help you identify and fix issues before they affect production, giving you a crucial leg-up in your safety and maintenance measures.
Customisation
Continuous improvement was invented at a time when the automotive industry needed to produce fewer products on a mass scale.
Now, with consumer sophistication making standardisation more difficult, it’s time to consider how customisation is going to affect your production line.
Manufacturers need a way to respond to more complex requirements for their vehicles, to produce specific features to match demand, and to do so without overproducing.
Without a factory running as efficiently as possible, this is much more difficult.
Digital continuous improvement practices will help you identify where you’re running up costs, where you can make necessary efficiencies, and how to distribute your team most effectively to handle more complex production processes.
New technologies
As new technologies find their way into your production line over the coming years, you’ll want to make sure their integration is seamless.
Any new machine or process takes time to bed in. If the team and workflow around it is optimised, or at least being actively monitored and analysed for improvement, your new tools will find a much happier home.
Benefits of continuous improvement
The benefits you get from continuous improvement will depend on your objectives.
And as the success of your project will depend on keeping these objectives crystal clear and observable, it’s important to have an end-benefit in mind.
Let’s go through a few key benefits you could focus on.
Reduced waste — Keep your material costs to a minimum and reduce your environmental impact while you’re at it
Reduced staff turnover — Put a stop to endless staff churn and retain your best people by motivating and empowering them
Increased efficiency — Make gains across your lines and identify weak points to fix
Increased OEE% — Take your productivity and product quality to new heights
Digital continuous improvement
Digital continuous improvement tools will not only help you achieve your objectives more easily, they’ll also help you in other areas of your factory, such as:
Greater tech integration — Integrate digital continuous improvement technology to consolidate all your factory information and communication in one workspace
Paper-free workplace — Digital tools will help you dramatically reduce your use of paper and other disposable materials in visual displays, daily admin, and more areas of your plant
Saved time on admin — Keep daily admin work focused and escape from spreadsheet hell with an all-purpose digital tool
All-in-one software for continuous improvement
The mlean Production System (mPS) is designed to cover all bases for continuous improvement in automotive manufacturing.
From the start of production, through to shop floor management, auditing and more, it’s been chosen by leading OEMs to steer operations towards greater efficiency and reduced waste.
And as a modular system, it adapts to the needs of your factory.
Book a free demo today to see how the mPS could sharpen your production line and make your factory more competitive.
Book a free demo today and take a look at what our software can do for you and your factory!
