SafetyChain Blog

The majority of attendees (60%) to the first of our three-part series on avoiding risk in manufacturing confessed they are constantly in firefighting mode within their organizations. This means they are reacting to problems as they occur, rather than proactively finding ways to prevent these issues from happening.

This came as no surprise to presenters, David Hicks and Tim Nickerson of TBM, who have decades of combined experience in consulting for lean operations and supply chain management.

All food and beverage manufacturers have stringent food safety and quality requirements unique to their products, plants, and customer expectations. With the correct balance and prioritization of key performance indicators (KPIs), Plant Managers can reduce costs and increase capacity in their facilities. 

While every manufacturer wants to track improvement and meet goals, how different manufacturers approach this can vary drastically. Manufacturers at the enterprise level can quickly devise dozens, even hundreds of performance indicators to monitor every point along every process. Not all of these indicators hold equal importance when it comes to making decisions and driving goals. The adage, "work smarter, not harder," sums up the purpose of KPIs. This blog will separate the wheat from the chaff and dive into KPIs and how manufacturing facilities can effectively use them.