As it is an environment that involves several stages and different people, there are several challenges to be faced in the routine of a factory floor. Among them are communication failures, which can be responsible for delivery delays and production errors.
The more complex a production process and the larger the responsible team, the greater the flow of information generated. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a transparent and concise communication strategy that is clear to all involved.
To learn more about the subject and discover 4 tips to avoid communication failures in the industry, keep reading this article!
Why optimize communication?
A survey by the Project Management Institute (PMI) pointed out that Communication Problems are the biggest challenge to be faced in projects, an item pointed out by 64% of companies. Next, other factors also linked to communication were listed, such as Failing to Define Scope Properly (58%) and Constant Scope Changes (54%).
Therefore, having communication aligned with employees is of utmost importance for the success of a business. Working with integrated teams and well-structured flows not only protects production against rework and waste, but also constantly optimizes the production process.
More than that, transparent communication contributes to creating a healthier organizational climate, making employees more engaged in their work.
In addition to positively impacting the company’s reputation, which demonstrates more notoriety and organization in the market. In short, the industry saves time, money, and boosts results.
What is effective communication?
Having effective communication in the industry means passing the message clearly and ensuring it is understood by the receiver, without noise and distorted interpretations.
The goal is to reduce bottlenecks to the absolute minimum and ensure that certain factors are clear to those involved: priorities, workflow stages, deadlines, characteristics, and other important observations regarding that specific task.
How to avoid communication failures?
To avoid communication failures, it is necessary to structure a production plan and monitor its correct execution, filter information, and follow a few tips. Check out more below!
1. Engaged professionals
Communication failures often happen due to erroneous interpretations made by unprepared professionals. So, first of all, to improve the quality of communication on the factory floor, it is necessary to train professionals and offer development opportunities.
Providing this to employees is also a factor that contributes to improving the organizational climate, which, as mentioned earlier, results in more engaged professionals.
In short, when given the opportunity to develop, employees work more satisfied with the company and, consequently, team productivity increases.
2. Frequent feedback
To exemplify, an axle does not turn if all points are not connected; similarly, the team does not work together if managers do not maintain transparent communication.
This is why it is important to provide frequent feedback, both individually and with teams. But the purpose must be to guide, not to criticize.
By doing this, the chances of communication failures are minimal, as each employee will understand the importance of their work and will be able to identify, together with the manager, areas for improvement.
In addition, with team feedback, the group will work in alignment. Be open to employees contributing ideas, because the point of view of someone working on the front line of production can help see the process from another angle. This creates opportunities for continuous work improvement.
3. Stay updated with the main tools
Staying updated on tools that facilitate processes and using modern methodologies will enable the company’s evolution. Therefore, managers must have an innovative profile, analyze new solutions, and contribute to process optimization.
The buzzword is collaboration, so you should bet on tools that allow a broad view of planning and stages. Projects must be planned, and the excess of useless communication must be filtered out to avoid confusion.
4. Use of technology
Planning production and managing the entire production chain manually is a tiring activity prone to errors. It involves several complex stages that depend on each other to respect delivery times and production quality. It is in this context that more and more manufacturing technologies are emerging every day.
With the help of these solutions, there is no need to rely solely on memory to control deadlines and project specifics. Everything is controlled by the system, intelligently and dynamically, taking into account the factory’s production history.
Today, it is possible, for example, to plan a year of production in just 30 minutes, all while considering various factors that can impact production delays, such as maintenance and seasonality changes.
In addition, it is possible to manage all production, controlling KPIs to analyze possible improvements that can be made. With total traceability of the operational flow, technology helps eliminate bottlenecks, communication failures, and reduce waste.
By following these tips, you will optimize your processes and reduce communication failures in the industry. Did you like the content? Download our free ebook and discover How to Prepare for the Future of Manufacturing!
Article signed by: Aloisio Arbegaus, commercial director at Teclógica, a partner company of Dassault Systèmes.
