Category: How-to

Manufacturing engineers need to know the number of items produced on their assembly lines. They also will know the time spent by employees to produce those items.

So… how do you get that? (watch this video, then scroll down for more)

You get that information with barcodes.

You put a barcode scanner in the hands of every employee, put a tablet on the bench, and have them scan the quantity of items produced when they “clock in” on jobs. Now you have both the time they worked and the number of items produced on the shop floor.

You can now compute:

1. The time it took to produce each item
2. The total items produced on a shift
3. The total items produced for a client
4. The total items produced per month, or for all time

You also know:

1. Which employee statistically produces the most
2. Which jobs are most efficient
3. Which assembly lines or production techniques are the most efficient
4. Which steps produce the most product in the shortest amount of time

Try this on the production line: scan your quantities for a month. Make one small change in the technique. Scan for another month and compare. Which production technique is most effective? Keep repeating this, each time looking at the average time per item. When that number goes down, you know you have landed upon an improvement worth keeping.

That is how you shave off 1% manufacturing time. And that is how 1% becomes 10% over time.

Standard Time® is how it is done on the shop floor.

I don’t know how to get those pesky serial numbers to show up while barcoding! I need to track time to serial numbers on my widgets, but how? Where do the serial numbers show up in your time tracking app? Are they projects or tasks? How do I even start?

Start by watching the video! (scroll down)

Then, consider creating projects for serial numbers you’ll be scanning many times over a long period of time. Or, consider creating tasks for serial numbers you’ll only scan for a few days or weeks. It all depends on what the serial numbers and barcode labels represent.

In the end, you’ll get the same employee hours in the timesheet, and time logs in your reports. You’ll see how many hours each employee spends on your projects and tasks. You’ll see how much time was spent on each product. On each kind of work. On each step of the manufacturing process. All that information makes your process more efficient, and cost effective.

Here’s the basic process you will follow:

1. Scan an employee name
2. Scan a task name (representing a serial number on one of your widgets)
3. The timer will start
4. Perform the task
5. Scan username again
6. Scan the word STOP

That basic exchange collects a lot of information:

1. How long the employee worked
2. How long the project took to manufacture, assemble, box, and ship
3. How long each serial number took
4. How many times you touched the product
5. Who touched the product
6. When they touched the product
7. How much time you’re spending on each kind of work