There is little you can tell production managers about efficiency goals.  Today’s increasingly lean manufacturing and production facilities are highly tuned to maximise output.  Sophisticated sales and marketing campaigns maintain a competitive edge.  Team leaders then make it all worthwhile with paper, pencil and spreadsheet scheduling to try and bring it altogether – well that’s the idea.

In the manufacturing industry, changing market dynamics dictate the need for flexibility – flexibility to meet customers’ individual requirements and improve supply chain performance.  The ability to deliver quality products in shortened lead times is critical, as are optimised business processes for ‘zero waste’.

Manpower requirements are continually changing dependent upon incoming orders and few things have more impact on the bottom line than the way a company manages its workforce. An effective workforce management system is crucial to configure shift patterns, holidays and sickness which impact on production hours.

Interflex systems address the key challenges of workforce management in the manufacturing industry, including compliance with labour and health & safety regulations, automation of payroll and policies and the need for detailed reporting and analytics.

Modular in their construction, Interflex systems are tailored to your specific needs and can be easily expanded to suit changing requirements. They allow access control, time & attendance, absence management and scheduling and rostering to be linked for maximum effectiveness in order to reduce cost, improve productivity and ensure customer satisfaction.

Typical Manufacturing & Industry Workforce Challenges

Over the past decade, the manufacturing industry has experienced large demand fluctuations.  Manufacturers are aggressively pursuing ways of reducing fixed costs and improving productivity whilst continuing to satisfy customer demand.  The challenge is to stay lean and profitable by investing wisely in your people, processes and technologies to allow your organisation to adapt rapidly to change.

Challenges

• Increasingly tight margins and cost control
• Trend towards ‘lean’ methodologies and ‘zero waste’
• Need to remove traditional laborious & costly manual processes for recording work hours and rostering staff
• Ensure efficient management and utilisation of staff skills
• Visibility of workforce operations and demand for staff
• Respond to changes in type of work, volume, duration and skill set
• Managing rosters based on planned and current demand
• Forecasting labour costs
• High absence rates and staff turnover
• Complying with latest employment regulations e.g. European Working Time Directive