If you run a machine shop in Minneapolis, you have special needs for your customers. You may be successful, but there is always room for improvement. You never know what the competition is up to and if they are upgrading or making improvements, they could be taking away most of your business in the future. Here are 6 tips for improving your services, to help you stay competitive.
1. Keep It Clean
You may already have a good housekeeping plan, but when was the last time you went through the place and checked for unnecessary clutter or debris? The most efficient machine shop in Minneapolis is always clean and in order. This eliminates accidents and speeds up processes. Remember, things can’t ever be too clean.
2. Before and After Inspections
Are your people checking materials before they work them? Sure, someone may inspect a shipment from a supplier, but unless each piece is carefully inspected beforehand, you could end up with a major quality control issue, and this means more waste and lost efficiency.
3. Inspect the Inspection Equipment
Everything you use for quality inspections needs to be periodically checked and calibrated. This is the only way to ensure accuracy. Make sure to maintain a schedule for inspecting things like scales, callipers, and other inspection equipment.
4. Re-examine Your Quality Control Program
Are you getting too many rejections? There may be a simple solution or you might have to overhaul or upgrade your quality control philosophy. If you want to be the best machine shop in Minneapolis, you will need an extremely high rate of accuracy.
5. Can You Recycle Raw Materials?
When was the last time you sat down and thought of things to do with scrap? This might seem too simple, but there could be more efficient ways for dealing with scrap materials, and this can save you money and increase efficiency.
6. Instead of Outsourcing, Try Automating
Many companies are turning to outsourcing parts or projects and this is a good way to lower production costs. However, there may be better solutions. For example, have you thought about CNC or automated machines for your shop. The initial investment may not be so much, when you consider the man hours and time you can save with some of today’s computer operated systems. In fact, when you choose a top automated machinery supplier you have help with designing, prototyping, building, installing, and maintaining your new machine shop in Minneapolis. This can be the difference between keeping up with and falling behind the competition, and someday local shops may be outsourcing their business to you.
