Common manufacturing problems

A considerable portion of manufacturing problems are caused by inadequate attempts to compete with competitors and save money in the wrong way. It is also common to identify production bottlenecks that affect financial and quality management.

Among so many challenges and difficulties, we selected the most common errors and problems in a textile industry. Check them out and understand how to solve them.

Poor quality raw material: common problem in manufacturing

Many of the problems in manufacturing happen before we even enter the production line, as is the case with poor quality raw materials. This is an imbalance that occurs in the purchasing sector and extends to customer satisfaction.

Choosing to choose from fabrics to lower quality finishing materials because they are more economical causes the reverse effect, that is: waste and high costs. Poor quality raw materials increase production losses, as they are more likely to tear and present other defects.

Inferior fabrics cause discomfort to the customer and also affect the durability of the piece, which directly damages its image in the market. To avoid this, quality control must be a watchword within the textile industry.

With the rise of Industry 4.0, it became easier and faster to automate this process, as everything is done by computers and software, including when receiving products.

Dollar fluctuation

The dollar is considered one of the economy’s thermometers, with fluctuations and increases reflecting dangerous financial and political instability. In the textile industry, this can cause problems in manufacturing when working with suppliers from abroad.

This scenario results in more expensive raw materials and greater difficulty in investing in imported machinery for production optimization. To overcome these periods, a lot of planning is required.

Suppliers and the national market have greatly improved their products, and are now able to compete and meet international demand. So, whenever possible, look for national partners. Furthermore, it is essential to look for ways to boost productivity, so that low times do not harm demand.

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Poorly calculated demand

Errors, both plus and minus, in calculating demand result in losses and problems in manufacturing. This happens because expenses grow along with the increase in demand and if you don’t make this average based on your orders, parts will be stopped in your production, or there will be shortages for customers.

Therefore, productive capacity must be worked on, but in a measure balanced with its demand. Another point of attention is not to take bigger steps than you can, that is, accept requests that you are unable to fulfill, as this affects your image and could cause you to lose important partnerships.

Low or lack of productivity

Productivity is the balance between your demand, the quantity produced and the quality of what is done using the lowest possible costs and in less time. If your productivity is low, you will certainly lose space to national and international competition. This happens, especially, if you have clients who adopt the fast fashion methodology.

To solve this serious problem in manufacturing, in addition to efficient quality control, data-driven management is necessary. This means that decisions must be made based on information and data obtained by technology, and not assumptions and predictions.

Another aspect that cannot be ignored is the training and constant monitoring of the team. After all, there will be no point in having the best machinery and high-performance strategies if your production line and other stakeholders don’t know how to deal with technologies and raw materials and waste a lot of material.

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Excess second quality

Due to the need to increase production and reduce costs and expenses to compete with the competition, it is common for industries to opt for second quality products. This attempt is a failed strategy to reduce prices.

What happens is the high identification of defective products, which leads to returns and loss of customers. Therefore, once again, we highlight the importance of quality control so that pieces are evaluated and only those in perfect condition are sold. In addition to data-based management to identify demands and best suppliers.

As noted, the main problems in manufacturing must be resolved with efficient and well-structured quality control. This managerial focus must be accompanied by technologies and methods that allow obtaining data to deal with demand, productivity and competition.

Speaking of innovations and technologies, take the opportunity to check out how machine layout can help with production efficiency.