PLANT FLOOR AUDITS ADJUSTING TO THE NEW NORMAL
Eric Stoop, CEO of EASE, looks at how to adapt plant floor audits to the needs of 2021, and what it takes to make the most of expected opportunities
B
eyond any doubt, the plant floor is a different environment to what it was
a year ago – or indeed, ever has been. Social distancing measures have meant production lines have had to be reorganised, and shift patterns restructured. Remote working is here to stay, but has brought with it many challenges and impacts on processes, all while companies respond to the pandemic by implementing new sanitation, screening and mask practices. But good news is on the horizon: the pent-
up demand economists are forecasting could mean big growth for manufacturing, with one caveat. Taking advantage of this opportunity requires an ability to meet quality, safety and production goals while implementing new plant floor protocols. The introduction of COVID-19 vaccines
mean the end is in sight, but experts warn that complacency could lead to spiking cases. It may be months before vaccines are widely available, and manufacturers must remain vigilant to prevent the spread in their plants. To make COVID-19 safety a daily practice
among the workforce, plant floor audits should incorporate COVID-19 safety questions, focusing on items such as: • Whether workers are maintaining
appropriate distancing • Personal protective equipment (PPE) and
correct mask usage • Verifying sanitation frequency of
equipment and shared spaces • Awareness around COVID-19 safety
protocols Companies who have incorporated COVID-
19 questions into audits report that it helps demonstrate that leadership takes employee safety seriously and provides a feedback loop to encourage compliance. Plant floor audits and safety inspections
themselves must be adapted to the new normal in order to keep workers safe and prevent virus transmission. So, what should audits and inspections look like, when accounting for today’s safety challenges?
54 MARCH 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL
Plant floor audits will take on more
importance than ever, playing a pivotal role in ensuring safety, quality and efficiency
For starters, it’s important to make sure that auditors wear
sufficient PPE and are 2m or more away from the workers they audit. Contactless audits are possible, focusing primarily on observation to keep conversation to a minimum. It’s also critical to sanitise any shared
auditing equipment, such as a company- issued tablet. For these companies doing mobile audits, it may make sense to have employees complete audits on their personal smartphones. For paper-based audits, you’ll want a plastic clipboard that can be sanitised and a fresh pen or pencil provided for each audit (or have auditors bring one). IHS Markit predicts strong growth in 2021 as
consumers feel more confident about returning to normal. After a year of uncertainty and tough economic times, manufacturers may be poised for a big comeback. The possibility is a double-edged sword,
creating opportunity for companies to recoup some of their losses from 2020 while also creating risks. It’s especially true when it comes to introducing new products, which may require added resources even as companies struggle with COVID-related staffing shortages. Plant floor audits can help bridge the gap,
giving manufacturers additional eyes on their processes to both improve yield, quality and efficiency. Verification is also crucial in light of plant floor processes that may have been reconfigured to reduce viral transmission, or employees who may be assigned to new roles or locations. Within this context, manufacturers are using auditing platforms to generate real- time data from the plant floor, revealing insights that would otherwise not be available without digitised audits. In the manufacturing world, quality is often
framed as a process that stands in the way of meeting production targets. However, the new
normal requires a reframing of quality as precisely the key for hitting those targets. Take, for example, companies that have
used layered process audits (LPAs) as a strategy for improving both quality and production levels. LPAs focus on conducting fast, frequent checks of manufacturing process inputs, allowing manufacturers to catch problems before they result in a large number of defects. Automated LPAs have helped
manufacturers proactively address systemic issues that could have led to quality escapes, improving process throughput overall. LPAs save time and help solve the production vs. quality conundrum by: • Minimising resources used to fix problems
after they have become widespread • Identifying equipment issues before
downtime occurs • Ensuring more resources are spent on
products that can actually be sold (as opposed to becoming internal scrap or customer returns) • Verifying critical-to-quality items to avoid
problems with new products or workers new to a production line • Helping ensure consistency amid changes
such as fewer operators on each line and remote training protocols All of these are critical to maintaining
productivity given that many plants are already running extra shifts due to having to spread workers out on production lines. Automation has a vital role to play in making
audits more efficient, allowing companies to make the most of this year’s opportunities, without risking the health of their employees or the satisfaction of their customers.
EASE
www.ease.io
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