The Importance of good Communication on the Factory Floor

In factories, production is the number one priority, so it isn’t a surprise that internal communication in a factory is not on the radar of most manufacturers.

In recent years, an open corporate culture, with the accompanying way of being able to communicate correctly and openly, has become more and more important. Nevertheless, research shows that a surprisingly large number of employees are dissatisfied with the internal openness and communication within the company. Good mutual communication not only ensures a pleasant atmosphere and cooperation, but also has a direct relationship with the profitability of the company.

Communica­tion is key

A lot of surveys have shown us recently that that the average employee isn’t satisfied with the way of communication in their company. Many manufacturers tend to communicate quite old fashioned.

Consistently poor communication can damage a manufacturing company. Careless and infrequent communication between management and factory floor staff can result in excessive scrap, poor product quality, late deliveries and, ultimately, dissatisfied customers.

Improve your communication

In a lot of companies, face-to-face communication isn’t always possible. Therefore managers and workers need multiple and dependable modes of communication. On the factory floor we hardly ever e-mail, let stand the use of call trees since that is starting to look more like a thing of the past.

Mobile communication via a good software is the way to go now. In this way you can ensure your workers and managers to properly communicate with each other. Any place, any time. Features like approval flow, digital signatures and an online logbook enable manufacturers to keep everyone in the loop when it’s needed the most. In this way a lot of problems can be solved really quick. Employees can download essential troubleshooting documents to their phone so they always know what the next step is.

Why is effective communication important in production?

Communication determines how the people in a manufacturing company coordinate their efforts to make a product. As a result, effective communication can benefit a manufacturing company in several ways, including:

1. Reduced workplace risks:

Effective communication plays an important role in preventing workplace injuries, which becomes especially important when workers operate hazardous machinery. If people communicate clearly and quickly, accidents can easily be prevented.

2. Increased efficiency in production:

Clear and frequent communication helps people do their jobs efficiently. For example, when a machine breaks or materials run out, effective communication helps staff solve the problem without confusion or repetitive actions, so the company can get back to work quickly.

3. Improved cohesion and engagement:

One of the greatest benefits of effective communication is the cohesion between different levels of the business. When communication flows easily in both directions, employees feel more engaged in their work, which translates into better retention and overall productivity.

The domain of manufacturing is technical, but that doesn’t mean communication can be overlooked. In fact, an effective communication strategy can put your business above the competition.

How to communicate effectively?

We see now that communication plays a big role in the manufacturing business and that nowadays we need to put a lot of effort in it, maybe even more than ever before. However before you start changing your communication strategy, you need to know what good communication looks like.

In general, an effective communicator is someone who has a clear message, delivers that message using an appropriate channel and works to ensure the message is properly received. This type of communication occurs most often at the managerial level.

This is the basic of communication which is to translate in a good way to the factory floor. In a manufacturing company, effective communication should also move in both directions; from management to the workers and vice versa. Receiving meaningful feedback from employees will allow you to improve your operations and work in sync. Create an atmosphere where all workers feel free to give feedback at any time.

What is important in a good communication strategy?

First of all it is important to constantly train your employees. Make sure to properly train new employees and see that more experienced ones have time to answer questions.

Meet up regularly as a good team. Not only for the good of the communications, this also helps to create a nice morale and a good atmosphere. Plan these meetings on a regularly base and make time for feedback moments.

Last but not least, give your employees the proper tools. Work with a good software that provides the right features who make it easy for your employees to communicate and give feedback in a clear way.

Discover Azumuta, the tool that makes factory communication easy

Real-Time Communication with Azumuta. Connect employees so they can solve problems, provide updates and keep track in real-time.