If you are interested in manufacturing a product, then there are some basic ideas behind standardization that you need to learn and apply. While these concepts can be hard to master, learning about them can put you ahead of the game when it comes to manufacturing.
It Speeds Things Up
Standardization makes it so that a person can be trained to do one particular job. Then, they continuously repeat the same task. For example, when Ford started making the Model T on assembly lines, thetime needed to manufacture an automobile went from over 12 hours to two hours and 30 minutes. The same principle holds today. The more that a product uses standardized parts, the faster it is to make it.
Improves Your Product
Both continuous improvement and Kanban should be the guiding principles when you make something. Often used in STEM fields, there are at least six principles behind continuous improvement. The first principle is that changes can be either small or large. Employee feedback is sought, and changes are usually inexpensive to put into place. Employee engagement increases because they are involved in creating ideas on how the process of making the product can become better.
State of the Art
Standardization implies a movement toward becoming the best product on the market. It consolidates the best technology, science, and experience to make the best product. Returning to our example of the Model T. Ford was like a lot of car manufacturers who made a handful of cars for wealthy men to drive. Then, he hit on the brainstorm of using an assembly line. He relied on the experience of others tobuild the assembly line with the latest machines in place. He took his car manufacturing business from 1,900 employees to over 4,000 by relying on state-of-the-art assembly lines operated by experienced individuals to allow him to raise the number of cars he was producing from about 6,000 per year to over 35,000 a year.
If you want to start manufacturing your own products, then standardization is the key to consistent expectations and return clientele, unless you are creating “one of a kind’ items. Applying the principles behind it allows you to make a better product that can be made faster and at a lower cost.
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