The settings icon has popped up on your iPhone yet again. Here it comes – another software update. Every update is for something different – bug fixes, a new look to the home screen, rare issues; every update entails a new component that benefits the efficiency and speed of your iPhone.
But, it is something we always dread doing. Ultimately, it is maximizing efficiency, but the process of putting your phone down and having it be shut off can be difficult. You wonder, will the new update change the way I’m used to?
At the end of the day, with current technology, regular updates that ensure your products are running efficiently. Without updating, it can set your productivity back.
The same goes for manufacturing facilities. If you take a look at manufacturing facilities in 1950 compared to now, or even the early 2000s compared to now, the products look and operate extremely differently. Every update means a more safe and efficient facility. Without the updates, you’re going to be held back.
At HESCO, we’ve spent 85 years helping manufacturing facilities modernize. Let’s dive into how modernizing your facility can fuel your team up for future success.
What Does Modernizing Your Facility Mean?
Picture a facility set in the 1980s. Instead of machinery and robotic arms, there are more employees. Each employee has a specific task: hand-sewing clothes together to keep the production line moving. Instead of industrial sewers, there are small sewing machines at each station.
Today, this process would look much different: Fewer people, more machines, faster outcomes.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
While every facility is different, modernization is all about efficiency, safety, and speed. Instead of the same step in the production line being repeated over and over again by hand, you can now program machinery to do what hands once did.
Think about what a sewing manufacturing facility looks like today. Instead of stations with small sewing machines, there are industrial sewers that can get the job done more efficiently and quickly to maximize productivity.
Source: Juki
So, modernizing your facility, simply defined, is updating processors, machinery, and products up to current standards.
By completing this process, you are opening your facility up to implementing many benefits:
- Latest Technology: Incorporating the most recent advancements.
- Energy Efficiency: Improving energy consumption, specifically to reduce electricity costs.
- Operational Efficiency: Enhancing processing efficiency.
- Cost Reduction: Lowering the total cost of ownership due to reduced maintenance and operational costs.
- Safety: Enhancing safety through modern PLCs with better security features, like protection against unauthorized access via Ethernet connections.
All of these benefits enhance the productivity of your facility so you can stay current.
Modernizing Your Facility: Is It Essential?
If other manufacturing facilities are modernizing, and you are not, it can create a gap in productivity for you and ultimately decrease your company’s profit.
Though the upfront cost of modernizing can be significant, it will pay off because of the lower electrical costs associated with fully updated and operational machinery. Older machines take more energy to run, so having products that are energy efficient will be a great benefit.
So, now we know what modernizing is and why it can benefit your facility. But, is doing this essential?
Modernization is increasingly becoming more essential to manufacturing facilities. Not only will it ultimately benefit you, but it is also necessary for your facility to survive.
Automation companies are releasing new products into the industry every quarter. Because of the constant innovation surrounding automation, it is almost impossible to avoid the need to update your facility. Modernization is essential to stay competitive.
Safety Concerns in Your Facility
Now more than ever, data breaches are occurring in companies. According to Cobalt, in 2023, 72.7% of companies globally fell prey to ransomware attacks. The need for high security is at its peak, and it will keep increasing in coming years.
If you do not update your facility, you increase the risk of unauthorized personnel connecting to the machinery and products in your facility. This increases the chance of data breaches.
Cost Implications of Your Facility
Maintaining older equipment is costlier than maintaining updated equipment. Automation manufacturers frequently phase out products, so spare parts for older equipment may become hard to find.
Due to this, broken machines could be down for longer periods of time, ultimately reducing your facility’s productivity and costing more money.
Operational Continuity of Your Facility
The operational downtime caused by obtaining spare parts to fix your equipment can be just as significant as the cost implications and safety concerns.
When your machines are down due to obsolete equipment and long repair times, it reduces the productivity of your facility. Updating your equipment can ensure that if machinery needs to be repaired, it can be fixed quicker because of the availability of spare parts.
Modernizing is essential for your facility to maintain maximum efficiency. Though that older machine may have been running great for 40 years, it will inevitably break. If you do not have the ability to get a part quickly and move forward, your production could be down for a long time.
Fully modernizing your facility can create room for more productivity and lower the costs you will have to pay in the long run.
HESCO’s Role in Modernization
At HESCO, we help to ensure you are being led down the right path to modernization. We offer:
- Install-Based Evaluations: We assess your existing machinery and identify any outdated components so you have full knowledge of what you already have.
- Asset Evaluations: We provide you with a detailed report on product life cycle, highlighting parts that are active, aging, or discontinued. This gives you some idea of where your facility currently stands.
- Strategic Planning: We help you to prioritize which machines to update based on needs. This gives you an opportunity to do a phased approach to modernization, addressing the most pressing issues first so you are not shutting down operations in every portion of your facility at once.
We promise to offer guidance and education first and foremost, helping you choose the materials and products right for your needs and budget.
Is Now the Time to Modernize Your Facility?
Modernizing your facility is essential for survival. It is crucial for maintaining safety, reducing costs, and ensuring efficient operations.
We can provide services to help you navigate the process of modernizing your facility strategically and effectively. Contact us today for guidance!
By understanding and implementing these updates, your facility can stay competitive and secure in a high-productivity environment.