Complete guide to industrial productivity

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Industrial productivity is a measure of how efficiently goods or services are produced in an industrial setting. It is a  key indicator that measures the amount of output  generated in relation to the resources used.  It can be measured in a number of ways , including the amount of products or services produced per hour or per worker, the rate of utilization of production capacity, and the efficiency of production processes.

Greater industrial productivity can lead to  greater profitability, job seekers database cost reduction and improved  company  competitiveness in the global market, which can also continue to increase with Industry 4.0 .

What factors affect industrial productivity?
There are several factors that can affect industrial productivity, we present the main ones:

Technology and machinery
The adoption of advanced technologies and appropriate machinery can significantly improve industrial productivity by allowing for more efficient and faster processes. At first, the acquisition of optimal machinery may entail a great cost for the company, but this expense will become an investment since having adequate machines will improve production times and reduce errors , thus improving quality.

Staff training and development
Proper training of workers can improve their performance and their ability to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. In addition, having trained personnel specialized in the functions they perform will contribute to the company's productivity.

Working conditions and work environment
A safe, healthy and comfortable work environment can reduce fatigue and work stress, which will improve productivity and quality of work. Holding regular meetings to learn about the tasks and functions that each employee performs, and in which they can share points for improvement or problems they identify, both their own and those related to production, are essential to know the status of the workers.

Effective management
Proper management of production processes, resources, and personnel can improve production efficiency and effectiveness, which can increase productivity . Sometimes it can be difficult to manage production processes, resources, and personnel at the same time correctly. However, with the use of software solutions, you can control everything efficiently and from one place.

Innovation and continuous improvement
Constant innovation in products, processes and production techniques can improve productivity by reducing production times, costs and improving quality . Studying what we do and how we do it can help us find the flaws that are slowing down performance and find solutions to get the most out of what we already have or implement new processes or technologies.

Access to resources
Access to the necessary resources, such as materials, energy and qualified labour, can affect a company's ability to produce. Therefore, we must have an estimated forecast of what will be manufactured in a period of time (one year, four months, three weeks...) in order to have the necessary resources to carry out our activity without any problems.

Government policies
Government policies, such as those related to trade, taxes and regulations, can influence the productivity of the industry and its competitiveness. In this case, it is an external factor, that is, one that comes from third parties and is outside the company's operating scenarios. In order to combat them, we can imagine these possible scenarios in advance so that, when they occur, we can anticipate them and know how to act.

Indicators to measure productivity in the industry
There are several indicators that are commonly used to measure productivity in industry:

Production per hour : This indicator measures the amount of production generated per hour. It is also very useful for measuring the efficiency of production processes.
Output per worker : This indicator measures the amount of output each worker is able to produce. It is used to measure the efficiency of labor.
Utilization of production capacity : This indicator measures the amount of production capacity being used compared to total production capacity. It serves to measure the efficiency of resource utilization.
Cost per unit produced : This indicator measures the cost of production per unit produced. It measures the efficiency in cost reduction.
Defect or error rate : This indicator measures the number of defective products or errors in production in relation to the total number of products produced. It is useful for measuring the quality of production.
Cycle time : This indicator measures the time it takes to produce a product or complete a production process. It measures the efficiency of production processes.
Return on Investment (ROI) - This indicator measures the return on investment made in a production project in relation to the investment cost. It is used to measure the profitability of the investment.
How to measure efficiency and productivity?
Overall Equipment Effectiveness , better known as OEE , is the metric used in the industrial sector to measure the efficiency and productivity of a production process or specific machinery. To obtain the OEE value, three main factors must be multiplied , which can be calculated with the ERP.

Availability : is the real time in which a resource, such as workers, is available.
Performance : It is calculated by dividing the actual production speed by the theoretical speed and consists of the effective time that has been invested in the production process.
Quality : It is based on the relationship between products that have been optimal and acceptable products.