What are the risks of poor communication in production operations?

The risks of poor communication in production operations are : unhappy customer,bad names of brand,wrong production,production delay,missing deadline,increase errors & defects,waste of time,money & resources,collapse supply chain & safety & maintenance management system, create unhappy & unhealthy work environment, increase operational cost,bad effect on supplier & customer relationship,reduce innovation & continuous improvement, Bad effect on distribution channel planning & process, Increase regulatory compliance risks etc. we can conclude by saying Poor communication in production operations can lead to a variety of risks & challenges that can negatively impact the efficiency, effectiveness, & overall success of the operations.

While SOPs should be written in a comprehensive, easy to understand manner, poor communications during times like shift change or operation hand-off can lead to unfortunate decisions and product or quality defects. While clear status updates are essential, the new operators should also be responsible and review the previously completed steps to ensure full understanding and awareness.

Standard operational procedures should be written in a way that the users fully understand the content, adding photos beyond the written statements helps, additionally the responsible by the procedure should test it in the shop floor before oficialize it. But how to check if the procedure attend the requisites? You give the procedure to the user and ask to execute the task based on it without intervene and check if the task can be done as designed, if not, take notes on the points where you detected failures or opportunities of improvement and correct them. It is the responsibility of the writer to ensure that the procedure is understandable by the users.

I concur with the statement. It is imperative to communicate precise quality requirements clearly to the production teams and subsequently to mid-level and lower-level associates. Defects often arise when lower-level personnel are not adequately informed about the established quality standards. The communication process should avoid resembling a game of Chinese whispers, ensuring that accurate information is consistently conveyed to achieve the desired levels of quality.

In my experience 95% of problems in an organization are caused by miscommunications. Let's take a simple case, ordering a pizza. If I order a Pepperoni pizza I will get the "standard" one made by the supplier. But if I want something specific, I have to order it as: one 12" pizza with 20 pieces of 1" diameter pepperoni min 1/8" thick. Clarity of communications with specifics in numbers and sizes makes all the difference. So the more technical the product, the more it has to fit into other products and become part of a larger whole, the more specific the requirements have to be. E.G Aerospace products have volumes of requirements to integrate into other pieces and make a complete aircraft.

You need to keep your co-workers/employees safe at all times. Clear directions will assist in this. Have all the appropriate safety markers/signs throughout your facility.

The key issue for all safety managers is not only for compliance by all regulatory agencies, but to know the limitations of your people in the safety environment. Use their strengths and build upon any weaknesses to get where you need to be. By being honest with what compliance requirements are required, getting their buy in and their assistance with those tasks, you can foster a good safety relationship with both management and the labor force reducing any stress along the way. When they have buy in for safety success, it’s a win for everyone!

Safety should be truly the first priority of any enterprise, as manufacturing leaders we have the responsibility to push our teams to ensure that everybody go back to their homes safe and healthy every day. Safety incidents without resulting in injuries, also known as near misses, should be treated by team leaders seriously and every event should generate an investigation to check the causes and define an action plan to avoid recurrences. If you put a good weight in near misses you will reduce the probability of real injuries. So do not underestimate this events and push your team to solve them.

Reporting near misses are extremely important. Following up on them are even more important! Foster a team that is proactive instead of reactive.

Quando a comunicação a cerca das prioridades dos processos envolvidos para à entrega de volumes produtivos não é bem disseminada, os colaboradores podem acabar colocando produção acima da própria segurança. Importante ser muito claro sobre a segurança como um valor e fazer considerações significativas que a produção é uma prioridade e a segurança é um valor, não podendo ser desfavorecida em detrimento de outros objetivos.

Once in my professional scenario the production team discovered a more efficient method for a specific operation that could enhance productivity. Ideally, this improvement should have been identified during the sampling stage. However, during PPM, the bulk production teams identified a simpler approach to the operation that required fewer manpower. The challenge arose when it came to communicating this improvement to the merchant and obtaining approval. Unfortunately, there was a significant deficiency in clearly conveying the details to the merchant for approval of the enhanced method. Had the communication been more effective, the proposed improvement could have been approved, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced wastage.

To mitigate these risks, manufacturing facilities should prioritize effective communication throughout their operations. This includes: Establishing clear and concise communication channels: Use a variety of communication methods, such as verbal, written, and visual, to ensure that information reaches all employees effectively. Promoting open and two-way communication: Encourage employees to ask questions and provide feedback. Create a culture where open communication is valued and respected. Providing regular training and updates: Ensure that employees are up-to-date on changes in procedures, safety protocols, and product specifications.

Waste to one department or project may be a surplus or “win” to another. Keep logistics and supply chain management in contact with sales and production throughout the process. Inefficiency can happen when production also tries to use virgin product per supply chain demands and has to stop production due to delivery delays. Never dismiss repurposing “scrap or surplus” materials if they meet production needs. It may slow production down by doing do, but rarely does the throughput come to a screeching halt when doing so.

Same problem can also stem from bad communication between two employees of the production department even. For example, a prolong breakdown can occur if a manufacturing supervisor forgets to discuss with his reliever about a critical maintenance point related to an operational machine on the occasion of shift change. Similarly, an organization may face too many consumer complaints just because one of its production staff doesn't communicate adequately and timely to Quality or Sales department about the goods produced under a defective batch. These serious repercussion caused by bad communication only take us to a conclusion that importance of being well versed in communication is of higher significance when it comes to production industry.

Siempre es importante que la comunicación llegue a todos los que.estan involucrados,ya que de esta manera todos manejan el mismo conocimiento y objetivos, esto hace a qué se cometan menos errores o si se cometen puedan ser corregidos más rápido.

A transparência em uma comunicação é a chave do sucesso. A maior dificuldade hoje é transmitir através de um canal, a informação do emissor para o receptor. Existem muitos meios no ambiente que influenciam e geram ruídos na interpretação. Fazer uso do Feedback é extremamente importante!

Employees need to trust on their managers to communicate openly and transparently. If they feel threatened or not properly listened they will not communicate. Managers should help the organization to create a culture of trust and transparency to promote open communication and improve the performance. When communication do not flow properly deviations, accidents, waste and losses are more often and the team spend more time investigating issues than working efficiently.

Very simple, that company will eventually crash and burn to some degree. That is the one thing that I stress to all my people TALK face to face. No phone, text or e mail. If you can’t talk to someone face to face and resolve the issue we will all be done sooner than later

Poor communication can lead to products being produced outside of customer specifications, causing late orders, remakes, and lack of trust from customer.

There must be a level of trust where everyone is free to question each other without fear and without bringing a personal bias, but a dedication to improved results. You can have the best people, the best liquidity, but if everyone is not pulling in the same direction, the ship sails without a destination.

Clear communication is of utmost importance in all aspects of life, not only in production operations. All top successful executives are great communicators. The etiquettes of communication has to be respected for it to be more effective. It should be simple, crisp and clear to the point, so that it is well understood by the targeted audience. Unnecessary complexities should be avoided. Continuous feedback also needs to be taken to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page and there are no misunderstandings.

Continuing on the theme of the plug that blew out of Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight 1282 on Jan 5, 2024: How much reputation and credibility has been lost at Boeing, Spirit, the airlines, FAA and many other companies. Not only their external reputation, but also internally various departments will trust other departments even less than before. This will result in more checks, audits, procedures, etc. by departments and companies on each other. More cost, more expensive aircraft and more expensive flights for the flying public.

When communication is poor with team form the managers or from management then misunderstandings and conflicts can raise among the team and this can affect team spirit, teamwork,confidence and ultimately productivity.

The reputation and credibility of a brand can suffer due to poor communication leading to errors, defects, and delays in production. This negative impact on the brand’s image can be challenging to overcome.

Lack of communication will cause damage to reputation . For example : When you are running a product with standard sizes and specefication .but sometimes the customers ask for slight change in these standards so if no one informed the product will not be as same as customer requirment .

The potential consequences of ineffective communication in operations include reduced Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), disruptions to internal and external supply chains, increased non-conformities, higher costs, regulatory non-compliance, damage to brand image, and potential risks to the health and safety of clients/patients. To address these risks, it is essential to utilize multiple communication channels and establish hierarchical escalation protocols, closely monitor all potential risks, and promptly address any issues.

Poor communication aka information flow in manufacturing operations hits the culture formation at the core as it leads to 1. Formation of Siloes and compartmentalization of the organization. 2. Increased perception bias amongst team members which hampers working with collaboration. 3.Promotes few power centers which in turn try to safeguard their selfish interests above the organizational interest. 4. It hampers the material flow as well & leads to elongated lead times which hampers growth. As a CAPA to this we should deploy lean tools 1. 5S & Visual Factory 2. Daily work management & Leader Std. Work 3. Obeya for Project environment. 4. Kanban & Supermarket. 5. Value Stream Mapping for visualizing and shared learning of challenges.

Effective communication is crucial in production as it can have catastrophic consequences, ranging from delays to loss of batches, regulatory compliance issues, environmental health and safety risks, lawsuits, negative brand impact, and even loss of lives. To ensure seamless communication, it is best to implement good performance management practices stratified in tiers across different levels of the supply chain, such as GEMBAS, managers to manager and directors directors meetings.

After understanding all the risks (Product defects, safety hazards, waste and inefficiency, lack of team-work, credibility loss etc.) associated with poor communication, it is important that production organizations set some standards for good communication, and several points should be kept in mind during standardization process. Firstly, a good communication should follow all the cultural norms and adhere by the elements of safety and respect. Secondly, it shouldn’t contain any threatening words or graphics and depict scenarios that may cause harassment. Finally, it should take place after some brainstorming and utilizing few templates & methodologies one of which can be WWWH i.e. What / When / Who and How it needs to be communicated?

Communication is too much important between production and managemeng through one chanel or person in order to avoid double decesions that make inconvenence to production team .