How to Reduce Factory Defects | Jaycon Systems

A manufacturing company’s product defects can be a source of stress and anxiety. The company can feel frustrated if tons of time, money, and energy is spent on a product with defects that can’t be easily fixed. 

The effects can be felt far and wide, from decreased customer satisfaction to the cost per unit of a particular product. It can even cause harm to the overall success and reputation.

Manufacturers need quality products to succeed, which is why it’s essential to find, be aware of, and deal with any problems that might occur in the future (or have already happened) because of product defects.

Product Defects and Negative Effects

Understanding the effects that occur as a result of product defects can give you insight into why it’s so essential to make changes to avoid them. There are several below, but others may crop up, as well.

• Decreased ROI, a lower bottom line, and other financial issues

• Less efficiency and worker productivity during manufacturing tasks

• Additional costs associated with repurposing, discarding, or fixing defective and damaged products

• Rising costs from the need for additional payroll to handle problems

• Less customer loyalty and satisfaction, as well as the need to work through customer complaints, including potential litigation

• Adverse effects on the company’s reputation as a whole

Looking at the list above, you can easily see why manufacturers want to cut out product defects. The good news is that there are methods to reduce many of these defects or even prevent them from occurring in the first place.

This article will examine what product defects are and what is most common in a manufacturing environment. Then, we’ll look at how many of these defects are caused and share some strategies and tips to reduce manufacturing defects.

Types of Common Manufacturing Product Defects

Optimizing the manufacturing area is one of the best techniques for manufacturing companies to reduce manufacturing defects. When it comes down to it, this involves using every possible process, tool, and method to improve the environment and get the best results.

Part of this looks like finding improvement opportunities at every step in the process. It also involves implementing long-term and consistent changes in actions and standards across the manufacturing floor.

The main goal here is to get the best output available with the least number of resources but also keep the quality as high as possible. There are a few ways that this process can begin, which are listed below:

• Consider the standards and quality associated with every supplier. This includes all raw materials used to create products and all of the outsourced process steps.

• Go over each machinery’s success and process. Ensure you include the processes a machine does while manufacturing a product.

• Think about the performance, training, and actions of all teams, supervisors, and workers who have any task involved with the manufacturing process.

• Manufacturers then support high-quality control procedures and standards to keep compliance high while focusing on the company’s goals.

• Make sure you use a dedicated and regular maintenance schedule. This can help cut down on any defects related to machine failure or breakdown.

• Use technology and automation for steps that have a large number of errors. This can eliminate the need for lengthy, complex, and repetitive actions in a process.

• Consider how effective your control loops are. Look at areas where these aren’t productive or may overlap.

When you optimize the entirety of the manufacturing environment, it’s excellent for reducing manufacturing defects. You have a chance to see what parts of a process could cause (or already have caused) product defects.

Determining where the problem areas are is key to moving forward. If you don’t know where the issue is, you can’t move forward with a plan to fix things. Knowing all the most common defects that occur during a manufacturing process can also be helpful.

• Assembly Defects: These defects relate to how manufacturers assemble a product and when errors are associated.

• Construction Defects: These include defects to materials used to put together a product, such as fasteners, bolts, or screws.

• Design Defects: These are unintentional defects related to the product design specifications.

• Electrical Defects: These defects are related to electrical components or writing in a product.

• Functional Defects: This defect is related to the purpose or function of a product.

• Harmful Chemical Defects: These defects are related to any unintentional defects in the production process related to chemicals.

• Packaging and Printing Defects: This kind of defect relates to the packaging or printing of a product.

• Raw Material Defects: These types of defects are related to raw materials that are used during the production process.

• Sales or Marketing Defects: Distribution, sales, and marketing strategy defects for a product fall under this heading.

• Visual Defects: This refers to the look of a part of a product that has been finished. The defects could be only visible or might cause injury, such as jagged or sharp edges.