Manufacturing capacity planning plays a critical role in a manufacturer’s ability to fulfill future requirements, like ramping up production or accommodating sudden fluctuations in demand. When you outsource manufacturing to PEKO, we provide complimentary capacity management to support your program. Our experienced engineers are constantly monitoring our capacity to ensure production schedules are on time and customer demands are met.
At PEKO, we’re dedicated to providing holistic capacity planning and management that helps maximize production goals and stay ahead of potential issues. We are extremely flexible with our manufacturing capacity and have a long history of success creating custom capacity plans for our top-level contract manufacturing and precision assembly manufacturing customers.
Our capacity planning provides:
- The right type and number of tools and equipment to perform all machining and assembly.
- The right number of team members, appropriate blend of skillsets, and sufficient work hours.
- The right materials, assemblies, and/or components needed to complete the build.
Realize the Power of Flexible & Responsive Manufacturing Capacity Management
At PEKO, we understand that demand forecasts may change for a host of reasons, like industry trends, supply chain, funding, and more. Luckily, our extensive history of planning for fluctuating and steady-state demand has made us an expert in this area. Creating a capacity management system that is flexible, dynamic, and can account for unforeseen shifts in demand is one of the most powerful elements of our service offerings.
Our long-standing expertise in capacity management facilitates rapid adjustment to unforeseen demand, straw plans for expansion and reduction on short notice, and monitoring of available space and labor that may need to be brought to bear in a rapid fashion. We have constant variables being improved to accommodate our customer’s ever-changing needs and our commitment to reinvestment results in frequent additions of resources and capacity to meet these demands.
Strategic Activities & Deliverables
- Considering demand forecasts and forecast variations.
- Creating production floor layouts and assembly spaces.
- Determining required machining centers, tooling, and personnel.
- Calculating hours for fabricated parts and assembly.
- Constructing fabrication machinery production schedules.
- Preparing supply chain management team for orders.
- Establishing test plans and factory acceptance test plans.
Our Proactive Capacity Planning Process
As a leading contract manufacturer, we employ a proactive and robust capacity planning process to identify resources needed to meet demand and shortcomings in existing resources.
1. Assess Existing Manufacturing Capacity
The process begins with a thorough evaluation of our current resources. We first assess our available machining and production assets to determine if we have the capacity to meet forecasted demand. We then look at our employee base. Using our employee competency matrix, we can determine if we have the necessary workforce capacity to perform the required manufacturing operations. We also consider other operational aspects during this evaluation, like supply chain capacity, inventories, shift availability, equipment utilization, and more.
2. Analyze Capacity Against Anticipated Demand
Once we’ve finished assessing our current resources, we then analyze this manufacturing capacity against our customer’s anticipated demand to pinpoint the various areas where gaps exist, and manufacturing capacity needs to be expanded and optimized. When analyzing our workforce capacity, special care is taken to ensure that not only the right number of employees are allocated but also the right skill sets to meet the required capacity.
3. Make Adjustments to Manufacturing Capacity
With this information in hand, we can then develop an action plan to improve capacity. Our senior management team will seek out additional resources needed to meet customer demand – investing in new equipment, expanding to new facilities, hiring new talent, and providing competency training and skills development where necessary. Our debt-free structure frees us the financial burdens faced by most other industrial equipment manufacturing companies, allowing us to acquire and allocate the proper resources for each project, no matter the cost.
At this point, we can create an efficient production facility layout that’s outfitted with the right tools and equipment and assemble a cross-functional team of technicians whose skillsets are best suited to the needs of your program.
Manufacturing is more than just machinery, assembly, and physical capabilities. It’s about utilizing advanced techniques and processes that ensure you get what you’re paying for. So don’t get stuck in a manufacturing program that can’t flexibly meet your demands. Come see the folks at PEKO.
We understand that effective capacity management can be the difference between meeting your goals or not. Let us help secure your success with our flexible and robust manufacturing capacity planning and management. Contact us today with your project details or with any questions about our capacity planning or other contract manufacturing services.