June, July and August are usually slower months for manufacturing activity, and it’s easy to see why. It’s beautiful outside, the kids are out of school, pretty much everyone has at least a few vacation days planned – often at the same time – and those left on the factory floor would honestly rather daydream about camping or visiting the beach than order fulfillment.
The summer slowdown in manufacturing may be natural, but it doesn’t mean factory operations have to come to a standstill for a quarter of the year. Before checking out of work figuratively and literally this summer, leaders should ask themselves a few questions.
How would a loss of output affect your business?
What can you do to keep workers engaged and, in turn, maintain manufacturing productivity and efficiency?
How does your organization measure productivity and foster collaboration between planning and operations?
Production delays and a loss of output don’t usually queue manufacturers up for success later in the year. Fortunately, there are a few things manufacturers can do to keep workers engaged and prevent a slump in productivity.
The Summer Slowdown State of Mind
Manufacturers are often resigned to accepting a summer slowdown (or slump) in manufacturing activity but, in some workplaces, that slowdown is by design.
Henry Ford launched his first assembly line in 1913 and quickly realized the line couldn’t run efficiently or safely if a single worker was absent. Ford recognized the value of scheduling downtime every summer to evaluate manufacturing processes and, as an added benefit, boost worker morale and productivity.
The approach worked so well that it’s now commonplace in the US automotive manufacturing industry. Ford Motor, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors all practice a traditional summer shutdown, although the duration tends to vary depending on market demand.
Ford Motors may have been one of the first manufacturers to embrace the summer slowdown, but it certainly wasn’t the last. In Germany, Volkswagen sent thousands of workers from its factories in Wolfsburg to their hometowns in Italy until the 1980s. When the mercury soared, manufacturers in England gave everyone a holiday and the trend gave rise to Blackpool and other idyllic beach communities.
In Sweden, the summer slowdown has another name. In the 1930s, labor unions negotiated a two-week vacation for factory workers known as industry holiday, or industrisemester.
Even though Ford Motors and other manufacturers have found ways to use the summer slowdown to their advantage, they’ve also been known to cancel planned shutdowns to keep up with high demand. Manufacturers that can’t afford a loss in productivity during the summer months need to get creative, and the best way to do that is with data-driven insights into why the summer slump occurs in the first place.
The Science Behind the Summer Slowdown in Manufacturing
The summer slowdown mentality can be chalked up to family vacations and daydreaming, in part, but there’s also a physiological component. Temperature changes have been shown to have a direct impact on worker productivity.
The average summer temperature across the US is 71.9 °F, and that’s actually the sweet spot for worker productivity. Worker productivity begins to decrease at 73 °F, per the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, but think twice before blasting the air conditioning. Another study from Cornell University found error rates jump by 25% when temperatures drop below 68 °F.
Workers aren’t checking out just because they have to get their secret rub recipe ready for the neighborhood’s BBQ contest; it’s human nature to slow down as the temperature rises. Then there’s the employee burnout component to consider.
Some economists are making a case for a four-day workweek. Shorter workweeks, they argue, are good for employee productivity and creativity, and could be an invaluable tool for worker retention amid the Great Resignation.
How Manufacturers Can Maximize Productivity During the Summer
A summer slowdown or traditional shutdown isn’t an option for many manufacturers this year. Factory activity in the US expanded at the slowest pace in 1.5 years in April 2022, largely because there were fewer workers on the plant floor. COVID-19 shutdowns in China, cost inflation, supply chain constraints and logistics have also been a challenge, and many manufacturers need to make the most of the summer months.
Instead of accepting a loss in productivity this summer, take some downtime for yourself to think about the technologies your business is using, how solutions are deployed daily and opportunities to improve.
Putting manufacturing data to good use
Manufacturers have a lot of data on operational history; now is the time to take a look at it. What do the summer months typically mean for your factory’s output? Is there a correlation between time-off requests, warmer weather, supplier relationships and productivity?
If worker shortages and employee retention are obvious issues, it may be time to make some changes. Fewer hours and paid time off could improve morale, help keep workers on task and, in turn, boost productivity.
For many manufacturers, a planned shutdown is essential for maintenance and turnarounds, but a long, traditional approach may not be the best solution anymore. Many companies have global footprints and work with suppliers around the world. Closing the entire organization down over the same period might not make sense. Instead, consider staggering the shutdown over the year with one-week closures every quarter instead of two to five weeks during the summer.
Connect the shop floor with QAD Production Execution
To ensure consistent employee engagement and efficiency levels, enterprises can implement QAD Production Execution. Vacation time and that summer slowdown mentality can’t be totally avoided, but manufacturers can position themselves for success with sufficient and accurate insights into planned production that make it easy to effectively respond to customer demands, changes in inventory, equipment issues and supply chain constraints.
“QAD Production Execution includes the technological capability to communicate to shop floor machines and support a range of environments,” said Glenn Graney, QAD’s Marketing Director for the Industrial and High Tech markets, in an earlier blog post.
Manufacturers can use QAD Production Execution to prepare for the “shutdown” without sacrificing productivity or efficiency. It ties ERP and shop floor operational processes together in real time. Major features include:
- An intuitive, operator-centric interface
- Full time-stamped data capture
- Collaboration between planning and operations for better decision-making
- System flexibility, integration and maintainability to adapt to specific production environments
Get ahead of the summer slowdown now
While you’re strategizing to maximize productivity this summer, many of your production partners will inevitably be closed at some point in the coming months. Now, before the summer slowdown begins, is the perfect time to get ahead of potential delays.
Get the team together now to develop a game plan for those summer months. Check out QAD’s best practices for manufacturing and figure out which tools you’ll need to maintain productivity while dealing with partner closures, short staffing and other challenges.
This is the perfect time to identify opportunities to cut time-consuming tasks during the summer and get everyone on board for the activities that really matter — the ones that are critical for maximizing productivity and efficiency, and will make it easy to ramp up production when Labor Day rolls around.
Everyone needs to kick back and relax sometimes, and this summer should be no exception. Take the time to check out and recharge, but don’t forget to take a look at your operational data, plan ahead and take advantage of QAD’s resources before trading your smartphone for a beach umbrella.
