Who doesn’t want to keep costs down in the foundry? By lowering costs, a company can increase productivity, empower employees and turn a greater profit. The upsides are incredible, but the process of lowering costs isn’t always obvious. It is important to understand that there are ways to keep foundry costs lower. Here are four ways you can do so, beginning today.
1. Increase operating hours.
Higher uptime is often associated with employee dissatisfaction, lower equipment performance, and higher collateral costs. In a foundry, the opposite is actually true. Provided it is implemented with effective management and employee protection, around-the-clock operations can reduce overall costs. Most foundry equipment manufactured today is designed to perform heavy-duty tasks on a continual basis. Shutting down and starting up accumulates vast amounts of wasted time and lost revenue. Improving your uptime will actually lower your costs.
2. Implement an Environmental Management Program that is coordinated with the company’s strategy as a whole.
Organizations with ISO 14001 certification must maintain a program that enables them to better achieve their environmental objectives (Section 4.3.4). Some companies view EMP requirements as a drain on resources and efficiency. Nonetheless, by improving compliance, health, safety, quality management, and employee involvement of these programs, a company can lower liability, improve efficiency, and save large amounts of money. The important feature to remember is that EMPs must be maintained as part of a company’s overall strategic direction. Trying to maintain an EMP independent of the company’s goals is an unwieldy and financially compromising effort.
3. Buy the best equipment.
An effective foundry is built from the foundation of effective equipment. There’s simply no way around this. Properly designed equipment saves time, saves money, and requires little downtime and maintenance. It’s obvious that high-quality equipment will save money. Unfortunately, sometimes companies with budget pressures factor only the original equipment purchase price when deciding on new equipment. Considering the cost of a machine over the useful life of the machine is important, as lower cost equipment may save you initially, but can be a liability in the long run, making it even more important for struggling companies to do whatever it takes to buy the best solution initially.
4. Negotiate electrical rates
If your foundry is located in a deregulated energy market, it is crucial to seek a company that can help you to negotiate lowered costs. Such companies can negotiate bulk energy supply, buyback, and other cost-savings solutions. Many companies have seen annual cost-savings into the millions of dollars due to renegotiation with electrical delivery companies.
Keeping costs down in the foundry is crucial to market success and profitability. You’re bound to save money in your foundry by implementing at least one of the cost-savings methods outlined above. General Kinematics specializes in supplying high quality foundry equipment designed to maximize your foundry operations, all while providing a long life, low maintenance solution to keep your operation efficiently running. Be sure to explore General Kinematics products to see how you can lower costs and improve operations in your foundry.
