Manufacturing Health Check Assessment

To grow your business and reach your goals, you need to understand your strengths and identify your weaknesses. By answering the questions in this health check, you'll see how your business processes, management systems, and operational routines stack up against other organizations in the industry.

After you're done, you receive a score and potential solutions to your challenges.

Let's get started.

Business Processes - Part 1

1. Does your business have performance targets for profit, project, units, etc.?

Yes - We have targets for profit / project / units, and they are broken down by department.

Yes - We have some targets for the overall organization but not for everything.

No - We don't have targets.

No - We don't know what our targets should be.

2. Does each department understand its maximum workload capacity?

Yes - There is a full understanding of the capacities by department, and they are understood by every employee in that department.

Yes - There is some understanding of the capacities by department, but they are not generally known.

No - There is not an understanding of our capacities by department, but we do know the overall production capacity.

No - There is not an understanding of any capacities; we often find that we are running behind and overcapacity.

3. Does your business keep track of key operational metrics including throughput, cycle time, capacity utilization, etc.?

Yes - We track all our key metrics, and they provide value through continuous improvement against the metrics.

Yes - We keep track of some key metrics, but they are often overlooked.

No - We don't track key metrics; production runs fine without it.

No - We don't know what key metrics would add value.

4. Does each department pre-plan and stage their work?

Yes - Each department has a thorough understanding of their upcoming work and prepares for it to ensure the maximum efficiency.

Yes - Some departments pre-plan and stage their work but there is not a consistent strategy across the organization.

No - The departments are too busy playing catch-up to pre-plan and stage their work.

No - There is no space, time, or knowledge to determine how to appropriately pre-plan or stage work.

Business Processes - Part 2

5. How often do you miss scheduled shipping deadlines for your finished goods?

Never – We never miss deadlines.

Sometimes – We occasionally (multiple times a month) miss deadlines, but we are generally on time.

Frequently – We often (multiple times a week) miss deadlines. It is something we struggle with.

Always – We constantly feel behind and miss the majority of deadlines.

6. Is there a certain department(s) the organization is constantly waiting on?

No – There are no departments that miss deadlines.

No – There is not a department that stands out as the one which consistently meets deadlines.

Yes – There is a single department which consistently misses scheduled deadlines.

Yes – There are multiple departments which consistently miss scheduled deadlines.

7. Do you find you run out of space for your finished goods or your WIP components?

No – We have no trouble finding space for our finished goods / WIP components.

Occasionally - We occasionally run out of space at the same time every year.

Occasionally – We occasionally run out of space in an unpredictable pattern throughout the year.

Yes – We are constantly struggling to find space to put finished goods and WIP components.

8. Do you find that certain process steps or positions are idle while waiting for work from another department / position / resource?

No – Our people are constantly working and adding value to the final product.

Yes – There is a certain position/resource/department that often seems like they have time to spare.

Yes – There are a quite a few positions/resources/departments that often seem like they have time to spare.

Unsure – It seems as though our people are constantly working but it seems like busy work.

9. Do you often have product being returned after delivery?

No – We get no returns from our customers.

Yes – It happens rarely and is often the exception.

Yes – It seems like we are constantly dealing with returns and rework.

Unsure – We know that we get returns but are unsure of the volume.

Management Systems

10. Does your business have intra-day reporting for the progress of each department?

Yes - We have intra-day reporting, and it ties back to the organizational goals.

Yes - We have intra-day reporting, but it doesn't get looked at often.

Yes - We have reporting for each department, but it isn't intra-day.

No - We don't have intra-day reporting.

11. Do you have an inventory management system such as ERP, in-house software, spreadsheets, etc.?

Yes - We have and use an inventory management system that meets all our current and future needs.

Yes - We have an inventory management system, but it doesn't cover all our needs. We often find we are short/long product.

Yes - We have an inventory management system, but it is cumbersome to use and is not used often. Replenishment is done ad hoc.

No - We do not have an inventory management system.

12. Does your business use technological systems to schedule production?

Yes - We have a formal system (electronic / paper).

Yes - We have an informal system (estimations and / or not used regularly).

No - We produce whatever orders are currently in the order book.

No - We don't have the capability to schedule production (lack of resources / lack of technical knowledge /lack of systems).

13. Do you have a preventative maintenance program for your equipment?

Yes – The schedule is followed on a consistent basis.

Yes – But the maintenance only occurs occasionally.

Yes – But it is not followed.

No – There is no preventative maintenance program in place, maintenance is very reactive in nature.

14. What is the closest representation of your office staff to production staff ratio?

20:80

30:70

40:60

50:50

Management Routines

15. Do your employees understand generally accepted performance expectations for their position? Do they need frequent check-ins to ensure they are completing work?

Yes - There has been formal training and expectation setting and the numbers of review frequently (daily / weekly).

Yes - There was discussions when the employees start the position but little follow-up unless disciplinary action is required.

Yes - There is generally accepted performance metrics, but they are vague, and no one is quite sure of their relevance.

No - We don't have generally accepted performance metrics; the employees often are unsure of whether a job was done well or poorly.

16. Do you find your employees are taking excess overtime?

No – We have paid little to no overtime in the past fiscal year.

Yes – Overtime is paid to all departments but on an infrequent, rare, basis.

Yes – There is one department that has significant overtime payments.

Yes – We have significant overtime payments to all departments.

17. Does the management team have oversight into the production supervisor’s day-to-day activities / performance?

Yes – We have consistent, formal, reporting and are aware of the supervisor’s daily activities.

Somewhat – We have some formal reporting but are unaware of how the supervisor spends their day.

No – We have no formal reporting but have a general idea of what the supervisor’s day-to-day activities are.

No – We are unsure of how the supervisor spends their day.

18. Do you have a continuous improvement mandate in place?

Yes – We have weekly meetings addressing issues and assign champions to solve them permanently.

Yes – We have the occasional meeting to discuss challenges and how to fix them.

Somewhat – We talk about our problems and fix them on the fly.

No – We don’t have any continuous improvement mandate in place.

19. Is ownership heavily involved in day-to-day operations?

No - They are able to focus on strategic initiatives and organizational growth.

Yes - It is mostly administrative work.

Yes - It is mostly production-based requirements.

Yes – They have a significant administrative workload and are often the ones solving production problems.

Other

20. Would your company benefit from employee training? If so, what kind of impact would this have on your bottom line?

No impact.

5% profitability improvement.

10% profitability improvement.

Greater than 10% profitability improvement, plus intangible benefits (ability to scale, improved quality and customer service, improved onboarding).

21. What is your biggest inhibitor to growth and profitability?

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