"I spend a lot of time every day entering daily reports andcompiling attendance records. But how much time am I actually spending onit?"

Have you ever wondered about that?

In manufacturing and construction industries, various manual tasks areinvolved, such as writing paper daily reports, compiling time cards, enteringdata into Excel, and checking progress on-site. Although each task may onlytake a few minutes, when repeated daily and performed by multiple people, itadds up to a significant amount of time over the course of a year.

The problem with these tasks isn't just that they're time-consuming.When manual work becomes the norm, it becomes difficult to notice where there'sroom for improvement.

This time, we'll explain everything clearly, from how to calculate thetime spent on daily reports and attendance management, to common hidden wastein manufacturing, and concrete steps to improve operational efficiency.

Please use this as an opportunity to review your own company'soperations.

Why are manual tasks like daily reports and attendance management soprone to waste?

When we talk about waste in business operations, we might imagine majorproblems or complex tasks. However, in reality, opportunities for improvementare often hidden within the small tasks we perform every day.

For example, let's say it takes 10 minutes to enter a daily report and5 minutes to check the time card. If it's only done once, it might not seemlike a big burden. However, if multiple people repeat these tasks every day,the total work time over the year will gradually accumulate.

Furthermore, tasks that have been performed for many years tend tobecome taken for granted. Collecting paper documents and entering them intoExcel, or checking each piece of data at the end of the month, may be acceptedas necessary work.

Another thing to be careful about is duplicate entry, where the sameinformation is entered multiple times. For example, if you enter the same workhours recorded in a handwritten daily report into both the labor time sheet andthe man-hour sheet, you will be processing the same information multiple times.This not only increases the effort required for data entry but can also lead totranscription errors and the need for verification work.

Reviewing these small tasks is the first step towards improvingoperational efficiency and digital transformation in manufacturing.

Five Hidden Wastes Often Overlooked in Manufacturing and Construction

So, specifically, what kinds of tasks could be improved?

1.        The first task is collecting andtranscribing paper daily reports and time cards. Reading handwritteninformation and entering it into a computer becomes a significant burden whendone daily.

2.        The second issue is theend-of-month attendance calculations and work hour verification. Checking eachitem whether there are any errors in the records, which work sites employeesperformed, and whether there are any discrepancies between planned and actualwork increases the burden on the person in charge.

3.        The third is the time spentsearching for parts and products, and checking on the progress at the site. Ifthe necessary information cannot be found immediately, it will require callingthe person in charge or going to the site to check.

4.        The fourth task is creatingpurchase orders while looking at drawings and design data. Entering quantitiesand specifications one by one and checking for errors is time-consuming andcarries the risk of input errors.

5.        The fifth issue is the circulationand storage of paper documents such as leave requests and holiday workrequests. If the approver is absent, the process stops, and it takes time tofind the documents.

What these tasks have in common is that they involve spending a lot oftime on activities such as entering, searching for, verifying, and transcribinginformation to another location.

Of course, this doesn't mean that all verification work is unnecessary.The important thing is to distinguish between tasks that truly need to be donemanually and tasks that can be reduced by changing the system .

How to quantify your company's operational efficiency

When starting a process improvement initiative, the first step is tounderstand how much time is currently being spent on each task.

The calculation method is simple.

Annual working hours = Working time per session × Number of sessionsper year × Number of people working

Furthermore, when converting this to labor costs, use the followingformula.

Annual operating cost = Annual operating hours × Labor cost per hour

For example, let's say it takes a total of 50 minutes per day totranscribe daily reports for three factories. If there are 240 working days ina year, that amounts to 200 hours per year just for transcription.

If the end-of-month verification process takes 8 hours each month, thatadds up to an additional 96 hours per year.

In other words, the work related to daily reports alone amounts to 296hours per year.

Assuming an hourly labor cost of 2,000 yen, the annual operating costwould be approximately 592,000 yen.

This is just an example calculation, but by quantifying theoften-obscured work time, it becomes possible to concretely consider the valueof working on business process improvement.

When calculating labor costs, including not only salaries but alsocompany contributions such as social insurance premiums will result in a moreaccurate figure.

You don't need to gather precise data from the start. Begin by askingthe person in charge on-site about their working hours or by keeping a simplerecord for just one week.

Model case study in manufacturing: Potential for saving approximately783 hours per year

Let's consider a model company in the steel frame manufacturingindustry as an example. We identified the manual tasks related to managementoperations and estimated how much the working time could potentially be reducedthrough digitalization.

The time spent on attendance management and various forms is expectedto decrease from approximately 441 hours per year to approximately 88 hours.The time spent transcribing daily reports, calculating man-hours, and creatinglabor cost sheets is expected to decrease from approximately 300 hours per yearto approximately 30 hours, while the time spent verifying work completed,locating physical items, and creating purchase orders is expected to decreasefrom approximately 200 hours per year to approximately 40 hours.

Adding these together, the work time before digitalization wasapproximately 941 hours per year, and after digitalization it was approximately158 hours. Subtracting this, the estimated reduction is approximately783 hours per year, or about 83%.

If calculated at 7.5 hours per day, this is equivalent to approximately104 days.

However, this is an estimate based on a model company, and the actualreduction effect will vary depending on the size of the company, the nature ofthe work, the current management methods, and the systems implemented. Also,the time saved does not necessarily translate directly into a reduction inlabor costs. It is important to use the freed-up time for higher-value taskssuch as quality improvement and productivity enhancement.

So why is such a large difference possible?

What I want to draw attention to are the processes of"searching," "asking," "rewriting," and"revising."

For example, imagine a factory where an employee has to search for theactual parts or make phone calls to the factory floor to check the progress ofa component. If there was a system where QR codes could be attached to theparts and scanned at each stage of the process to record the progress, it wouldbe much easier to find the necessary information.

Furthermore, linking design data and order data can potentially reducethe amount of work required to repeatedly enter the same quantities andspecifications.

In other words, improving work efficiency isn't just about makingexisting tasks a little faster. Eliminating tasks that don't need to berepeated in the first place can also lead to significant improvements.

Three steps to successfully improve business efficiency

Even if you recognize that manual processes are inefficient, trying tochange everything at once can cause chaos on the factory floor . To proceedsmoothly, it's important to tackle the changes gradually.

Step 1: Digitize daily data entry, such as daily reports and attendancerecords.

The first thing we want to tackle is inputting daily reports,attendance records, and work performance data. By enabling data entry fromsmartphones and computers, instead of managing it on paper or in Excel, we canreduce the burden of collecting and transcribing paper documents.

However, simply changing the input method to digital won't eliminateall waste. The next step is to re-evaluate how the data is being used.

Step 2: Link data and reduce duplicate data entry.

By using the work hours entered in daily reports for effort managementand linking design data to ordering processes, the need to repeatedly enter thesame information is reduced.

If information is centrally managed, you can reduce the time spentsearching for necessary data and comparing multiple files.

When choosing a business system, don't just focus on how many featuresit has; check whether it can integrate with the data you normally use andwhether it fits your workflow.

Step 3: Utilize accumulated data for business decision-making.

As data such as daily reports and man-hours are accumulated, we canmove on to the next stage of improving operational efficiency.

For example, by tracking the working hours and costs for each projectand comparing them to the budget, it becomes easier to notice cost overruns orchanges in profit margins. This information is also useful for managingexecution budgets and planning future orders and production.

However, to begin business analysis, it is essential that the necessarydata is properly recorded and connected. First, organize your daily records,and then gradually expand the scope of its use.

Things to keep in mind to avoid failure in manufacturing DX

When promoting digitalization, it's important to consider not only thefunctionality of the tools but also the perspective of the people who willactually be using them.

First, choose a system that can be easily used on-site.

Next, avoid changing all tasks at once. Start with tasks where theeffects are easy to check, such as entering daily reports, and gradually expandthe scope while listening to feedback from those on the ground. This will helpminimize disruption after implementation.

And don't forget to record the work time before implementation. If youcan't compare the time before and after the improvement, it will be difficultto judge how effective it actually was. Comparing not only the work time butalso the number of input errors and the time spent on verification will makethe results of the improvement clearer.

Checklist for Improving Work Efficiency Starting Today

To review your company's operations, check the following items.

• I wrote down     the manual tasks that occur every day, every week, and every month.
• Check the     time and number of times each task is performed.
• I found a     task where the same information was being entered into multiple documents     and Excel spreadsheets.
• I figured out     the time needed to find the necessary information and to confirm things by     phone.
• We asked the     on-site staff about the most burdensome tasks.
• We estimated     the annual working hours and labor costs.
• We recorded     the figures before the improvement was implemented so that they could be     compared afterward.

You don't need to solve everything at once. Start by simply choosingone task that takes the most time or one you repeat daily.

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