Futureproofing: Forward Planning
Risks to manufacturing can appear in many forms, from significant economic events, such as COVID-19, Brexit, and the global chip shortage, to localised events, such as unexpected equipment failures or even just the weather.
It's hard to know what's around the corner.
All we can do is have our best educated guess, and in this final issue of our three-part futureproofing series, we discuss that.
Looking forward and scenario planning
Scenario planning is an excellent way of "seeing" the future.
By identifying potential scenarios and mapping their outcomes, scenario planning allows us to devise a contingency plan for each probability. For example, what do you do if:
- a critical drive on your primary production line breaks or;
- the outside temperature is too high for too long or;
- the Suez Canal gets blocked again, and goods are delayed for three months or;
- there's another pandemic or;
- your biggest customer goes out of business?
With an answer to these questions and more scenarios, like the above, dialled into a strategic scenario plan, little is left to chance.
Looking back to improve systems
If you've read James Clear's bestseller, Atomic Habits, you will already know that it's important to have targets, but meeting them comes down to your systems.
Are your systems robust? Do they allow you to meet future demands in challenging scenarios?
Are your systems agile? Do they allow you to quickly revise them in response to sudden equipment failures, economic challenges, and other unexpected events?
At Foxmere, we believe being agile is a superpower and that looking back is crucial when planning ahead. As the philosopher George Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
One of our core futureproofing systems is our quarterly strategy day. These all-day company-wide reviews allow us to analyse the business's strengths and weaknesses to better direct Foxmere by reducing exposure to repeated errors and scaling up successful patterns.
In your business, you may not need a strategy day, and your futureproofing system may be as simple as "maintain a preventative maintenance schedule starting with a list of critical spares".
Whatever it is, start sooner rather than later and don't be afraid to iterate on your ideas.
Staying present and reading the news
Knowledge is power, and technology moves fast, so it pays to keep up-to-date with the latest industry news from authoritative sources.
We recommend The Manufacturer, The Engineer, Zenoot, Drives and Controls and, of course, the Foxmere journal.
With the Foxmere journal, you can keep up to date with the latest developments in automation and manufacturing from around the world. Informative, thought-provoking content is released every week and much of our content is also featured in industry-leading publications such as The Engineer, The Manufacturer and, more recently, the Financial Times.
You can also follow us on X and LinkedIn for more informative content like this and to learn about the latest in automation.
If you would like to know more about how Foxmere could help futureproof your business or if you simply need help with automation parts, call Foxmere today or use our contact page to make an enquiry.
