SHIFT e Learning ( a platform that offers exclusive digital services) visual tools as powerful learning resources. Other studies have also found that visual learning is more impactful and stays for extended periods.
Flowcharts for manufacturing processes are visual aids that are excellent tools for breaking down complex processes into simple, clear, and visually comprehensive steps. Made with standard symbols like oval, rectangle, and parallelogram, these flowcharts dedicatedly represent crucial points, start and end, where to create decision points, etc.
The arrows within the flowcharts illustrate the flow of the process and interconnect different steps.
Flowcharts, however, are more than just visually represented steps in a process. To help you know more about them, here’s a comprehensive guide. So, let’s dig in.
What is a Manufacturing Flowchart?
The graphical representation of various processes within a manufacturing unit is known as a manufacturing flowchart or flow diagram. These drawings serve the primary purpose of communicating the process steps clearly. From raw materials to finished products, the flowcharts allow visualization of the entire process comprehensively.
Using various symbols, a flowchart translates each step by representing it in a specific shape. All the steps are connected with arrows. Also, the arrows represent the process flow, which is often from top to bottom or right to left. However, the above-mentioned points are just a superficial explanation.
Besides just visual representation, flowcharts also explain how different stages interconnect, where decisions need to be made, followed by actions made after taking decisions. One of its most significant aspects is highlighting the bottlenecks and identifying margins for process optimization.
Symbols in a Manufacturing Process Flowchart
Symbols are the building components of a flowchart. Each symbol represents a specific stage or action within the process and is accordingly used. There’s no concept of randomly picking symbols.
The standard symbols used in manufacturing process flowcharts are as follows:
- The oval is used to represent the start and end of a process.
- The rectangle symbolizes actions or tasks in a process.
- Diamond represents decision points where questions are asked, and then the following diverges according to the response to the question.
- Arrows are used for directions and sequencing of the step flow.
- Parallelogram represents input or output within the process.
When to Use Manufacturing Flowcharts?
The ordinary or simple-looking flowcharts have great potential. They can be used in various situations, which are listed below.
Understanding the Process
Since flowcharts focus more on simplification and clarity, their best use can be seen when the processes are too complex to understand. A better way to gain a comprehensive understanding is to create a flowchart for convenience and quick understanding.
Process Improvement
Flowcharts are a great tool to identify redundancies, problems, and bottlenecks, which are followed by solutions, and hence the processes improve. So whenever businesses feel the need to streamline processes, they must create flowcharts after identifying the problems.
Compliance and Documentation
Quick compliance is possible with flowcharts, which outline and help the team members visualize the process, steps, and flow. While working together, every team member ensures the identification of problems and bottlenecks and suggests solutions to overcome these.
Moreover, a flowchart is also an excellent tool that facilitates documentation by simplifying procedures. Such steps help the auditors to understand the processes thoroughly, saving considerable time.
Training & Onboarding
Imagine addressing trainees with nothing but only words. This can create a confusing situation. On the contrary, if the same procedures and standards are taught to them with flowcharts, where every step and rule is simplified, training and onboarding become buttery smooth.
Why Manufacturing Process Flowcharts?
A manufacturing flow chart used in explaining a production process yields numerous benefits:
- The simple and clear structure of the flowchart facilitates easy understanding. Visual representation makes complex processes more accessible for everyone to understand in a team.
- Flowcharts also enhance communication between various departments within the manufacturing setup.
- Prompt identification of issues and solutions can be efficiently done by creating flowcharts.
- Once the areas with issues are highlighted, teams can suggest better solutions, which leads to process optimization.
Tools for Creating Manufacturing Flow Charts
| Microsoft Vision | A top-notch diagramming tool that features a great variety of shapes and templates for creating manufacturing flow charts. |
| Lucidchart | Another online diagramming tool with a wide range of templates and customization options. It also allows easy collaboration. |
| SmartDraw | An easy-to-use diagramming tool with templates and symbols exclusively designed for manufacturing processes. |
| MyMap.AI | An AI-powered flowchart-making tool that generates diagrams after the input (process steps) is given. |
| Taskade | An AI manufacturing process flowchart maker that breaks down and simplifies complex processes into easy and simple visuals. |
Making Manufacturing Process Flowcharts: Tips You Should Never Ignore
Understand Your Process Clearly
- Make sure you fully understand the entire process before you start the flowchart making.
- It’s a great way to map out the entire process.
- Get to know the inputs, outputs, steps, and decisions for a thorough understanding of the manufacturing process.
Keep It Simple
- Keeping it simple is the key to clear diagrams.
- Don’t add too many details to avoid confusion and keep the flowchart clutter-free.
- Focus on the key steps and keep it straightforward
Use Common Symbols
- Better use standard symbols to make it easier for others to understand and include a legend for your diagram.
- Ovals indicate the beginning and end points.
- Rectangles represent actions or tasks.
- Diamonds are used for decisions.
- Arrows show the direction of the process flow.
Use Color Wisely
Use different colors to show various stages or categories, as color coding makes it easier to understand various transitions.
Keep the Flow Logical
- Ensure your flowcharts move smoothly from start to end.
- Conventionally, the flowcharts either flow from right to left or top to bottom, so it is better to follow this flow.
Test Your Flow Chart
- Once you’re done, recheck each step to make sure everything makes sense.
- This step is too important to find and fix mistakes or illogical parts.
Get Feedback
- Getting feedback from team members about your process flowchart is always helpful.
- They might spot areas for improvement, correct the process flow or add something insightful.
Update Regularly
Don’t just stick to the one-fits-all kind of flowcharts. Try to update your approach according to the evolving trends.
How To Make a Manufacturing Process Flowchart Using SmartDraw
The making of manufacturing process flowcharts using various tools is more or less the same. Below are the steps for making a process flowchart using SmartDraw.
- Launch SmartDraw on your computer.
- Log in with your SMartDraw credentials.
- Next, go to the “Flowchart” category.
- Choose a template that fits your manufacturing process.
- Now add process steps by dragging shapes from the left sidebar onto your canvas.
- Click on each step to add text labels. It represents each step in the manufacturing process.
- Next, connect shapes to indicate the flow of the process. It is done by using arrows.
- Click on a shape and drag an arrow to the next step.
- Make sure all arrows point in the right direction to show the sequence of operations clearly.
- SmartDraw allows for extensive customization. Use its various tools to align, distribute, and resize shapes.
- Change the color, fonts, and line styles, in case if required.
- You can also add text boxes or notes to provide extra information for specific steps.
- For more details, you can incorporate symbols such as equipment icons, storage symbols, or hazard signs.
- Now that you’re done, you should save your work.
- Click on the file menu and select “Save As.” Choose a file format, and save.
- You can finally share the manufacturing process flowchart with your team. SmartDraw allows you to generate a shareable link, too.
Conclusion
Businesses can achieve long-term success by aligning their processes. A manufacturing flowchart is one such tool that helps companies to streamline their processes by simplifying them. It is done by segmenting complex processes into simple steps, which are represented using various symbols, each dictating a particular step or point.
And their benefits are significant! Flowcharts make the understanding of complex processes easy, initiate improvements, make training and onboarding easy, and a lot more.
There are several tools for creating flowcharts, so get them now and make the tasks more accessible for your teams.
Reference:
https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/350326/studies-confirm-the-power-of-visuals-in-elearning
