Engineers Spend More Than Half Their Time on Low-Value Activity
(Features, 16 Jul 2007 )
More than 50 percent of engineers at build-to-order and engineer-to-order manufacturers spend their time on activities that add no real value to the customer. This is according to a research report recently released by software maker Cincom Systems.
"Best Practices: Mass Customization and Build-to-Order Manufacturing" discusses the findings of the industry's first report—from an engineering perspective—on the state of mass customization and build-to-order practices.
"Engineering is uniquely positioned to optimize the fit between a customer's needs and manufacturing," said Jim Wilson, Cincom Program Director and author of the report. "Unfortunately, much of the time spent is low-value activity."
While engineers spend most of their time (32 percent) creating new product drawings for customers, the week is often consumed by numerous administrative tasks. Such low-customer-value activities include creating bills of materials (14 percent), change orders (13 percent), product selection and configuration (10 percent), manufacturing changes in line (5 percent), cost estimates (4 percent), pricing orders (4 percent) and post-order revisions (4 percent).
Sales support activities such as general sales consultation and post-sales support of installation only consume five percent of engineers' time.
"Engineering is uniquely positioned to optimize the fit between a customer's needs and manufacturing," said Wilson. "As such, engineering management would benefit from reducing the amount of low-value tactical support activity but increasing engineering's influence on sales processes and solutions that are proposed to customers."
Cincom Systems targeted the survey at senior engineering managers at 900 manufacturers of complex industrial, electrical and transportation equipment and systems between January and February 2007.
