Experienced factory managers know that one of the biggest costs in any production facility is labor. Leaving out this cost when computing your CPM makes no sense, but it can also be one of your hardest costs to estimate.
While almost everyone knows how to compute production time and divide it by the number of laborers on the product line, it can be much more difficult to compute costs that include maintenance, management, shipping and packing personnel, and change-over crews. Experienced managers know that there are also a number of factors that can affect productivity. Everything from maintenance issues, employee experience, and even holidays can affect the actual production numbers.
Previously, factory managers relied on past experience and rough estimates to compute their labor costs. While this can suffice for product costing, in order to create schedules that keep your people productive and labor costs at a competitive level it's necessary to be as accurate as possible. Advanced scheduling software can help.
These programs are no longer the simple shift trackers that were popular several years ago. They're able to monitor the real-time production of each line in a facility, then tie those numbers to both the items being produced and individual employees. In addition, they can keep track of the maintenance and other support personnel that are assigned to each production ticket. That means you'll be able to compute your exact costs for everything your facility makes. If a particular line, product, and/or employee requires more time or labor, you'll know right away.
By monitoring everything about your employees' production capabilities, you'll be able to make better decisions about your personnel. This software can let you know if a particular employee is faster or better when he or she works on particular production lines, makes certain products, or even works on specific shifts. That means you can tailor your factory and workforce for maximum efficiency. Imagine being able to schedule employees so that they only worked when they were at their peak efficiency. You'll know what lines to assign them to based on hard data that shows where they will produce the most.