Human beings are visual learners – they always have been, and they always will be.
According to one recent study, people retained only 10 to 20% of the information they were exposed to if it was written or spoken after just three days. But if that information was presented to them visually – say, in the form of something like an Infographic or manufacturing dashboard – that number jumped up to 65%.
Not only that, but another study indicated that text paired with relevant visuals was 9% more effective than text alone when a test was conducted for immediate comprehension. If you delay the test to give people more time to digest the data they’re being presented with, that number climbs to a massive 83%.
That, in essence, is why custom manufacturing dashboards are so important. People want to be able to do the best they can on a shop floor, and they need important performance metrics and other data to do it. But when that insight is presented in a plain way as text (or worse, as a convoluted spreadsheet), they simply become disengaged with what they’re seeing.
But when you put those same metrics front and center in an intuitive and visual way thanks to a custom manufacturing dashboard, people have exactly what they need to succeed and thrive. This is true for a number of different reasons, all of which are more than worth exploring.
The Power of Custom Manufacturing Dashboards
While leaders in every industry are obviously very focused on creating environments where continuous improvement is supported, it’s equally important to acknowledge that no two industries are created equally.
In the metal industry, for example, they have a very precise set of metrics that they care about. Those are very different from what is emphasized in the food industry. Oftentimes, preferences even come down to a matter of company culture – which is why “stock” manufacturing dashboards just aren’t good enough any longer.
Not only do you need a way to visualize important performance metrics and other information as outlined above, but you also need a chance to put the insight that matters to YOU front and center.
You need a way to show individual operators how they’re doing not just on a quarterly basis, but on a day-to-day basis. You need to give them a simple, visual way to see that the hard work they’re putting into their job is paying off. You need to empower them by showing them that what they’re doing truly matters – and a custom manufacturing dashboard is absolutely how you do it.
In the end, the people on your shop floor may all be performing different jobs – but they’re still all part of the same team. When you’re on a manufacturing line, you need to be able to treat people like they’re equal contributors working towards something far more important together than any one of them could on their own.
That’s why you need to focus less on “more data all the time” and more on getting the right data in front of the right sets of eyes at exactly the right moment of the day.
Custom manufacturing dashboards are how you do it, and they also allow you to leverage the full power of visual learning to your advantage.
If you’d like to find out more information about why custom manufacturing dashboards are critical to your organization’s long-term success, or if you just have any additional questions that you’d like to discuss with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t delay – contact Thrive today.
