In manufacturing, one KPI rules them all: on-time delivery.
But behind every missed deadline lies a web of hidden downtime, inaccurate data, and misunderstood performance. Too often, managers are left explaining late orders without the facts to back them up — because by the time they look into the issue, the trail has gone cold.
We recently sat down with our sales and customer success teams and asked them what problems they hear manufacturers face before using FourJaw's production monitoring system. Six recurring pain points stood out. These insights reveal not just where productivity is lost — but how to win it back.
01. The On-time delivery dilemma: When the trail goes cold
For most factories, on-time delivery is the top performance measure. Yet many still find themselves reacting to late orders rather than preventing them. Manual downtime logs are unreliable. Operators forget stoppage details from previous shifts. Root causes are lost, and improvement meetings turn into guesswork.
The result: recurring delays, capacity constraints, production backlogs, frustrated managers, and customers left waiting in despair.
How production monitoring helps:
With fourjaw’s production monitoring system, machine utilisation and downtime are automatically recorded in real time. Every stoppage is timestamped, labelled, and visible to your entire team. Managers can trace the exact cause of a late order within seconds.
Example: Birmingham-based Armac Martin manufactures luxury brass cabinet fixtures and fittings for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms and is favoured by architects, interior designers, property developers and customers the world over.
They implemented FourJaw in their factory as the management team felt the business had more production capacity and demand was outstripping supply, causing production backlogs but had no quantifiable measure of where that capacity was.
"14% uplift in machine utilisation, resulting in a 65% increase in parts capacity."
02. But 'we're busy' effect. When activity masks inefficiency
Walk through a busy factory, and it’s easy to assume high activity equals high productivity. Machines are running, operators are moving — it all looks efficient. But appearances can deceive.
In reality, most factories operate far below their perceived utilisation. FourJaw data shows that while many estimate 60–70% utilisation, the true figure is often closer to 28%. That gap costs thousands in labour, energy and overheads every week.
How production monitoring helps:
FourJaw’s real-time dashboards reveal actual utilisation across all machines — showing exactly how much time is spent running, idle, or stopped. This data gives managers the clarity to focus improvement efforts where they matter most.
03. Fixing the squeaky wheel: Why guesswork derails improvement
Without clean, accurate production data, human bias drives decision-making. Managers end up fixing the loudest problem — not the biggest one. This “squeaky wheel” approach means valuable engineering resources are spent solving minor issues while hidden, costly problems persist.
How production monitoring helps:
FourJaw provides objective clarity. Its downtime analytics and Pareto charts show the top reasons for lost productivity, ranked by total hours. Instead of reacting to noise, teams can target the true bottlenecks impacting throughput.
Example: AVPE Systems, a leading aerospace component manufacturer, had a surge in demand for its products and turned to FourJaw's machine monitoring technology to boost its productivity.
They found that they were focussing their efforts on fixing the most 'irritating' things, rather than the important issues that actualy affected productivity. As their head of operations put it:
"We used to focus on fixing the most irritating things rather than the issues that are now proven to have caused the most downtime and lost productivity. In some areas, even without additional resources, we've seen a 10 to 15 per cent increase in productivity by addressing the true causes of downtime with FourJaw.”
04. The Omnipotence blind spot: What actually happens when you're not here
Many managers believe they have a firm handle on performance — until they go home. Night shifts, weekend runs, and overtime often operate in the dark, with no real data on what’s happening or whether the output justifies the cost.
The risk: approving overtime and labour costs based on assumptions, not facts.
How production monitoring helps:
FourJaw gives 24/7 visibility. Managers can view live performance data from any device, comparing shift performance, identifying bottlenecks, and verifying ROI on overtime. It turns unseen hours into measurable performance.
Example: Westley Plastics is the UK’s leading manufacturer of cast nylon and plastic components, with over 50 years of experience in delivering engineering plastics for heavy industrial applications in the construction, defence, automotive, rail and steel sectors.
The company operates 24 hours a day, but it wasn’t evident whether machine utilisation and productivity were consistent throughout any 24-hour period. It was agreed that greater visibility of the shop floor through machine monitoring would enable them to identify capacity and cycle times and help to focus the workforce on the processes that required and benefited most from their skills.
The data insights from FourJaw enabled them to identify where processes during lights out were taking longer due to training and skill shortages. The data enabled the company to improve cycle times by 50% by removing unnecessary steps in on-job operations.
05. The £500k machine investment. That actually wasn't needed
When demand spikes and capacity feels tight, the instinctive response is to buy another machine. But new equipment can cost £300k–£500k+, and often, it isn’t needed at all.
Hidden inefficiencies and idle time mean many factories already have the capacity they need — it’s just invisible.
How production monitoring helps:
FourJaw uncovers the “hidden factory” within your existing assets. By analysing true utilisation, it identifies underused machines and the root causes of downtime. Manufacturers can meet demand with existing resources, saving major capital expense.
Example: Listers is one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of windows and doors, producing more than 3,000 windows every week. Since implementing FourJaw, Listers has achieved measurable operational improvements, including an average uplift of 10% utilisation across its machines, equating to them being able to produce more than 250 additional windows per week, using the existing machines.
06. Continuous Improvement without data is just guesswork.
Lean, Kaizen, 5S and Six Sigma all rely on one thing: Data. (the clean and accurate type).
Without accurate measurements, continuous improvement becomes “Continuous Improvement Theatre” — meetings, whiteboards and good intentions with little real impact.
How production monitoring helps:
FourJaw provides CI teams with the facts they need to make improvements measurable. By benchmarking current performance, tracking downtime trends, and visualising results, manufacturers can prove the value of each project.
Example: In the article "Driving Process Improvement through Digitalisation & Lean Six Sigma" we focus on a use case where a Continuous Improvement Manager within the fabrication department identified a major barrier to progress — a lack of reliable, consistent data to support time and cost-based decisions.
Although the team was committed to Lean and Six Sigma principles, they lacked visibility into true machine utilisation, downtime causes, and energy consumption patterns.
By introducing FourJaw’s plug-and-play machine monitoring system across their CNC machines, the department gained real-time and historical insight into every shift’s performance. This data became the foundation for a structured Lean Six Sigma project, driving measurable improvements in operational efficiency and providing clear ROI evidence for their digital transformation investment.
The common thread. Visibility and clarity drive control
Every challenge — from missed deliveries to unnecessary capital spend — stems from one root cause: lack of visibility.
FourJaw’s production monitoring software connects to any machine, regardless of make or age, to automatically capture utilisation, downtime, and performance data. The platform then transforms that data into clear, actionable insights for everyone — from operators on the shop floor to leadership in the boardroom.
The results:
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Higher productivity and throughput
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Fewer late orders/reduced backlog
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Smarter maintenance and investment decisions
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Lower energy waste
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A stronger continuous improvement culture
With FourJaw, you can see your true performance in real time. You can identify where capacity is lost, prove ROI on improvement projects, and unlock the hidden potential within your existing factory.
