Overcoming distraction: how Idle Control addresses a common issue

From idle to productive

Are employees idle or not actively participating in the tasks at hand? But don't you remember that downtime can significantly reduce business productivity? Let's look at some causes and examples of employee idleness and learn about the solution to this problem.

About the causes

One of the most common case - distraction. This can happen when there is a lack of clear goals, ineffective leadership, or a negative work environment. In this case, employees may spend their time on non-work-related activities or may not put in their best effort. It is very important to understand that this may happen in any workplace - an employee can idle, often go out to smoke, browse social networks, spend time chatting with co-workers instead of, for example, watching the machine.

Another cause of idle time is when there is a lack of work or when work is not distributed evenly among employees. In this case, some employees may be overloaded with tasks while others have nothing to do. This can lead to burnout, which can result in high employee turnover rates.

Sometimes a breakdown in the assembly line happens. Workers in the affected area will have to stop until the issue is fixed. It is important for the management to have a contingency plan in place to minimize the downtime and keep workers engaged in productive activities while they wait for the maintenance work to be completed.

Any other examples? Here you go. Imagine that one project is completed and there is no new assignment right away. Employees may become demotivated or unengaged. They may lose concentration, and this may lead to a decrease in the quality of their work when they start a new project.

In search of solutions

So, how can businesses minimize the negative impact of idle time on productivity? Eliminating the problem by training employees, evenly distributing work, setting clear goals and objectives for employees, etc. takes a lot of time. As a manager, it's important to be realistic and acknowledge that it's unattainable to expect every employee on the company's payroll to work continuously throughout the workday. Many things are difficult to predict.

Therefore, the best solution is to constantly and accurately monitor employee activity, which means using IP cameras along with the appropriate software. 

Idle Control solution will give clear information about who stopped working, when, and for how long. 

Using Idle Control facilitates the application of lean construction principles, which involve adopting new procedures, detecting problems, and enhancing the company's manufacturing process by means of ongoing improvements.