To control production costs, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the production costs of the brick factory and keep track of production conditions at all times. To reduce production costs, precise statistics must be maintained for various types of consumption, and a dedicated ledger for cost analysis must be established.

The cost components of sintered brick production generally include: raw material costs, fuel costs, electricity costs, worker wages, equipment maintenance and depreciation, taxes, annual review and handling fees for various certificates, as well as sales expenses, other production consumptions, etc. These costs can be broken down into specific items or summarized in a general way.

The main cost of sintered bricks lies in fuel expenses, Currently, commonly used fuels include coal, coal gangue, fly ash, and other calorific solids. Therefore, depending on regional prices, fuel cost fluctuations vary greatly across different regions, with the fuel value consumed per ten thousand bricks ranging from 500 to over 1,000 yuan. As the main cost of bricks, its control cannot be taken lightly.

Firstly, one should have a precise understanding of the calorific value of the fuel they use. Specialized personnel should be assigned for procurement, and it is essential to keep track of where the coal with the same calorific value in the region is the cheapest. One should not rely solely on the unit price per ton, but should instead convert the value based on the unit calorific value. For example, if coal with a calorific value of 3000 kcal costs 300 yuan per ton and coal with a calorific value of 3500 kcal costs 320 yuan per ton, then the preferred choice should be the coal with a calorific value of 3500 kcal. However, if the raw materials (such as shale and clay) are expensive to purchase, the error in mixing ratio must also be taken into account. When purchasing fuel, it is important to pay attention to whether the calorific value is accurate, whether the weight is sufficient, and the moisture content. As the saying goes, "no business without cunning", coal merchants often come up with various tricks on these issues, making it difficult to guard against. Nowadays, the brick industry is not doing well, so one has to be careful and meticulous in their calculations!

The proportion of internal combustion brick is a key aspect of brick factory management, This step can directly determine the survival of a brick factory. The internal combustion mixture must reach a level capable of spontaneous combustion. Theoretically, for every one yuan worth of internal combustion (in the process of one-time firing of wet bricks), three yuan worth of external combustion is required to ensure the bricks achieve basic sintering quality. However, practice has proven that a 1:3 ratio is far from sufficient, and it can also lead to quality defects, affecting market reputation. Therefore, once the internal combustion mixture is tested to be reasonable (without adding external combustion or under-firing), it must be established as a system to ensure stable brick quality and reduce fuel costs.

Increasing production is the primary way to reduce costs. A significant portion of the daily expenses of a brick factory consists of fixed costs, such as fixed salaries, electricity bills for kiln fans, monthly amortization of certificate fees, as well as fixed expenses incurred based on various characteristics. These expenses do not increase with higher production. Moreover, the total amount of these expenses cannot be overlooked.

Electricity consumption is also an important part of the cost of brick factories. To reduce electricity consumption, besides having a conservation awareness, the most crucial thing is to increase the output per unit time. For production equipment with a fixed power, the electricity cost for producing 10,000 bricks in an hour is basically the same as that for producing 15,000 bricks. Producing an additional 5,000 standard bricks can save more than 30% of the electricity cost. To increase the hourly output, it is necessary to ensure that the clay strips are extruded continuously without causing the motor to run idle (this actually reduces mechanical failures, as frequent disengagement is a common problem leading to mechanical failures). At the same time, this can be achieved by appropriately increasing the variable speed.

Controlling the number of scrap products is an important method to achieve cost reduction.To reduce the scrap rate, efforts should first be made in the molding of brick bodies, including the grading of raw materials, molding moisture content, molding hardness, etc., to minimize internal damage to the brick bodies and create conditions for successful drying and firing.

We should make the best use of labor resources, and avoid situations where there are idle personnel or where the work intensity does not match the value created.

We should strive to minimize maintenance costs. Machinery should undergo regular inspection and maintenance to prevent minor issues from escalating into major mechanical failures. When problems arise, it is essential to identify the root cause. Blindly repairing without identifying the cause will only result in the problem recurring, causing significant maintenance losses.