The simple equation is Production Rate x Availability x Quality. But the real answer is self-consciousness.
No, not about your new haircut, but about the way your facility really operates. Before you can improve your facility’s efficiency, first you have to be conscious of its inner workings from a comprehensive, measurable perspective. You can’t effectively improve until you know what isn’t working the way it should.
OEE provides that data, represented coherently when paired with an appropriate HMI format. It can be used to form useful analysis for purposes as simple as measuring machine performance in a day’s shift, or as complex as measuring how one plant’s output compares to another. The extent of the self-consciousness you need depends on your goals.
Let’s look at the equation: Production Rate x Availability x Quality.
Availability = Operating Time / Planned Production Time
Performance = Ideal Cycle Time / (Operating Time / Total Pieces)
Quality = Good Pieces / Total Pieces
These metrics make it possible for manufacturers to examine their operations and root out inefficiencies. Integrating OEE into your facility isn’t just the question of investing in the right equipment, however. It’s also a mindset. OEE measurements are only as effective as the effort put into translating data to action.
That means integrating OEE into the company’s core methodology—making data collection and assessment a reflexive habit. Upper management should commit to not only investing in OEE at face value, but fostering a corporate culture that values being proactive. Employees should be encouraged to look for problems to solve and given the time and resources to address issues, not left to scramble for damage control after the fact.
OEE is a valuable tool for productive self-consciousness, not a substitute. If you’re ready to fold OEE into the way your facility operates, choose an OEE application that will make it easy to automate data collection for frequent analysis.