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OEE Productivity

OEE measures the efficiency of a production line or that of a whole manufacturing set up. OEE makes a worthwhile improvement towards the productivity of a manufacturing unit. Use of software systems invariably changes the OEE score by up to 20% in as little as the first year. It has been shown that improving the Overall Equipment Effectiveness of only one percent produces a much larger change in the production throughput and resultant decrease in the unit cost of the manufactured product.

The Overall Equipment Effectiveness score is derived from three elements: Availability (A), Performance (P) and Quality (Q).

Availability is the % of uptime of each manufacturing or plant asset
Performance is the % throughput against a target
Quality is the % of waste.

The OEE score is calculated by multiplying these three elements together.

Producitivity through Overall Equipment Effectiveness in Practical Usage

OEE is valuable as a key performance indicator for directors of manufacturing. At a high level OEE looks relatively simple, it can be {extremely, highly} complicated to calculate in in a working factory. Hence, special OEE software are required to record the data from each part of the plant and make the OEE calculation quickly. It is important these systems are of a modular structure to give it maximum flexibility and allow it to fit with existing plant and data capture facilities and ERP system.

Once the data has been capture and processed, it is only of benefit if it can be converted into reports that are accurate. OEE software from the top suppliers provides a range of reports that can be configured and analyzed to enable the user to find what he is focused on.

OEE has established itself as the foundation of lean manufacturing. By incremental improvements a manufacturing plant can save fuel, improve efficiency and decrease departmental silo-mentality as well as manage risk. All aspects of manufacturing must be aware of the theory and practical implementation of Overall Equipment Effectiveness and how it fits into the lean manufacturing principles as a vital force for productivity profitable manufacturing.