It’s no secret that manufacturers today are concerned with improving the overall efficiency of their processes. But many companies still rely on outdated metrics and outdated tools to measure these improvements. They are missing out on valuable insights that could help them make better decisions about how to increase productivity and save money in their company.
Fortunately, there’s a better way: OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) data can provide real-time information about how your manufacturing line is performing. It provides data on each step in the manufacturing process, from start to finish (or from raw material to finished product). This allows you to understand exactly where problems arise along the way – which makes it easier for you to fix those problems before they become more serious issues!
What is OEE?
OEE stands for overall equipment effectiveness. It’s a measurement of how efficiently a company is using its assets, and it can be used to measure the efficiency of any asset in your manufacturing process, from equipment to people.
The basic idea behind OEE is that there are three main categories that affect how well something works: availability (A), performance (P) and quality (Q). Availability refers to how often the machine or person being measured is available for use; performance describes how well they accomplish their task when they’re being used; quality measures whether or not they complete their work without errors or defects.
How to Use OEE Data to Improve Manufacturing Processes
You can use OEE data to improve manufacturing processes.
OEE is a measurement of how effectively you are using your equipment and workforce, so it’s a good way to gauge the health of your business. In fact, some studies have shown that companies with high OEE scores are more profitable than those with low ones! The three most important metrics for improving productivity and efficiency are uptime (or availability), quality, and cost per unit produced.
To measure OEE correctly at your company:
- Determine what makes up each part of an operation’s cycle time; this will vary depending on what kind of product or service is being produced by each individual step in the process flowchart diagramming technique introduced earlier in this chapter.
- Measure each step’s cycle time using a stopwatch or other timekeeping device. Make sure to include both the time it takes to complete that task as well as any wait times between steps.
OEE Is the Most Important Metric for Improving Productivity and Efficiency
OEE is a measure of how much time a machine is down, how much time is spent waiting for parts or materials, and how much time is spent idle. It helps you understand how well your machines are working and where you can improve.
If you want to use OEE data to make improvements in your manufacturing process, there are two important things to keep in mind:
- The first thing is that if something goes wrong with one aspect of your operation (for example, if there’s a bottleneck), then all three parts of OEE will suffer as a result. This means that improving one part won’t necessarily help other parts become more efficient; instead it could lead them down an even worse path than before! If this happens then we say there’s an “OEE death spiral” happening which means that no matter what changes they make they’ll never get anywhere because every change just makes things worse. To avoid falling into this trap companies need proper planning at every step along their journey towards improving efficiency through better use of resources (people included).
- The second thing involves understanding exactly what each metric represents so they know exactly where improvements should be made–and this requires careful analysis based upon historical data gathered over time.
Tracking OEE Provides Real-Time Insight into Current Operations
OEE is a great way to track the efficiency of your manufacturing processes, as it provides real-time insight into current operations. It helps you identify problems and make changes to improve the efficiency of your process.
OEE data is also useful for measuring performance against goals, identifying underperforming machines and operators, improving productivity and scheduling maintenance activities more effectively.
Calculating OEE Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated – 3 Easy Steps to Measure OEE for Your Company
The three steps to calculating OEE are:
- Calculate the efficiency of your process, which is how many units you produced per hour or day, divided by the total number of hours/days it took to produce them (Efficiency = Units Produced / Time Spent)
- Calculate availability by dividing total downtime by the total time available for production (Availability = Total Downtime / Total Time Available For Production)
- Finally, calculate performance by measuring how much time was actually spent making products versus waiting in line at the factory cafeteria (Performance = Productive Output / Potential Productive Output).
Use OEE Software
OEE software can help you to identify and eliminate waste, bottlenecks and other process issues. It can also be used to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Waste is any activity that does not add value to your end product or service. Examples of waste include: idle time, overproduction, defects and unnecessary steps in the manufacturing process (e.g., waiting on parts).
- Bottlenecks occur when there isn’t enough capacity to meet customer demand because resources are being used efficiently or not enough people are available at one time point in a production line (e.g., there aren’t enough machines or workers). This leads to delays in getting orders out the door; thus creating a bottleneck for future orders as well!
Using Data From Tools like OEE Can Help You Improve Your Manufacturing Processes
OEE data is useful for more than just monitoring your manufacturing process. It can also help you improve your business, customer experience and employee satisfaction.
- Improve Your Business: By using OEE data, you’ll have a better idea of which processes are the most efficient at producing products that meet customer needs. This will allow you to make changes in these areas so that they’re even more effective. For example, if one area consistently has low efficiency ratings (i.e., it takes too long or costs too much money), then maybe it would be worth exploring other options or investing in new technology that could improve efficiency without adding too much cost or time spent doing the same thing over again by hand instead of using machines like robots do today!
- Improve Customer Experience: If we look back at our example above where someone wanted blue jeans but ended up getting black ones instead because there weren’t any available at all times during rush hour traffic…this wouldn’t happen if everyone was working together under optimal conditions where everyone knew what their roles were supposed to be when given certain tasks.”
Conclusion
OEE is a great way to measure your manufacturing processes and track how well they’re working. It can be used in conjunction with other metrics like cycle time, which measures how long it takes for each product or part to go through the assembly line. By using OEE data alongside other metrics, you can get a better picture of what might need improvement in your operations department so that all areas run smoothly together.
