Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a metric used to measure the effectiveness of manufacturing processes or individual equipment. It considers three factors: Availability (actual production time vs. planned); Performance (equipment performance vs. maximum potential); and Quality (production rate of “good count” products).
The OEE is calculated by multiplying scores of these three factors, resulting in a percentage value that indicates the equipment’s or process’s overall effectiveness.
It is widely used in manufacturing industries to identify areas for optimization, track improvements, and benchmark different equipment and production lines. With Industry 4.0, IoT devices provide real-time data to gauge and improve OEE.
By optimizing equipment utilization, reducing downtime, and minimizing quality issues, sign shops can achieve higher production rates and output, improve overall efficiency, reduce costs, and produce exceptional products that meet or exceed customer expectations.
Various terms related to OEE are commonly used in discussions and analyses of equipment and manufacturing performance.
Understanding these terms and their relationship to OEE can aid organizations in identifying and addressing areas of improvement to enhance equipment efficiency, throughput, and overall manufacturing performance.
Planned production time refers to the total time allotted, excluding any scheduled downtime for planned maintenance or changeovers.
Production losses—the six significant losses impacting OEE include equipment breakdowns, setup and adjustment time, equipment idling time, minor stoppages, reduced speed or rate process defects in startup, and yield losses.
Downtime is when equipment is unavailable for production due to unforeseen factors such as breakdowns, unplanned maintenance, and other unexpected events—the opposite of uptime.
Small stop refers to a brief pause in production that’s too short to be tracked as downtime.
Bottleneck is a point in the production process where the flow of materials or operations is constrained, causing a slower overall production rate. Bottlenecks limit the maximum output of the entire system.
Runtime is the time equipment is actively producing, calculated by subtracting downtime from the planned production time.
Changeover time refers to the duration required to switch from producing one product to another. It includes tasks like cleaning, reconfiguration adjustments, setup, and warmup.
The ideal cycle time is the theoretically fastest possible time to manufacture one piece.
Slow cycle is a cycle that takes longer than the ideal cycle time but less than a slight stop.
Takt time is the available production time divided by the customer demand. It represents the maximum time allowed per unit to meet customer demand.
John Hackley has more than thirty-five years of experience in build-to-order sign manufacturing. He currently owns and works as a consultant for Oculus Business Solutions. John also advises on lean production and Industry 4.0 strategies that can help your business grow and become more profitable.
