Measuring OEE on a continuous flow line
November 13, 2008 by david.evanson
Something that’s often missed ouf from the standard OEE definition results in one of the questions that frequently comes up when we’re talking to new sites about OEE measurement: “Which machine do I measure my OEE from?”.
Firstly, let’s explore the real value of knowing your OEE: A lot of sites measure what they produce, very few sites know how to use this data to make more. OEE is a great example of this because It’s not how you measure the OEE figure that matters, it’s how you measure your OEE losses that makes the real difference.
The most typical way that most sites measure their output is through cases produced at the end of the line (typically a palletiser). This is by far the most common form of OEE measurement that we come across. Whilst this gives you a good idea of what you’ve made it won’t help you to identify what you’ve lost - which is what OEE is really all about.
The real ‘meat’ of your OEE calculation isn’t the % OEE number - that just tells you what you’ve made, it won’t help you identify what you need to fix/improve to get that number up.
What you really want to be measuring are your losses to OEE:
- 3 Loss: Quality, Performance, Availability
- 6 Loss: Breakdowns, Minor Stops, Speed Loss, Planned Downtime, Quality loss in running, Quality loss on startup.
With this information you have the capability to start CI plans to improve performance. It’s nice to know your OEE….it’s ESSENTIAL to know your losses.
So here’s a question for you to consider: At what point in your manufacturing process is it important to know either the 3 or 6 Losses to OEE?
In my next blog I’m going to explore the “Theory of Constraints” by Goldratt and Cox (see the Amazon link below), and how you need to apply this theory to get an OEE and Loss number that will help you improve.
Here are a couple of web-links that may help you to explore that question:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0566086654
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goal_(novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Constraints
Learning Resource
October 23, 2008 by admin
Welcome to our brand new OEE and improvement library.
The objective for this part of our website is to introduce the ways in which you can improve your OEE through either manual data collection or through an automated system such as LineView or XL to get really great results.
In this area we will be posting a range of materials designed so that you can download them and use them straight away with your teams. If we don’t have something you’re interested in, then let us know - the odds are very good that we have something developed already.
Areas that you might find useful:
- What is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
- How you can use data to drive down your losses
- How to create a sustainable improvement programme
- What are the essential reviews required to improve your performance
- Becoming an OEE fitness instructor
- A recent article in Works Management on Manufacturing Measurement featuring OptimumFX’s Adrian Pask
- How to improve performance by up to 10%
- How to use OEE to sign off new equipment
To get you started, the window below contains an overview of OEE and the 6 Losses. Please feel free to download this and use it with your teams:
