New Year New Objectives? New Year New Actions!!!
January 7, 2009 by david.evanson
Hello and welcome back from your Christmas and New Year Holidays. All the team here at OptimumFX hope that you have had a fantastic break and are back in your factories feeling charged up and invigorated after the break.
On Monday we had our first team meeting of 2009 and one of our favourite topics of conversation came up quite early in the day: “how to convert ideas to improvement”….yes we were initially talking about New Year Resolutions! For me, there’s something quite special about that time between Christmas and New Year that gives me the chance to think a little bit differently about what i want to achieve in the next 12 months. Perhaps you may also have some fresh ideas and objectives as a result of the holiday?
If this is the case, may i ask a question? As we come to the end of the first week in January how are you progressing with your resolutions? How happy are you with your progress?
When we talk about OEE and productivity improvement we often talk to our customers about this formula:
(Information x Focus) x Action = Results
Simply, if you want to achieve great results you need to have the right data to track your progress and identify your issues, the right level of focus and commitment to reviewing performance, and then (and this is the most important part), you have to take action!
So if you’re not happy with your progress perhaps it might be worth asking yourself:
1. What information can i use to track my progress?
- This may be a KPI sheet, or an internal feel of progress, or customer reviews, or feedback from your colleagues, or a move in your financials. How specific and clear is your objective - we’ll talk another time about how to set well defined objectives and i’m sure most of you may have seen the SMART acronym (Specific…and positive, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)
2. What level of focus am i applying to the data?
- Do i want to review this data weekly/Monthly/Quaterly? How am i going to hold myself to account for making the data important, for making it get used? How am i going to follow up on actions?
3. Take action!
- The easiest way to get a 50% improvement in OEE is to improve 50 little things by 1%….yet so many people look for some sort of magic solution that fixes one issue by 50%. Lots of little actions over a year = A MASSIVE CHANGE.
Or you could be one of those people who regularly has some fantastic, inspiring, motivating, dynamic ideas….and then sits on them: Not achieving results, not changing, not committing to action, and not getting what you want.
Performance Management
November 24, 2008 by samirshah
The manufacturing environment is quite complex with a large number of processes involved, combined with teams of individuals, possibly across multiple shifts and different functions. To ensure that the various processes are on track, there are a number of measures applied. These are possibly reviewed at various intervals to ensure that they are on track. If management of these measures is not frequent and ongoing then there will definitely be a steady decline in results.
To effectively manage a manufacturing facility a number of different approaches can be taken. The results achieved will be proportional to three factors, namely:
- Information - that identifies current losses
- Focus - the amount of time spent understanding and formulating decisions
- Actions - that target resolution of the underlying losses
Therefore I.F. you ACT you get RESULTS whereby (Information x Focus) x Actions = Results
Regular performance management reviews (up to 24 hours) need to take place to focus on reacting to what is happening and ensuring that the team and engineers are focusing on the current biggest issues. The strategic reviews, usually weekly, are about targeting continuous and incremental improvements, identifying trends and patterns and tackling root cause and cause of cause issues.
The management of performance is reliant on good quality data to identify the greatest losses and possible solutions. The measures that enable identification of the greatest losses are:
1. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and The Six Big Losses (Breakdowns, Planned downtime, Minor stops, Speed, Quality in process, Quality on start up)
2. Machine downtime - split down by major stops and minor stops, Mean time between failure (MTBF) and individual equipment faults
3. Waste (quality losses) by machine area
This data could be collected manually and put into Excel (or similar), however the ultimate, is to have electronically collected pinpoint accurate data that is available in real time, from each machine. This data can then be analysed and displayed on the shop floor, in team meeting rooms, in fact anywhere in the manufacturing facility. A tool that does this extremely well is the XL800 System.
Decisions and resource planning that lead to action that are based on good quality data will yield results, whereas if based on perception, there is not necessarily a link between action and performance improvement. When this approach is followed habitually, and built into the daily routine combined with utilising quality data and taking action on issues identified, resolving them in a timely way, performance maintenance and improvement is almost guaranteed.
