Choosing an OEE system
April 30, 2009 by david.evanson
I’ve recently been following the Elsmar.com Forum for manufacturing improvement and there’s a post on there asking what to consider for an OEE data capture system. Having spent some time responding i’ve decided to be lean and use the same content on my blog! Let me know what you think!
Oh a quick thought (i’m writing this after finishing everything else!) - here’s an idea of what an OEE system should be: “A good data capture system is simply a robust resource allocation tool”. Whatever you do it should lead directly to people doing something differently as a result of using the data. Now you can probably ignore everything else i’ve written below…and feel free to read on!
If i may offer some advice it would be in the following areas:
1. Identify where the constraint is in your process
2. Identify the measure that not only tells you the extent of the constraint, but what the contributing factors to loss are
3. Understand the metric, automate it and train people thoroughly. Get their buy in and support.
4. Establish a robust management review methodology based on the metric - hence the need for automation; an automated process frees up your management team to fix the losses not spend all their time calculating them.
1. Identify the constraint:
If i may offer some advice it would be to help identify what your objective for recording the data might be. Whatever you choose to record i would recommend that it measures the constraint in your manufacturing process. If your constraint is a mechanical one - i.e. to produce more produce you just need to run a machine more/get less stops then OEE is a great measure for you. If however, your constraint is relieved by hiring more people, or more generally your constraint is labour based then i would steer you towards more of a man hour / tonne type metric. By the way an XL800 System can measure both very easily - how would you like a real time £/tonne measure displayed on the factory floor?
2. The correct measure:
The value to OEE is not that you get an OEE number. You’ve made what you’ve made - there’s little point in reviewing it. I visit so many sites that can tell me their OEE but can’t tell me where their losses are. The value to measuring OEE is in the categorisation of loss. If you know the loss you can apply the right tool to fix.
E.g. for OEE:
3 Loss: Quality, Performance, Availability
6 Loss: Speed, minor stops, major stops, quality in process, quality on startup, planned downtime.
If you have a planned downtime loss apply smed techniques. If you have a minor stop loss apply kaizan blitz techniques. The value is not the OEE number - it’s the collection and categorisation of the loss that counts!
3. Understand and train:
There are 2 main schools of thought on the collection of OEE data. One is the manual school that says it’s better for operators to collect so that they understand and you get the ‘real losses’. The other is the automated school that says it’s better to get the correct data and then work out the real losses later.
An automated system only ever tells you symptoms for your downtime - its diagnostics are only so good as the signals you give it. That said, how often has an operator identified the real root cause for a stop - 9.9 times out of 10 they’ll note down a symptom.
My personal belief is that it’s better to use an automated system that captures your losses accurately…and then use management process and review to drill down. Manual data systems like the ones you’ve listed take a lot of work to maintain and i have yet to find one that’s accurate to >60% simply due to the nature of human data capture.
Therefore i sit firmly in the second school and am capable of installing a system that correctly identifies loss on canning/bottling/packing lines running at >30,000units/hour to accuracies of over 98%.
The message here is again back to objectives - what do you want to achieve. Whichever root you choose involve your teams. I remember installing a system in a bottling plant in which the operator came up to me and said “this is crap, all crap. I’ll show you - i’ll find all the problems with your system”. It was brilliant! He was the best snagger i’ve ever met. I just took all his feedback and fixed it all. After a month he had to admit the system was good because he’d commissioned it for me! Now stop him from training everyone else on ‘his system’!
4. Robust process:
A system is ONLY so good as how it’s used. You could spend £10 or £180,000 on a system. If you don’t use it you’ll get the same result and the same payback.
We often support people to establish robust internal processes for using the data, documenting the actions that arise from interrogating the data, and then a management review process for driving change. Typically this looks as follows:
1. 24hr daily reviews - looking at 24hr data. Objective is to identify what actions are still open, see if we have any reoccurring issues, assign resource where needed.
2. 4hr Short Interval Control - a regular review (initially at 4 hr intervals, moving to 2) with front line management and engineers. 1st objective is to identify greatest loss from last window of time and ensure closed off. 2nd objective is to identify what needs to be done differently in the next window of time based on the data currently available.
3. A variety of strategic review - looking at trended data for maintenance, engineering, planning, forecasting etc.
Remember - your level of payback is directly related to how you use the data.
So what OEE system works? Whichever one you commit to using fully. My advice would be to look beyond a software download as i think you may struggle to use it fully simply as it’s reliant on manual data collection. That said, i’ve created and implemented several of these in the past on sites performing at between 25-40% OEE and got great results.
Also if you’re running at <45% my belief is that you don’t need to spend a fortune collecting data because you’re line is down for 4 hours in every 8. People know where the issues are because they’re in them! But when you head up into the 65%+ territory you’ll struggle to continue improving without robust automated data capture.
Plan for improving OEE with XL800 OEE System
April 21, 2009 by david.evanson
What results can you expect to get in free trial of our XL800 OEE System?
To help answer that question we have recently created a planner that you can use with your teams when you start your free trial of the XL800 OEE System.
Our intention here is to equip you with the tools necessary to get the system installed and operational as quickly as possible by engaging the key stakeholders in your site with some really clear objectives and accountabilities.
Please feel free to let me know what you think.
1. Click here to download as a pdf
2. View as an image:
Free Trial Plan
April 21, 2009 by david.evanson
The most frequent question we get about an XL800 OEE System implementation is:
“What am i going to be able to achieve?”
For us the honest answer to that question is “that depends on how much you use the system” which is not the most helpful answer in the world.
So to give you a better sense of what’s achievable in your free trial we’ve created this month-by-month guide to your XL800 OEE System implementation:
Click here to download the PDF Document: xl800-3-month-plan
OEE on a flow line - installing your XL800 OEE system
January 28, 2009 by david.evanson
One question that comes up quite regularly when i’m demonstrating the XL800 OEE System is: “How can i get the most from an XL800 OEE System when i have more than 1 machine that i want to measure?“.
If you have 1 machine that you want to monitor, or a simple block process, the location for your XL800 OEE System is extremely obvious - you install it on either the single machine, or (and) in an area where the operators can see it easily as per this example:
XL800 OEE System on a single machine
How to get the most from XL800 OEE System on a Continuous Flow line:
If you have run a continuous flow line (typical of most food, drink, confectionary manufacture) then when we talk about XL most manufacturers say: “We want to install this on the bottleneck machine, and we also want to analyse the other machines on the line”. This presents us with a couple of technical issues; firstly XL800 is optimised to provide detailed analysis of a single machine, secondly as part of analysing a single machine you would need our LineView system to analyse the “causal downtime” i.e. the effect of your other machines on the bottleneck machine. Secondly it presents an operational issue: I know many sites that try to collect everything but don’t act on the data, and they don’t improve. To drive your OEE up - collect only what you need, as simply as possible, and act on it vigorously.
So here’s a work-around that i outline in this scenario:
- Install the XL800 OEE system on your Bottleneck machine as normal
- Install a “lack of product” signal from your infeed conveyor. This signal machines that your bottleneck machine is available to run but cannot run due to lack of product = upstream stoppage.
- Install a “build back” signal from your outfeed conveyor. This signal machines that your bottleneck machine is available to run but cannot run due to build back of product on the outfeed = downstream stoppage
- Install whatever additional faults you want on your bottleneck machine and other machines
How this will help:
- You will know the efficiency and downtime on your bottleneck machine, which is crucial
- You will know that of all the time the bottleneck is not running, how much of that time is due to upstream or downstream issues, rather than the machine just being not available.
XL800 OEE System on a Flow Line
With this information i would:
- Carry out a Short Interval Control every hour or 2 hours - SEE MY POST ON THIS HERE
- If the greatest loss to my bottleneck machine is lack or buildback then i would identify which machine has caused that loss, and why.
- If i can’t identify why or the root cause, I would put a manual tick sheet on that machine for 1 hour only and ask the operator to get some good quality downtime data.
- I would fix the root cause and review my downtime loss to the bottleneck machine
- Repeat
In my opinion one of the greatest pitfalls that a site can fall into is “I want to collect everything right now”. I promise you that if you try to collect everything you will either collect rubbish by spreading your resource to thin, or you will not be able to take action because you’re reviewing data. Collect only what you need to improve and act on it vigorously.
The more simple and elegant your initial solution, the greater the likelihood of it adding value.
OEE Journey from OptimumFX
January 26, 2009 by david.evanson
Introducing the OptimumFX OEE Journey:
One of the questions we often bounce around as a team is; “We’ve all heard of ‘The Toyota Way’, so what is ‘our way’? What is the UK FMCG way?”.
This question has pointed us in one direction - there isn’t one….so let’s create it! We’re calling this way the: “OptimumFX OEE Journey”.
Click here to download OptimumFX OEE Journey
A little bit of background: Over the last 7-8 years we’ve been developing systems such as LineView, MachineView, and more recently the XL800 OEE system, and fine tuning the processes that you can use alongside our systems to get great results. We’ve used these processes to support some of the biggest FMCG brands in the UK to get some great results.
As we move into 2009, our objective this year will be to publish these processes, document our OEE Journey, and to make our OEE systems as readily available to you as possible.
Our goals for the OptimumFX OEE Journey in 2009 are:
- Throughout 2009 OptimumFX will be publishing a number of white papers and articles to consolidate our theories for OEE improvement.
- We will be working with a number of UK Manufacturers to jointly test and publish the results from our implementations.
- Our goal is that if you want to improve OEE, we want you to be able to pick up our systems and theories, and apply them straight away.
What does this mean for you?:
- We will share our OEE Journey completely free of charge - just sign up to this blog for more details.
- XL800 OEE System trials: You can get Free Trials of our XL800 OEE Systems. Free trial of great data completely free - we’ll even help you create robust processes to get results straight away. At the end of free trial either give the system back, or buy it.
- LineView trials: Every year we intend to give one site a copy of LineView on a 6 month free trial. This year we’re working in collaboration with the “Best Factory” team from Cranfield School of Management to deliver this project. To find out more and apply follow this link: http://www.optimumfx.com/freelineview/index.html
- Or download our LineView trial document: Click here to download the LineView Trial Offer
Using XL800 for Takt Time Analysis
November 30, 2008 by david.evanson
We recently had the pleasure of meeting a team who wanted a way of preventing their Continuous Improvement Manager from spending hours with a stop watch and a unit counter on a gantry counting units on the line to identify a minor stop issue. Well….5 mins of configuration later this is the example we have created.
So - how can you use an XL800 as a portable Continuous Improvement Manager?
What we did was set the board with a desired takt time (which in this example is 1s).
We then said that:
- any cycle that’s 1s + 5% is a “slow cycle”
- any cycle that’s 1s + 25% is a “small stop”,
- anything that’s 1s + 200% is a “major stop”.
You can set these values to any numbers that you want to really tune the board to get what you want.
This then gives us the KPI screen below….which could suddenly give your Continuous Improvement Manager hours and hours of time to work on improvement projects rather than counting product!
When you decide to get an XL we can even make sure that this setup is included in your basic configuration file so you can use the system to add value straight out of the box.
Introducing automated data capture
November 30, 2008 by david.evanson
This week i’ve enjoyed many extremely interesting discussions about the use of automated data capture systems in an improvement process and thought i’d share a condensation of these discussions with you.
I think most people would agree that the reason to measure performance is so that we have hard factual data with which to make the right decisions. With this data we can be assured that we’re focussing on the right area and that our precious and limited resource is working effectively to improve output. When we’re working without data then ‘gut feel’ and assumptions can mean that we’re spending our time on areas that MAY improve output….or may not. We have limited time and resource so use it wisely.
This creates a little process for us: we need to:
- Capture data - with sufficient accuracy,
- Interpret it - with sufficient speed,
- Act on it - with sufficient focus,
- Review actions using it - with sufficient detail.
As we specialise in helping sites with the steps above we often recommend automated systems as these have the advantage of being accurate, autonomous, and needing very little time invested to get instant feedback. The higher the base level of performance, the more sophisticated a measurement tool you want.
For sites that are in an OEE performance window of 40-70% we often recommend our low cost XL800 system - for £2910 (*) a site can get great quality data and eliminate the majority of the resource needed to complete and collate machine based tick sheets. For the purpose of this post i’m ignoring the huge benefits that high performing sites could get from a line based visual display system, and instead focussing on data accuracy.
For sites performing at 60%+ we often recommend our LineView or MachineView systems as they provide highly accurate data with 6 Loss analysis and full reporting and ERP integration.
So when would we recommend that you don’t use one of our systems to capture data?
Well, in these 2 discussions i had this week both individuals wanted their organisation to develop a strong in-house feel and knowledge of OEE through collecting it manually for several months:
- When the team leaders have calculated their OEE manually for several months how aware will they be of how to influence it? Extremely!
- After a team leader has spent 30mins collecting data, running calculations, and preparing reports only to report a 30% shift how important is it that they understand how to influence it? Extremely!
- With this deep knowledge and understanding in place, how valuable will these team leaders find a fully automated system which gives them accurate data, instantly, without needing to analyse operator hand writing, without the need for a calcuator? Extremely!
My personal belief is that the only way to run a modern production line is with accurate data guiding my decision making. I also believe that data and systems are only as valuable as how they’re used.
So if you’re just starting your data journey perhaps it’s worth considering not only the value of collecting data, but also the value in your teams intrinsically understanding it from hours of painful analysis - Vs the cost saving from implementing automated systems and finding some other way of getting this deep understanding.
Food for thought.
My thanks to the Gentlemen in question with whom i had these discussions - a lot of fun and very thought provoking.
*price correct as of 30th November
XL800 and Takt Times
November 3, 2008 by david.evanson
One of the useful concepts to master in Lean Manufacturing is the concept of Takt Time.
Simply, the Takt time of a process is the maximum amount of time needed to produce a unit of a product to meet a customer demand. I like to think of the takt time of a manufacturing process as being like the “heart beat” of the line; it’s the pulse that demolishes your production plans and whacks out those units of product.
When i think of a “heart beat” a number of ideas pop into my mind - i wonder about the effect of an irregular heart beat on you or I, or perhaps a heart beat that’s too slow or too fast, or maybe a heart beat that’s been slowed down for a few days to cope with a change in the weather, or because it’s Tuesday today….no really! The great thing is that whilst this sounds like a strange thing to say about a human, we often experience it when we look at machines.
If your heart beat was erratic what would you want? I would be at my local casualty limply yet forcefully asking for an ECG pronto! Yet when we visit some factories quite often people have no idea at all that their factory heart beat, their takt times, are all over the place.
At OptimumFX we want to help you monitor the heart beat on your production line to ensure that it’s always fit and healthy. We can even help you set up alarms if the heart beat falls out of parameters to ensure that you always get the best from your machines and meet your targets.
Simply install an XL800 on your produciton line for a free trial to see a real time display of your current Takt time.
Best practice tip:
- Use your Takt time reading to set shift targets
- A great way to drive results on the plant floor is to drive production based on takt time - giving you teams the opportunity to “win” their production shifts.
Popular takt-time related KPI’s:
- Target “an automatically updated production target that increases based on takt time),
- Actual (the current production count),
- Efficiency (how far ahead of behind production is running in terms of a percentage).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takt_time
Using XL as an automated reporting tool
October 31, 2008 by david.evanson
How XL can help - As an accurate downtime reporting tool:
The XL800 features a full reporting and analysis package embedded in the board. At the click of 5 buttons you can generate your shift reports in either Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Comma Seperated Values outputs. Click on the images below for full-screen examples
With an XL800 installed your team can spend their time running the shift, rather than collecting data.
XL Visual Display and OEE
October 29, 2008 by samirshah
The XL800 visual display provides real-time information to enable your staff to have the most up-to-date information on their current performance and enable them to make the appropriate decisions to improve productivity.
“You cannot change what you do not measure”
The XL800 display provides real-time information to enhance productivity and create a true visual factory environment – from the shop floor to the top floor.
Below are some situations that may resonate with you. We can provide you with solutions to these issues and many more with the XL800 display.
| Initiative | Issue | Strategy | Solution |
| Visually Display KPIs | We would like to display our KPIs but have not defined all of them yet and also don’t know how best to display them so that everyone is made aware. | Expose KPIs just as soon as they are defined and provide this information to the people most likely to affect changes that enhance manufacturing performance. Display KPIs as deemed necessary to support change. | XL800 production monitor can be reprogrammed at any time to show any of the more than 100 real-time process variables. Additionally the XL Series products have a built-in Ethernet connection and can push this information over your network. Imagine seeing real-time production data via a simple web browser! |
| Real-time OEE Display | Our company has identified OEE as a great tool to enhance manufacturing performance. Our problem is implementing it. | A visual display provides critical real-time OEE data to everyone involved from the plant floor to the boardroom. | XL800 production monitor display provides OEE visually to all levels of the informational hierarchy. With just a couple sensors, the ideal cycle time and a time schedule you can collect and display real time OEE on your plant floor and over your network. |
| Availability, Performance, Quality Percentage Display | We want to focus on one specific OEE factor at a time but want the flexibility to display other variables in the future | Display last event and/or total accumulated downtime. Other focused displays can provide target count/actual count data, real-time run rate and much more. | XL800 production monitors can show any combination of over 100 production focused process variables. Other features include the ability to push this information over your network via its integrated Ethernet communications. |
| Reduce Quality Waste | Quality loss is affecting our customer satisfaction. | Display good, reject and total pieces. Additionally show the percent good part yield. | XL800 production monitors can show good, reject and total pieces, percent efficiency, OEE Quality and more. |
| Reduce Cycle Time Waste | Performance loss costs us capacity, on-time delivery and ultimately profitability. | Display the current cycle, last completed cycle, average cycle time, small stops, reduced speed cycles and/or OEE Performance metrics in real-time and in any combination. | XL800 production monitors can display all of the above cycle time metrics and more including average cycle time, OEE Performance, number of events and cumulative time for small stops and reduced speed cycles to help pinpoint performance loss and recover capacity. |
| Reduce Downtime Waste | Downtime loss remains an issue and is a significant contributor to waste in our manufacturing process. | Start by exposing downtime. Real-time display of downtime creates a sense of urgency that is not felt in a report a day or week later. | XL800 production monitors can show last event and total accumulated downtime as well as the number of events and the average event downtime in addition to OEE Availability. |
| Event / Accumulated/ Average Changeover Timer | We perform several changeovers throughout a shift and lose track of our progress. | Record and display last event and total accumulated changeover time. Additionally the total number of events and an average changeover time can be displayed. | XL800 production monitors can show last event and total accumulated changeover time as well as the number of events and the average changeover time to really fuel SMED and quick changeover programs. |
