In the competitive world of Industry and Technology, management of improvements through SMART objectives is vital. Many Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been developed across industry. The measurement of the effectiveness of manufacturing equipment, or the Manufacturing Equipment Performance needs to be quantified to determine if the plant is under-achieving. A quantifiable indicator is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). The measurement of OEE is increasingly common in manufacturing industries as it provides an all-encompassing measure of the machine performance.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness

The OEE measure is unique as a Key Performance Indicator in that it provides a holistic view of asset utilisation. It drives an organisation to examine all aspects of asset performance in order to ensure we are obtaining the maximum benefit from a piece of equipment that is already bought and paid for.

 An Automobile Analogy

The best way to think of OEE is by using the auto as an example.

Firstly, it must start (be Available ) for it to be of any use to the owner.

Secondly, once started, can the driver get out of first gear into higher gears and attain a faster speed? ( Production Rate ).

Thirdly, the autos’ windows must seal out the rain or the driver will get wet, necessitating a change of clothes ( Rework ).

Thus, to maximize Asset Performance, all three measures of performance must be calculated and improved if the auto is to be of increased value to the driver.

Definitions

It is necessary to define certain measures prior to commencing the calculation of availability.

These are set out below:

• Total Available Time The theoretical maximum possible time that the machine could run. For example, if the machine was normally manned 7 hours per day, then over a 5 day period the Total Available Time would be 35 hours.
• Net Available Time This is the Total Available Time minus Planned Downtime over a time period (typically one week). Planned downtime includes items such as planned maintenance activities, regular, planned meetings (e.g. team briefs, trade union meetings etc) and other planned stoppages (e.g. Public Holidays).
• Operating Time Defined as Net Available Time minus Unplanned Downtime. This is a true measure of the duration of operation at the plant. Unplanned downtime includes all activities which mean that the machine was not performing its intended role. Unplanned downtime could include breakdowns, material shortages, personnel unavailability and other unplanned downtime periods.