The hidden pitfalls of determining your current overall equipment effectiveness

Many manufacturing companies have been measuring the efficiency of their lines and work cells in such a way as to mask many of the causes of lost efficiency. Over a period of years, management focuses on the numbers being reported and is no longer thinking about what is included or excluded from the measurement. One of the reasons OEE, or overall equipment effectiveness, is such a valuable measure, according to this white paper by Parsec Automation Corp., is because it allows you to look at all sources of lost time and lost production. So OEE has emerged as the leading approach for accurately measuring true plant productivity.

By definition, OEE is the product of availability, performance and quality percentages. Each one of these components represents losses that result in loss of operating time. By using a formula that takes into account these three components, companies can very quickly see the effects of losses on production time in relation to total available time. By understanding all of the losses, it's possible to take the actions necessary to increase productive time as much as possible.

• Email This Page
• Print This Page