OEE, or overall equipment effectiveness, is a calculation used by in manufacturing to gain visibility and improve inefficiencies in the manufacturing process. The calculation is composed of three factors:
OEE = Availability x Performance x Quality
OEE is part of the lean manufacturing approach. It's objectives are to continuously improve operating margins and maximize the use of resources.
OEE analysis starts with plant operating time, or the amount of time a plant is available for operation. From plant operating time, you subtract planned shut down, which includes any events that should not be included in efficiency analysis. (Events such as breaks, scheduled maintenance, or periods when there is nothing to produce). The remaining time is considered planned production time.
When businesses are growing they do not necessarily focus on the software that may be required to operate at their full potential. Many companies do not know what it takes to choose the correct product. For starters the owners and top executives need to have an idea of how they would like the software to transform their business. They also need to have a clear vision of their business strategy and how the software can offer a significant benefit to their operation.
If you are part of a manufacturing setting I’m sure you’ve probably heard the term ERP before but like most probably had no idea what it really means. Well for starters ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. In general sense it is a combination an management of software tools for multiple areas. There is a broad spectrum of areas where this software is usable but most manufactures choose to utilize financials, customer relation management (CRM –you’ve probably heard this word too), scheduling/advanced planning, quality reporting, business intelligence, accounting and inventory.
All manufacturers collect data from their manufacturing processes with varying degrees of sophistication, and there is certainly not a shortage of solutions to analyze it. However most problems start to arise after the data is collected and the analyses usually fall short. Generally, manufacturers are either drowning in the sheer volume of shop floor data or struggling to make sense of inconsistent data gathered from a variety of applications, PLCs or facilities.