• 21 JUN 16

is a universally-accepted measure of production line performance. It expresses the actual output of a production line as a percentage of its maximum potential output.

Improving is the big driver of operational efficiencies within the food manufacturing sector and supporting customers in their efforts to improve is a priority for product inspection equipment manufacturers.

To get to the heart of , it’s important to understand the three components of OEE which are:

1. Availability
2. Performance and
3. Quality

Availability

Availability involves production downtime. It’s the operating time expressed as a percentage of planned production time. Planned production time is the time that’s available for production after deducting planned breaks (for meals, maintenance and cleaning) from the total factory production time.

Performance

Performance involves loss of production speed. It’s the line speed or run rate (number of pieces produced each minute) expressed as a percentage of the ideal line speed or run rate (number of pieces that should be produced each minute).

Quality

Quality deals with failures to meet production standards. It’s the number of good, saleable pieces expressed as a percentage of the total number of pieces made.

Combining all three components will give you the of your production line.

OEE = Availability x Performance x Quality

Improving OEE Can Be a Challenge

Although the maths behind is straightforward, improving can be tricky. World-class is about 82%¹, yet the average for manufacturing companies is around 60%. There’s a yawning gap between what’s possible and what businesses achieve.

is a good general guide to operational performance, but it shouldn’t be followed blindly. That’s because improvements to one aspect of production can sometimes have negative effects on other aspects. For example, increased line speeds can lead to more substandard product.

There’s a balance to be struck between the positive and negative effects of change. is a good indicator of overall performance but not the only measure. The devil’s in the detail. It’s important to look at each component of and the data that comes from each step along your line to understand exactly what’s going on in your factory.

Product inspection equipment suppliers can help manufacturers improve . To find out more

¹ http://www.oee.com/world-class-oee.html

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