Productivity Improvements & Digital Transformation (DX) are Essential in Manufacturing.
Productivity improvements and DX are essential for manufacturing plants to respond to frequent changes in business and production environments today and in years to come, including globalization, labor shortages and technological innovation.
In this article, we will focus on OEE (overall equipment efficiency), one of the indicators of productivity on the manufacturing floor, and introduce Visualizing deteriorating factors to improve OEE, methods for improving it, and digital tools to help you improve OEE.
We'll take you step by step through how to get the most out of your production facilities.
What is OEE (Equipment Overall Efficiency)?
OEE stands for Overall Equipment Effectiveness, and is an indicator of the efficiency of production facilities. OEE reflects how well a production facility is operating at its maximum production capacity, and is also an important indicator for Lean Manufacturing and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), two systems that consist of various techniques and activities to support a manufacturing operation.
OEE focuses on the "significant losses" in the manufacturing process in order to regain "under-utilized capacity." In other words, an OEE improvement means increasing production capacity by reducing losses.
There are three factors (i.e., losses) that need to be focused on to improve OEE:
• Stoppage factors Failures or inadequate equipment, switching (setup and adjustment), replacement of cutting tools, losses during start-up, etc.
• Performance factor Losses due to a short machine downtime, or reduced speed
• Quality factors Losses due to defective products and reworks
How to Improve OEE
Improvement activities can be divided into two categories: coping and prevention.
Dealing with a problem is all about knowing quickly when a problem occurs, responding quickly, and minimizing losses. Immediate data capture is the most effective way to quickly identify problems. In addition, once a problem has been resolved, it is essential to prevent it from recurring. Preventive measures include Six Sigma and Kaizen activities.
So, is a good factory one where problems can be dealt with quickly and by many people?
No, it is a plant that can "improve" in the following ways.
i. Field Improvements The strength of a field improvement is that when a problem is noticed, it can be solved and improved immediately. Most site improvements are based on the five-senses of the workers and technicians in the field, and are easy to implement because they require relatively little investment. However, it is unlikely to be an innovative improvement.
ii. Systematic Improvements Systemic improvements involve the fundamental transformation or improvement of a problem. Systematic improvements require increased "visibility" and prediction of potential problems, so detailed and reliable data collection and data analysis is essential.
ProManage is a Powerful Tool for Improving OEE
ITO Corporation has signed a distribution agreement with ProManage (Headquartered in Cicago, USA R&D in Istanbul, Turkey) for ProManage, a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for the manufacturing floor.
ProManage is a powerful tool for improving OEE.
ProManage automatically collects data from machines, allowing for reliable data collection with minimal human effort. It also allows users to analyze collected data, and create reports to help improve losses and prevent problems. In addition, the ability to visualize collected data allows for the immediate identification of problems on the manufacturing floor, and quicker action to be taken.
