subject: OEE Software: Delivering Business Performance Excellence [print this page] OEE Software: Delivering Business Performance Excellence
Manual systems were able to provide starting system for OEE but in order to take more accurate and exact calculations, there was a requirement for software that could effectively record downtime and other problems. Most production processes suffer from minor stops that go unrecorded and unnoticed but usually contribute to a significant loss in production time. In addition, many other losses in production time will fail to be seen or recognized and therefore not recorded in a manual system. However, with the help of OEE software, manufacturers have been able to bring clear focus to key drivers for manufacturing enterprises.
OEE, or Overall Equipment Effectiveness, stands for various calculations and measurements that are used by manufacturers in order to increase the effectiveness of various machineries and equipments used in the manufacturing units and bring improvement in overall manufacturing processes. The calculation is based upon three factors, viz. OEE = Availability x Performance x Quality. Each component points to an aspect of the process that can be targeted to bring improvement. OEE software may be applied to any individual work center, or rolled up to department or plant levels. With the help of OEE software, specific analysis down the line can be done, such as a particular part number, shift, or any of several other parameters.
Here are some factors that are considered for collecting the data for OEE software:
Availability
Availability takes into account the total downtime. Common causes of downtime include equipment failures, material shortages, and changeover time. Although changeover time cannot be eliminated, however, it can be reduced to a considerable extent in many cases.
Performance
Performance takes into account the total speed loss, which includes any factors that cause the process to operate at lesser speed than the maximum possible speed, while running. Examples include machine wear, substandard materials, misfeeds, and operator inefficiency. The remaining available time is called net operating time.
Quality
Quality takes into consideration quality losses that includes produced equipment units, which have some flaws in them and are below quality standards, including pieces that may be reworked upon. The remaining time is called fully productive time. The goal is to maximize fully productive time.
With the help of OEE software, manufacturing enterprises are able to reduce IT software support requirement to greater levels.
