It’s now a given that businesses that produce goods need to continuously improve because it doesn’t take too long before a competitor comes out with a superior offering.
However, trying to improve our production processes is easier said than done. Before we can start making changes, we need to know which aspects within our processes need to be improved. In other words, we need to understand our systems better, so that we know which areas to focus on.
Deciding on an area to concentrate on is difficult without hard data. As has been said: “That which can be measured can be managed”. But it’s the measurement and extraction of concrete numeric data from a working process that often presents the first challenge to an improvement routine.
This is where OEE has been able to help many users analyse their processes, which has in turn helped them pinpoint areas that needed improvement. Moreover, OEE data is comparatively easy to generate, and while some have resorted to commercial products, others have successfully accumulated the data for themselves.
Many users of OEE have been surprised by the results and have been able to glean previously unknown information about their processes. This data then proved invaluable for enhancing their systems.