Have you ever wondered how well you are using your production machines? Are you sure they are operating at maximum efficiency? OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is an indicator that will help you find out. If you’re still counting it manually or in Excel, it’s time for a change. Automation not only simplifies the process, but also opens up new opportunities for you to optimize production. Today I’ll show you why OEE automation is the key to success.
OEE is an indicator that measures how efficiently you are using your machines. It consists of three components: availability, productivity and quality. Each is expressed as a percentage, and the end result tells you how close you are to ideal machine performance, where 100% means perfection. In reality, achieving such a result is extremely difficult, but not impossible. The standard to aim for is 85%.
To understand OEE properly, you need to know its three components: availability, productivity and quality. Availability is the time when a machine could produce. Availability is mainly affected by breakdowns and unplanned downtime. It’s one of the most important indicators because it shows how often a machine is standing around instead of producing.If your machine was supposed to run for 8 hours, but due to a breakdown it only ran for 6 hours, then its availability is 75%. And every unplanned downtime is an additional cost to you.
Productivity (Performance) shows how fast a machine works compared to what it should achieve in a given time. If a machine could produce 1,000 pieces in an hour, but only produced 800, its performance is 80%. What affects productivity? First of all, slower operation, technical problems, too long changeovers or delays in the delivery of raw materials.
The last element is quality (Quality). It measures the percentage of products produced that comply with the standards. If a machine produced 1,000 pieces, but only 950 met standards, the quality is 95%. Defective products lower the quality index and cause additional costs.Typically, quality is checked manually, which can delay the data collection process, but is crucial to your performance evaluation.
Counting OEE manually is a waste of time. Filling out reports after each shift is a labor-intensive and error-prone task. Automating this process is a step that will help you save time and money while improving the accuracy of your calculations.
Modern OEE systems collect data directly from machines, automatically recalculate indicators and provide you with real-time reports. This gives you the full picture and makes decision-making faster and more accurate.
OEE automation is more than just a convenience. It’s tangible benefits that you’ll quickly see in your business. With accurate data, you’ll make better decisions. Automation allows you to react quickly to problems, anticipate failures and minimize downtime.
One company that implemented an automated OEE counting system increased productivity by 15% in six months, and the number of downtimes dropped, among other things. The automation also reduced the response time to breakdowns, and production planning became simpler and more efficient. As a result, the company did away with manual reports altogether, and gained time and financial savings.
Think your machines are too old to implement an automated system? Nothing could be further from the truth! Even older machines can be connected to modern systems. All they need is to have basic operation signals, like a production counter. Automation is based on this data, and this means that any company can benefit from this technology.
Automating OEE is a step that will bring real benefits to your company. You can save time, reduce errors and increase efficiency. Real-time OEE is the key to better production management, faster response to failures and cost optimization.
Automatic efficiency counting systems will allow you to make better decisions based on precise and current data. As a result, you will optimize your production processes and therefore your costs. You will gain a competitive advantage. It’s a decision that will translate into more control over your processes and better production results.
Don’t delay. OEE automation is an investment that will quickly pay for itself, improving your company’s efficiency and helping you achieve better results.
Get started today and see how automation can change the face of your production! The topic of machine and equipment utilization efficiency is close to your heart? Are you wondering whether to implement automated OEE in your production facility – Let’s Talk!
