Variance – OEE’s Silent Partner (Killer)

I was recently involved in a discussion regarding the value of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).  Of course, I fully supported OEE and confirmed that it can bring tremendous value to any organization that is prepared to embrace it as a key metric.  I also qualified my response by stating that OEE cannot be managed in isolation: OEE and it’s intrinsic […]

OEE For Manufacturing

We are often asked what companies (or types of companies) are using OEE as part of their daily operations.  While our focus has been primarily in the automotive industry, we are highly encouraged by the level of integration deployed in the Semiconductor Industry.  We have found an excellent article that describes how OEE among other metrics is being used to […]

OEE and the Quality Factor

Many articles written on OEE (ours being the exception), indicate or suggest that the quality factor for OEE is calculated as a simple percentage of good parts from the total of all parts produced.  While this calculation may work for a single line part number, it certainly doesn’t hold true when attempting to calculate OEE for multiple parts or machines. OEE […]

SPC for OEE

Some of our readers have expressed an interest in the application of Statistical Analysis Tools for OEE.  We have also reviewed various texts and articles that have expressed opposing views on the application of Statistical Tools with OEE data. Our simple answer is this:  At best, statistical tools should only be used on unique or individual processes.   Comparisons may be made (with caution) […]

How to use the 5 WHY approach

The 5 WHY technique, developed by Sakichi Toyoda, is one of the core problem solving tools used by Toyota Motor Corporation and has been adopted and embraced by numerous companies all over the globe.  This technique is unconstrained, providing the team with a high degree of freedom in their thinking process. As we suggested in our “How to Improve OEE” […]

OEE Integration: Can you fix it?

As we are all aware, inspecting or measuring parts does not change the quality of the product.   Likewise, measuring and reporting OEE alone does not solve problems or improve performance.  While it is fair to say that increased focus and measurement of any process usually results in some degree of improvement, these are typically attributed to changes in human behavior due to […]

Lean Culture

Background Being in business for many years is, and can be, both a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, the company has established itself and is well rooted in its chosen industry.  On the other hand, it has established and well rooted “behaviors” built on a culture that have stood the test of time.  This could be for better or worse. […]

Upcoming OEE Topics – February 2009

The following topics will be featured in an upcoming post, we’ll try to squeeze them in before February 2009 rolls off the calendar.  If you have a topic that you would like to see featured on our site, send an e-mail to LeanExecution@gmail.com. Capacity Planning with OEE:  By definition, it only makes sense to use OEE as an integral part of your […]

OEE and Morale

Is employee morale impacting your OEE?  If so, how much of a concern is it?  As we wrote in one of our recent posts,  “Perhaps the greatest “external” influence on current manufacturing operations is the rapid collapse of the automotive industry in the midst of our current economic “melt down”.  The changes in operating strategy to respond to this new crisis are bound to have an effect on OEE […]

OEE Measurement Error

How many times have you, or someone you know, challenged the measurement process or method used to collect the data because the numbers just “don’t make sense” or “can’t be right”? It is imperative to have integrity in the data collection process to minimize the effect of phantom improvements through measurement method changes.  Switching from a manual recording system to […]