OEE in the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry appears to be rebounding at a faster rate than most (if not all) experts may have anticipated.  Many OEM’s and their suppliers are attempting to boost production to replenish inventories and support renewed demand for their products.  Reduced inventories throughout the supply chain are creating demand that is difficult to replenish at the rate required.  Short runs […]

OEE for Batch Processes

We recently received an e-mail regarding OEE calculations for batch processes and more specifically the effect on down stream equipment that is directly dependent (perhaps integrated) on the batch process.  While the inquiry was specifically related to the printing industry, batch processing is found throughout manufacturing. Our more recent experiences pertain to heat treating operations where parts are loaded into […]

OEE: Frequently Asked Questions

We added a new page to our site to address some of the more frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) we receive regarding OEE.  We trust you will find this information to be of interest as you move forward on your lean journey.  We always appreciate your feedback, so feel free to leave us a comment or send an e-mail directly to LeanExecution@gmail.com or Vergence.Consulting@gmail.com We have had […]

How to Improve OEE – Any Questions?

Ask any Quality or Engineering manager and they will tell you that measurement systems are valuable tools to identify problems and opportunities.  The measurement system itself is not the answer – it is the data source, the EVIDENCE that drives the questions.  It is a part of the discovery and validation process to confirm the opportunity or problem and the effectiveness of the solutions to resolve it. A well […]

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 […]

Availability and OEE

What is Availability? In its simplest form, availability measures the uptime of a machine or process against the planned production time.  As one of the factors of Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE), Availability is expressed as a percentage.  The uptime is calculated by taking the difference between the planned production time and total duration of the downtime events that occurred during the planned production period. We […]

OEE, Downtime, and TEEP

We have received several inquiries regarding equipment down time – periods of time when the machine is not scheduled to run.  We consider this to be scheduled down time or idle time and does not affect Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), since no production was planned during this period. OEE measures overall equipment effectiveness during planned production or SCHEDULED up time.  Do […]