OEE: Take the Hit

The simplicity of measuring and calculating OEE is compounded by the factors that ultimately influence the end result.  Because the concept of OEE can be readily embraced by most employees, it is easy for many people to get involved in the process of making improvements. Unfortunately the variables involved with OEE, like those of many other measurement systems, fall under scrutiny.  […]

OEE and LEAN

Incorporating and tracking performance using Lean metrics doesn’t make a company Lean any more than tracking weight puts you on a diet.  Measurements are like decisions, nothing changes unless actions are taken. How does this apply to OEE?  How does OEE apply to LEAN?  As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, many companies invest a significant amount of time, money, and effort to develop exorbitant […]

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. […]

Lean Innovation

If Lean Innovation is to become part of the new business norm, then why is that so many companies attempt to emulate what others have done?  Innovation itself implies a sense of newness or differentiation from what was or is.  It seems that “copy cats” are simply looking for the easy way out and call themselves lean in the process. […]

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 […]

Improving OEE: A Hands On Approach

We have explored Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) from several perspectives and how it can be used as an effective performance metric.  The purpose of measuring and monitoring OEE, at a minimum, should be three fold: To ensure the current performance levels are sustained, To identify new opportunities for improvement, To assess the effectiveness of current improvement initiatives. The Culture of Continuous Improvement and […]

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 […]

Variance, Waste, and OEE

Variance is Waste. Variation and OEE are complementary metrics that need to be considered together.