OEE and Continuous Improvement In Manufacturing

Continuous improvement methods such as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and TPM, along with metrics like Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), are being used to meet increasing demands on manufacturing operations. A key aspect of any continuous improvement program is comprehensive capture and analysis of actionable, accurate manufacturing performance data. For years, manufacturing leaders have struggled with deficiencies and controversies of manual data collection (stopwatches and clipboards) or high-risk, high-waste and high expense IT projects. World-class manufacturers have found Solarsoft MEI the most effective solution to quickly eliminate waste and identify performance opportunities, measuring improvement and sustaining gains.

Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing is an approach to systematically eliminate waste. The goal is to incorporate less human effort, less inventory, and less space to become highly responsive to customer demand, all while producing top quality products in the most efficient and economical manner. At the most basic level within a manufacturing environment it involves an "attack" on rework, inventory, unreliable equipment, poor quality, and unnecessary activity and labor.

Lean incorporates a number of tools and techniques that can be significantly enhanced by Solarsoft:

• Total Productive Maintenance
• Kaizen
• Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)/Quick Changeover
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Total Productive Maintenance

Total Productive Maintenance is an essential element of Lean Manufacturing and focuses the entire organization on improving manufacturing effectiveness (i.e. availability, efficiency and quality). It is universally recognized that TPM is built upon ‘The Five Pillars’ and to be successful ALL five of the pillars must be used to eliminate losses in a sustainable manner. The 1st Pillar "Improving equipment effectiveness by targeting major losses" is the cornerstone of any TPM program. It is difficult to target major losses and the cause of those losses without accurate, actionable data. Solarsoft incorporates Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) because it is one of the fundamental measures in TPM that includes major losses, and can be measured.

A serious misunderstanding about the pillars is that –Improving Equipment Effectiveness by Targeting the Major Losses– isn't meant to stand alone. Instead it's intended to be relational to the other pillars. All TPM activities, and the remaining pillars, are designed and developed to be measured against the first pillar. If a TPM activity does not result in, or contribute to, improved equipment effectiveness then we need to ask "Why are we doing it?" Robert M. Williamson Strategic Work Systems, Inc.

Kaizen

Kaizen is an ongoing improvement process involving everyone, from executive managers to plant crews. A key aspect of Kaizen is seeking out and exploiting new performance opportunities. In a manufacturing environment, performance opportunities are identified by examining the 6 major loss categories: breakdowns, setup and adjustments, idling and minor stops, reduced speed, start-ups, and defects and rework. Solarsoft MEI solutions together with the Solarsoft IMPACT methodology enhance Kaizen Events and blitzes with the data and insight needed to quickly spot opportunities, take action, measure, and sustain gains.

Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)/Quickchange Over

Setup reduction, quick changeover, or Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is the technique for reducing the downtime involved when a process changes from making one product to another. SMED measures the time from when production stops on the first product, to the time when the first good unit of the second product is made.

Setup time represents one of the largest improvement opportunities for manufacturers. Solarsoft MEI can analyze setup time variance by shift, SKU or asset. To learn how Solarsoft supports SMED/Quick Changeover, read the article on Setup/Downtime.