Technology has always simplified processes; it has helped businesses to make difficult tasks easy and more streamlined. When it comes to managing the supply-chain-management, the only software that comes to our mind is the CMMS. As per experts, if all facility managers use the right technology to expand their units, then there is sure to be a growth boom in this sector by 2023. CMMS has helped maintenance industries to increase their OEE and gain higher profitability.
CMMS or the Computerised Maintenance Management System, helps in optimum asset management. When assets are the foundation of your business, it becomes mandatory to ensure that every equipment functions optimally. However, to enable the equipment to achieve the gold standard of productivity, the OEE needs to improve. CMMS is the right tool that can help businesses reach the gold standards in OEE.
Let’s first understand the meaning of OEE
OEE stands for Overall Equipment Effectiveness. The OEE is a gold standard for measuring the performance of a manufacturing unit, in comparison to its full potential, during work hours. Thus, it helps in understanding the total percentage of productive manufacturing time. Based on this analysis, manufacturing units can enhance their processes and improve the OEE percentage.
When the OEE score is 85%, then it means that the manufacturing unit is producing very little defective parts with minimum stop time. However, if the percentage goes down to 60%, then there is a need to analyze the performance of your unit in comparison to the total availability of assets. The OEE calculation is considered an effective medium of analyzing the gaps in the manufacturing process. It is by far the most effective metric for evaluating processes and improving the overall productivity of the manufacturing equipment.
How can CMMS help to boost OEE?
OEE is affected by the Total Equipment Effective Performance (TEEP). TEEP boosts OEE by providing detailed insights on the health of assets, capability of the plant and its actual utilisation. CMMS acts as a stimulus, enabling maintenance units to optimise OEE and TEEP, by making essential data regarding the assets, available. Here is how CMMS can boost OEE.
- Accurate Asset Data
Having access to accurate data in improving asset performance and achieving optimum OEE is crucial. CMMS helps in centralizing processes and automating data, such that every detail related to the assets is made available with a single click.
- Calculating Downtime
CMMS helps in evaluating the downtime trends and the possible reasons that has resulting in downtime in the past. Based on the historical asset data, facility managers can take necessary action to prevent downtime and maximize the overall productivity of the unit.
What are the factors that help in measuring the OEE?
The three key factors that play an important role in OEE calculation are:
- Availability
This factor takes care of the number of unplanned and planned equipment stop hours. Ideally, having a 100% availability score is a utopian scenario because there are hardly any units that are running without any stops throughout the day.
- Performance
The Performance factor records the number of slow cycles and small steps taken by the equipment, during the planned production hours. If the performance score is 100%, then it means that the manufacturing unit is running optimally with consistent speed and zero stops.
- Quality
Well-maintained equipment produces good quality goods, whereas poorly maintained equipment will produce defective good. Thus, this factor considers the areas that need improvement. Having a 100% quality score indicates that the equipment is in the best shape, delivering 100% good quality products.
What is the major goal of OEE?
The major goal of OEE is to eliminate the three big reasons for losses. These reasons are the core causes of equipment related to productivity loss in a manufacturing unit.
- Equipment Failure
If the equipment suddenly stops performing during the scheduled production hours, then this accounts for unplanned downtime. This type of equipment failure is the loss of availability. Let’s understand this with an example: The unit has planned 8 hours of scheduled production time, during which it must produce 100 goods. Now per hour, the unit is supposed to produce more than 12 goods.
Suddenly there is an unplanned equipment failure; it takes one hour to fix the equipment. Now the unit has only 7 hours to production time. Thus the targeted production scheduled for the day will not be achieved. Although equipment failure cannot be eliminated, it can be controlled with the help of a CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management Software) system that automates maintenance procedures and controls the causes for an unplanned breakdown.
You must be wondering what is the CMMS definition. CMMS is a software that upholds a computer database of information, about an organization’s maintenance processes.
- Set Uptime
This signifies the time that is lost in changeovers and equipment adjustments. For instance, if a tool needs to be tightened during the production period, then a small amount of stop time will be needed. Another significant reason for equipment availability loss could be changeovers – time spent on setting up a piece of equipment before running it.
- Reduced Equipment Speed
This factor refers to the time when the equipment runs slowly or below its optimum capacity. The reduced speed account for performance Loss. For instance, if the equipment is not lubricated well, then the machine will slow down. Likewise, many other reasons can account to slow cycles.
- Process defects
Process defects occur due to defective parts. Defective parts directly affect the quality of yield, thus resulting in Quality loss.
The Bottom line:
The OEE score is a yardstick to analyze the performance of a manufacturing unit. One must carefully evaluate the factors that lower the Availability, Performance, and Quality metrics. The OEE formula is Availability* Performance * Quality. Thus, if all the three elements are 100%, OEE will also be 100%. Although the World-class OEE is 85%, with the help of tech-novation, you can also target 100% OEE. We are living at a time, where CMMS can enable businesses to get accurate data on plant and asset performance, that too within minutes. Industries must adapt the latest technology and move with time to enhance their processes and build a culture of continuous growth.
