Implementation of OEE – issues and challenges

An operations strategy should be based on a strong systematic and standardized way of working combined with empowered shop floor teams who drive continuous improvement in that standardized work. OEE data on machine performance is a key starting point for teams to understand there equipment losses and to establish improvement programs to eliminate them. We find that the implementation of OEE is typically based on the motivation to use a basic reference measure for analysing and comparing the utilization of resources at the plant. The use of OEE can also be transformed to a system for analysing production data to identify potential areas of improvement, and supporting lean initiatives. Thus, characteristically, OEE typically advances from a base measure for efficiency as the initial purpose, to being a tool to improve effectiveness for analysing data to support CI objectives via the identification and elimination of waste.