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By having a structured framework based on the Six Big Losses, OEE lets to track underlying issues and root causes. By knowing what the Six Big Losses are and some of the causes that contribute to them, the next step is to focus on ways to monitor and correct them. In the following let’s see what is the way:
- Breakdown: eliminating unplanned downtime is critical to improving OEE. Other OEE factors cannot be addressed if the process is down. It is not only important to know how much and when down time equipment is but also to be able to link the lost time to the specific source or reason for the loss. With down time data tabulated, the most common approach is the Root Cause Analysis. It is applied starting with the most severe loss categories.
- Set-up and adjustments: tracking setup time is critical to reducing this loss. The most common approach to reduce this time is the Single Minute Exchange of Dies program (SMED).
- Minor stoppages and Reduced speed: minor stoppages and reduced speed are the most difficult of the Six Big Losses to monitor and record. Cycle Time analysis should be utilized to point out these loss types. In most processes recording data for Cycle Time analysis needs to be automated since the cycles are as quick as they do not leave adequate time for manual data logging. By comparing all cycles to the theoretical Cycle Time, the losses can be automatically clustered for analysis. It is important to analyze Minor stoppages and Reduced speed separately because the root causes are typically very different.
- Quality losses and Reduced yield: parts that require rework of any kind should be considered rejects. Tracking when rejects occur and the type is critical to point out potential causes, and in many cases patterns will be discovered. Often a Six Sigma program, where a common metric is achieving a defect rate of less than 3.4 defects per million opportunities, is used to focus attention on a goal of “zero defects”.
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