Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Robert Hansen C.

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СКАЧАТЬ for greater throughput that requires little or no capital spending. Over the years, I have been successful in five different types of manufacturing processes. Based on that experience, I offer recommendations regarding what does and does not work to improve productivity and reliability-maintainability in both the short term and the long term. I hope you will use this book proactively to drive improvements in your area.

       1.1 Factories: Effective Producers of Good Goods

      Every factory^* attempts to be an effective, low-cost producer. This effort is required in today’s challenging environment when customers demand quality product at the best value. Few factories attain and maintain high level productivity and low costs. Many of these use a disciplined approach to identify the best improvements to make. They use teams to eliminate the root problems that otherwise keep the factory from driving toward continuously higher levels of effectiveness. In short, they have found the power of OEE: Overall Equipment Effectiveness.¹ By recognizing the ‘hidden factory’ within, they have made improvements that contribute directly to the bottom line.

      World-class manufacturing areas share two common characteristics. They are data driven and they are led by synergistic multi-function leadership teams. Accurately measuring and driving key success parameters contributes to higher productivity for both the area and the plant. A method called Overall Equipment Effectiveness, or OEE, can help you better understand how well a manufacturing area is performing, and identify what is limiting higher effectiveness.

      Manufacturing systems are composed of equipment and machinery that combine to transform materials and sub-assemblies into products that are either parts for the next step of manufacturing or finished goods. A significant amount of capital is often invested to design, build, and implement a system so that product can be made uniformly at a high rate with minimal waste. The factory should effectively deliver the product at less cost than would be needed to produce it individually. Every business plan should include projections about the effectiveness of the proposed system and how well it will contribute to the bottom line. The company should also be aware of the degree to which it is at risk if the expected effectiveness is not attained and sustained.

      Continuous and discrete processes of transforming materials and parts into products can be complex and unique; the system is often quite technical and elaborate. In many instances, a standard product is manufactured in many different formats and variations. The system, therefore, splinters into multiple processes, yet they use shared resources. Some of the cases in this book come from the author’s personal experience in a setting where over thirty process setups were used to produce variations of seventy different products from four different product families. The capital investment was well over $100 million. Thus, the operating cost to product was significant; the effectiveness of the operation had a major influence on the company’s bottom line.

      Nearly every industry has multiple manufacturers, each competing for its share of the market. Even a company with the best product may not stay in business if its expense for getting the product to the customer is excessive. Fierce competition usually exists. Companies with the most effective factories will have the staying power to be the long-term survivors, assuming that the need for the product is continuous. This “staying power” provides a significant advantage over time. For example, in the paper clip industry, one of three U.S. manufacturers has equipment over 50 years old, still producing high quality clips². Sound investments over half a century ago, and on-going maintenance, has provided a long-term business advantage to the company.

      In short, factories are at the core of any manufacturing company. Staying in business requires building and maintaining effective factories.

       1.2 Factory Dynamics

      At any given factory, a vast number of events occur simultaneously every workday. The tasks of producing goods and maintaining equipment usually hold the central focus. However, take a moment to think about all the activities that go on and how and when they impact the manufacturing process.

      Decisions made in purchasing today set in motion a timeline for each item ordered and used. How well a piece of equipment is repaired today will influence some future runtime. In the spare parts warehouse, if a bearing is accidentally dropped on the floor today, and re-shelved for later use, the piece of equipment that eventually uses it may have a shortened life. Approval or rejection of various projects can affect overall operations for years to come. Hiring and training decisions by human resources set the stage for subsequent events.

      In short, all the pieces of a factory interlock. One event eventually affects all. Left on their own, all these elements can create a chaotic, reactive environment full of surprises, a home for “Murphy,” the demon that brings bad luck. Actually, with all that can potentially go wrong in a factory, it is amazing that factories do as well as they do.

      And yet, what makes the difference between world-class manufacturers and the rest of the pack? World-class organizations have evolved from a factory of individuals to a factory of coordinated teams working together with a common purpose. All areas have win-win relationships with their interdependent areas. They make certain that decisions are made correctly the first time. They balance production and production capability appropriately. They are in control of “the big picture;” they have engaged everyone’s support in working toward a high level of excellence and sustaining that position. The bottom line: they know where they are and where they are going.

      World-class companies do not create their environment overnight. They may need three to five years to achieve most of their gains. They then start a long journey of continuous improvement. Much of the work is educating all employees about doing their business with others in mind. People may still work independently, but they also understand their relationship with the whole. All employees understand the objectives and strategies of the company. I would rank ‘can do’ people as the most important element of the factory.

      At one plant where I worked, every department had submitted its minimum operating budget for the following year. Our corporate headquarters did not accept our proposed budget. We were challenged with a goal of reducing our plant costs by an additional $12 million from the submitted budget. We held many meetings to develop a plan that could produce the results or, as an alternative, plan for inevitable downsizing. Our management team for the plant did not see how we could possibly meet the challenge. We were prepared for the worst.

      Finally, one manager suggested that we turn the problem over to the plant community, offering a reward or gain-sharing plan if the plant were to meet or exceed the budget challenge. This strategy was approved and communicated to all the workers. Almost immediately, everyone in every area of the plant began to do all the little things that contributed to our beating the goal. The result was an outstanding performance for the year, surpassing the once-impossible goal by a significant amount. Everyone was amazed at how powerful this dedicated and engaged community was in making the right things happen, once a common cause was accepted.

       1.3 Balancing the Business

      The last section considered the big picture within the factory, the interdependence of areas and people within a plant. Similarly, the factory is one component within the overall business. It is not enough for you to understand the dynamics within your factory. You must also develop an appreciation for the importance of productivity throughout all parts of the company.

      Many different components are needed to make a business successful. The dynamics of these components are often even more dramatic than the dynamics within the factory. In smaller companies, managers must often juggle many different facets of their business at once. Not only do they oversee factory operations, they are also concerned with sales and marketing, accounting and finance, and human resources for the company. Because large organizations are often organized functionally, managers often focus only on their aspect of the business. Yet СКАЧАТЬ