Of all the metrics used to measure manufacturing performance, few have shown as much promise as OEE—Overall Equipment Effectiveness. But measuring OEE can be tricky. That's why the recent formation of the Alliance for Innovation & Operational Excellence—launched jointly by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association—should come as welcome news to Consumer Packaged Goods companies of all stripes. One of AIOE's leading projects is the effort to provide CPG companies with a set of OEE guidelines that all can use. As PMMI's association magazine, Packaging Machinery Technology, points out in a recent article, this benefits both the CPG companies and their suppliers through a common language and set of OEE metrics that can be consistently applied throughout the industry.
The PMT article includes comments from Pete Hock, senior director/continuous improvement of ConAgra Foods, Omaha, NE, and Mark Hanley, asset reliability manager at Land O' Lakes, Arden Hills, MN.
"Launching an OEE data collection process doesn't have to be expensive, but it does take a lot of forethought and care," says Hock. "False starts leave lasting impressions. [My advice is] be deliberate and start only what you can successfully execute. Measure success by the improvements your data enables you to achieve. Then expand and reapply—both your data systems and improvement processes".
The also provides useful insight into the intricacies of establishing OEE measurement in the first place. AIOE will soon be recommending that a set of Guiding Principles be developed. These guidelines will propose that OEE data should
• Reflect operational performance while exposing and quantifying losses
• Enable managers to prioritize and plan improvements in manufacturing, customer service, working capital, and capital investments
• Include all losses and be measured consistently
• Be accurate, detailed, and easy to understand
AIOE and the guidelines it is developing will frame OEE in terms of a journey whose steps included getting started, gaining traction, experiencing success, understanding the importance of transparency and sharing, developing best practices, and, ultimately, achieving excellence.
Link to the PMT article, written by AIOE managing directors Stephen Perry and Stephen Schlegel, to learn more. And give some thought to joining AIOE. As Perry and Schlegel put it, "Learn how the Alliance can bring value to your company and your professional development."
