OEE calculations are powerful. Measures of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) can reduce complex production problems into simple presentations of information, helping companies systematically improve their processes. But how can packagers use OEE to drive an operator every hour, and ensure that an OEE program is truly a continuous improvement program?
Adrian Pask, OEE expert with Vorne Industries, is a self-proclaimed “food and drink packaging guy” who stared his career as a continuous improvement engineer with Coca-Cola Europe. He provided OEE advice and inspiration when he spoke to pharmaceutical manufacturers at the Interphex Show in New York City in April. Vorne Industries manufacturers bolt-on OEE systems that capture OEE data, and he and his company are the folks behind OEE.com and LeanProduction.com.
Instituting an OEE program almost always produces initial results, if only because everyone is suddenly focused, said Pask. The Hawthorne Effect, which is the alteration of behavior by the subjects of a study because they are being observed, guarantees quick improvements—until the one doing the observing moves on to another project.
But if you want to build sustainable ways of achieving OEE over time, said Pask, you need more than focused attention. You also need information (data) and effective actions.
“It’s upsetting to me that people who are so good at their jobs can be lead astray by not using data,” said Pask. If you want results, he said, track your losses; don’t track your activities. Track, publish and discuss your losses, so you really understand what’s causing them.
The value of information, of course, is how it’s used. So once you understand what’s causing losses, take effective action to prevent them. “The really successful sites track loss, [as well as] the process for eliminating loss,” said Pask. That process often involves replacing ineffective actions, or habitual inaction, with new behaviors.
“When you change a process, you introduce instability and people get a bit scared,” added Pask. “You have to accept that change will create instability. But at the end of the process, you will have better outcomes.”
That’s the essence of Pask’s message: Create simple habits for the use of data and develop a process that checks and develops these habits. OEE calculations can help, but ultimately it’s up to the people involved and the actions they take.
