How to calculate OEE for your manufacturing operation

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a powerful tool for measuring the efficiency of manufacturing operations. It provides a way for manufacturers to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement in their production processes. Calculating OEE involves measuring three key factors: availability, performance, and quality. In this blog post, we will discuss how to calculate OEE for your manufacturing operation. Learn more about OEE benefits in the blog "5 benefits of OEE monitoring for manufacturers"

Step 1: Calculate availability 'Availability' is the percentage of time that a machine is available for production. It is calculated as follows:

Availability = (Total time – Downtime) / Total time

Total time is the amount of time that a machine is scheduled to be in operation, and downtime is the amount of time that a machine is not available for production due to breakdowns, changeovers, or other issues. By subtracting downtime from total time and dividing by total time, you can calculate the availability of a machine.

Step 2: Calculate performance 'Performance' is the rate at which a machine produces parts relative to its ideal production rate. It is calculated as follows:

Performance = (Total parts produced / Ideal cycle time) / Total time

Total parts produced is the total number of parts produced by a machine, ideal cycle time is the theoretical cycle time for producing a single part, and total time is the amount of time that a machine is available for production. By dividing the product of total parts produced and ideal cycle time by total time, you can calculate the performance of a machine.

Step 3: Calculate quality 'Quality' is the percentage of parts produced that meet quality standards. It is calculated as follows:

Quality = Good parts produced / Total parts produced

Good parts produced is the total number of parts that meet quality standards, and total parts produced is the total number of parts produced by a machine. By dividing good parts produced by total parts produced, you can calculate the quality of a machine.

Step 4: Calculate 'OEE' Once you have calculated availability, performance, and quality, you can calculate OEE using the following formula:

OEE = Availability x Performance x Quality

By multiplying availability, performance, and quality, you can calculate the overall efficiency of a machine or production line.

Example calculation: Let's say that a machine has a total time of 480 minutes, experiences 60 minutes of downtime, produces 200 parts in that time, and has an ideal cycle time of 1 minute per part. Of the 200 parts produced, 180 meet quality standards. Using the formulas above, we can calculate the OEE for the machine as follows:

Availability = (480 – 60) / 480 = 0.875 (or 87.5%) Performance = (200 / 1) / 480 = 0.4167 (or 41.67%) Quality = 180 / 200 = 0.9 (or 90%)

OEE = 0.875 x 0.4167 x 0.9 = 0.3281 (or 32.81%)

In this example, the OEE of the machine is 32.81%, indicating that there is room for improvement in the machine's efficiency.

Conclusion: Calculating OEE is an essential step in identifying inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement in manufacturing operations. By measuring availability, performance, and quality, manufacturers can gain valuable insights into the efficiency of their production processes. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can calculate OEE for your manufacturing operation and use the results to improve productivity, reduce downtime, and increase profitability.