White paper highlights solution to manufacturing paradox

Manufacturing IT operations and performance specialist EmsPT, a division of SolutionsPT, has released a white paper which explains how manufacturers can use scheduling techniques and software to bring together Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and On Time Delivery in Full (OTDiF). Entitled A perfectly imperfect world, the white paper is completely free and can be downloaded from the EmsPT website.

Manufacturers invest time and resources to ensure that systems and processes run as smoothly as possible. Continuous improvement and achieving world class 85% OEE are typically high on the agenda. However, the On Time Delivery in Full standard is a prime factor in customer satisfaction.

This creates a paradox; while high OEE can improve OTDiF and definitely improves profitability, chasing OEE alone won’t result in the best OTDiF possible for the organisation. The white paper argues that further improvements could be made if attention was paid to the scheduler’s ‘perfect’ world and the reality of operations.

The white paper focuses on employing a combination of scheduling, planning and plant monitoring software, as a solution to the manufacturing paradox it presents.

In the document, EmsPT argues that it is crucial that schedules reliably and realistically utilise equipment and staff according to measured capability. Automatically acquired OEE measurements help support this relationship. The two functions can then work in harmony, and available resources can be focussed on the more demanding subsequent stages of continuous product or process improvement.

“Focusing OEE efforts in the right direction is not an easy job for manufacturers. Yet, I believe that managers can optimise processes and reduce downtime due to changeovers using clever time management,” explained Richard Stone, Business Unit Manager, EmsPT.

“Furthermore, implementing tailored monitoring software that reports live status can indicate when and how certain operations should be scheduled by the shop-floor team. We hope that manufacturers can use this white paper as a way of stirring up the murky waters of the manufacturing paradox and steering towards the calm ones of profitability and effectiveness,” he concluded.