The three indicators that give you the best understanding of what's going on in your factory are: Availability, Speed, and Quality The product of these is the value of OEE and by analyzing each one, you will understand what is holding you back from achieving World Class Productivity.
These indicators are measured as a percentage, with 100% being the goal that should always be pursued. Each percentile point that takes you away from perfection is due to a particular reason that must be identified and corrected. The six most recurrent reasons and those that cause the greatest amount of loss are classified within the tree of the 6 great losses.
In this article we will tell how we have seen these losses applied in the day-to-day of manufacturing in our country (and how to solve them). You may recognize some that are happening within your company:
- Unscheduled shutdowns / Loss of availability.
In our experience, we found that the most common reasons for stoppage (more than 4 minutes) are Adjustments or Fixes, but the problem arises when they are so common that they become landscape, are grouped into a single cause and are not discriminated against, losing the opportunity for improvement.
Logistics stoppages are also constantly repeated among the companies we have advised: Lack of pallets, lack of raw materials, of packaging material. These stops can be completely solved with an environment logistics management.
Other examples: Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance, lack of operator or tool failures.
- Scheduled stoppages / Loss of availability.More than 30% of Colombian companies decide not to take into account scheduled stoppages when measuring their indicators, these are the examples that are most repeated and we mention options to cause an improvement from them:
Lunches:Evaluate if it can be more profitable to do relays or have skaters.
Cleanings:Evaluating, cleaning during production or matching flavors or references between product changes.
Machine start or reference change: These stoppages should be divided into sections to identify if it is possible to make pre-setups and identify where the greatest downtime is generated. For a more rigorous optimization, it is recommended to apply the SMED lean manufacturintool.
Other examples: Preventive maintenance, warm-up time, preparation and quality inspections, lack of manufacturing order. - Small stops / Loss of performanceMultiple causes cause small stops of less than 4 minutes, but in the cases we have seen they are considered insignificant and are not recorded. These stoppages can be completely eliminated with very little investment, improving efficiency immediately and impacting up to 15% of monthly productivity. Most of them are due to the quality of the raw materials, spare parts that regularly break down and processes that have breaks that are thought to be necessary, but are not.
Other examples:Stuck material, clogged product flow, incorrect settings, misaligned sensors, cleaning of equipment parts, machine adjustment. - Reduced Speed / Loss of PerformanceThe most evident mistake we observe in this type of loss is failing to optimize the machines' speed for different products. Some items require the machines to operate at a lower speed to avoid manufacturing defective units, while another product on the same machine can run at a higher speed without issues.
We also noticed that when the culture of "continuous improvement" is not strong or there are few incentives for operators, they tend to run the machines at a speed that is comfortable for them but below the optimal level.
Other examples:Insufficient lubrication, low-quality raw materials, operator inexperience, worn-out equipment, machine startup, and cycle completion. - Defective Units / Quality LossThe biggest challenge in reducing defective units lies in the fact that few companies classify their waste by its respective causes. To implement the most effective solution for this type of loss, it is necessary to create a Waste Pareto Chart. This will help identify the 2 or 3 main causes responsible for 80% of the waste, allowing you to address the most critical issues first.
Other examples:Units manufactured under incorrect settings, operator errors, equipment handling mistakes. - Startup Waste / Quality LossThese errors are evident when the machine settings have not been standardized or when the machine is not adjusted for different product references (which require varying processes). To address this, you need to determine the most effective machine settings for each product reference being processed. Once you identify the time it takes for the machine to calibrate (so it stops producing defective units during startup), you can start using wasted product or defective raw materials for this calibration.
—————————————————————–
Which Loss to Address First?
Once the losses your company is experiencing have been identified, you need to decide which one to tackle first. Ideally, assign an economic value, in monetary terms, to each loss and prioritize based on that amount.
However, in some cases, the most significant losses may require solutions that are very costly or challenging to implement because they involve substantial changes. If that loss is not your current bottleneck, you can propose a long-term improvement plan while addressing the next loss on your priority list.
If you want to receive articles like this by email, sign up! Click Here.
We invite you to watch the video on how our GESPLINE platform works: Click Here!
