Managing an entire manufacturing operation can be a real challenge. Many businesses have collapsed due to lack of maintenance or poorly managed assets. Many manufacturing plants suffer from frequent equipment breakdown and, the task of operating the plant seems like a daunting task. We all know that breakdowns happen without a warning, we cannot avoid machine failures, but with the help of a CMMS, we can reduce the breakdown and optimise the performance of the assets.
CMMS stands for Computerised Maintenance Management System. If you want to achieve an 85% OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), then a CMMS system is the best option.
What is the OEE definition?
OEE or Overall Equipment Effectiveness is a method designed to evaluate the efficiency of any equipment operating within the manufacturing unit. There are a couple of metrics, used by the industry to calculate the OEE. Based on these parameters, a detailed report to the management, regarding the performance of every asset.
How is OEE calculated?
There are three things that you need to evaluate to get the OEE.
- Availability= Total Operating Time/ Planned Production time
- Total Effective Equipment Performance= Ideal Cycle Time/ (Operating Time/ Total Equipment’s)
- Quality = Working Equipment’s/ Total no of Equipment’s
Once you have calculated these three-key metrics, now you can calculate the OEE.
OEE= Availability* Performance* Quality
Now that you know the OEE formula, let’s see how you can improve OEE with the help of a CMMS system.
If you are suffering from low OEE, then it is an indication of poorly maintained equipment. Thus, the CMMS will help in exercising the preventive maintenance strategy to enhance the overall OEE.
- Equipment Performance Data
The CMMS will provide critical data related to the asset health, like the types of repairs required for the asset, time invested in conducting the repairs, cost of repairs and most importantly, the availability of the spare parts required for the repair. Based on this detailed report, necessary decisions can be taken to ensure the smooth functioning of the manufacturing unit.
- Scheduled Asset Maintenance
The biggest cause of constant equipment breakdown has been, lack of maintenance. The only time a technician visits an asset is once it stops works. The reactive maintenance strategy was the root cause of low OEE. When machines remain idle due to breakdown, their loss of working hours causes a delay in work orders and increases the cost of operations. The CMMS implements the preventive maintenance method where the system creates an automated maintenance schedule for every asset so that the chances of breakdown are reduced, and the overall lifeline of the assets is increased.
- Data Availability
The CMMS is a storehouse of data and, data is the most important resource in today business world. With the help of reliable data, businesses can take calculative decisions and create a roadmap for success. The CMMS provides detailed information on.
- The total downtime
- of Repairs
- The root cause of equipment breakdown
- Total manpower working on the machine
- Repeat problems
- No or planned and unplanned work orders
All these above categories together work towards achieving an optimum level of OEE. With the help of the data, businesses can identify the key problems and design targeted solutions. Further, with the help of root cause analysis, the fundamental cause of low OEE can be identified and resolved.
The Bottom line:
Use the CMMS to improve your OEE. As the problems get resolved, the OEE percentile will also increase, and this will get directly reflected in your company’s balance sheet. CMMS is the best technology that can make maintenance activity simple and organised. Data is the strength that can breathe life even into a sick unit, CMMS equips you with real-time data, that can revolutionise the entire maintenance industry.