LNS Research just published a couple of blog posts of some interest. One concerns Operating Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and the other one on 14 Ways to Raise Executive Awareness on Manufacturing Business Impact. The first deals with manufacturing metrics and the latter with operations management.
The OEE post was essentially fishing twitter followers for comments. I’ve long had problems with OEE as a metric. Of course, I remember when OEE stood for Overall Equipment Efficiency. That was maybe more to the point. People have told me that they evaluate one machine builder over another based on OEE. Others evaluate one plant over another.
The main trouble is that there is no standard for collecting the data that goes into OEE. Often it depends upon operator input. And all of us who have actually worked with operators know that they are more concerned with production than with data collection. They will just click the button that is easiest and creates the least work in the future–as in discussions with engineers or managers. OEE can be useful, but only if you’re disciplined.
Mark Davidson wrote the other one. Many of the 14 ways are interesting. A couple are a bit self-serving. But I could boil it down to something I noticed 30 years ago in manufacturing. Leaders are readers. And leaders are inquisitive. The engineers and managers who get things done are the ones who read books and trade journals. They go to conferences to learn and network. They search out people with new ideas.
Speaking of new ideas, I send a special email to subscribers with a little more depth from things I’ve read or experienced. You can sign up by clicking on the envelop icon. I will not spam you–just send something interesting just about every week.
