In the highly competitive business environment we are living, the requirement to establish KPIs and monitor them closely is a must. The operational efficiency is a critical KPI and applies to all sorts of operations. This article defines the operational efficiency also known as Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE). It also describes a software / hardware that implements it in a factory. .....

I had been contacted in the past by a company asking for help in selecting proper world class targets to build their factory strategy. When I saw their set of KPIs, I was surprised to realise that their current situation was in fact miles away from world class. Suffice it to mention that their average OEE indicator (Overall Equipment Efficiency) was in the area of 40%. In my next question “What triggered your search for world class targets?” the answer was ...

Well, never!! The answer is clear cut, without any “if” or “may be”. Frankly speaking, nearly all (maintenance or factory managers) have occasionally been under strong pressure to reduce the maintenance budget by postponing or even cutting maintenance activities. Strange enough...

This article aims to clarify what a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is, how to select it and how to implement it in an organisation. Pitfalls, perils and how to mitigate them are also highlighted. The principles are independent from the type of organisation, but here focus is given to manufacturing....

A quality failure happens when a product or service fails to satisfy one of its specifications. This may happen despite all the quality control measures or because an unknown parameter has interfered in a process step of the production routine....

Last time you were in a dilemma, you wished you could take the correct decision about the right thing to do and of course never to be in a similar situation again. Right? Well, not quite! For two reasons: Every time we have to take a decision we have to make a choice between two alternatives. There are indeed always two alternatives (may be more, not less)! Even avoiding or postponing a decision it is an alternative in itself. Whether we like it or not, life is … luckily full of dilemmas. We have to be able to recognise...

There is a variety of systems proposed to help in improving a factory. Each of them focuses in almost every aspect of factory activity being that quality, reliability, safety, productivity, waste reduction, stock reduction, process management, assets management, maintenance … you name it. They offer a systematic approach helping the factory to support the business in a sound and sustainable way. At the same time they create a confusion to management, when it comes to choose one of them.....

We are living in a world that is getting more and more complex leading to more unstable – even chaotic – demand patterns. In such an environment the market is increasing the stakes for the foods producing factories asking for more diversified products in view of the fast changing customers’ preferences. The challenge for a lean foods factory is to cover the demand without stock outs, maintaining at the same time the minimum achievable stock (safety stock). Moreover Marketing requests various demand planning scenarios to optimize their promotional activities. Maintenance asks for .....

“You start with a shiny factory and then you pay people to make it dirty!” It may sound funny and crazy but this is what happens to many factories. And then it goes further like “Why clean if it will get dirty again?” or “We have tried it before!” or even “It is not my job!”, “Why ...

Are you satisfied with the level of service you offer to your customers? Is your customer service index OTIF (On Time In Full) high? If not, you have to do something. Watching the OTIF does not improve it. What if you seriously think of implementing continuous improvement? Here is why.