How to Reduce Manufacturing Downtime and Increase Productivity

1. HOW TO REDUCE DOWNTIME AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY IN MANUFACTURING

2. Manufacturing Downtime leads to productivity loss and reduces the Overall Equipment Effectiveness of the plant. Unplanned Machine Downtime can be controlled by dynamically tracking the plant’s equipment performance. Downtime Reduction can be carried out by hands-on evaluation of the recorded event data through various Downtime Software; and preventive maintenance of the machine.

3. Why companies should track Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and reduce Downtime?

4. The plant's Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) fits into the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) layer of organizations. The OEE is a hierarchy of metrics used to monitor the effectiveness of manufacturing facilities and is used to measure efficiencies of machines and processes. However it does not tell how to improve efficiencies; this is why tracking downtime is essential to increasing OEE. Tracking Downtime provides actionable information that lets one find out what to focus on to improve OEE.

5. Downtime: The biggest reason for bringing down a plant’s Overall Equipment Effectiveness. 50 40 30 20 10 0

6. Downtime is one of the biggest reasons for undermining a plant's Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) as it can end up in  wasting a great deal of planned production time. Downtime is also one of the most tricky factors to put back into functioning order, because there can be so many things affecting it. Regardless of whether the reasons for downtime are big or small, they can be improved or fixed collectively. Let’s explore some ways to ensure highest equipment uptime:

7. • Automate Downtime Tracking: Downtime tracking system helps in recording of the entire event that may lead to Machine Downtime. This is quite inexpensive compared to the losses caused by unplanned downtime. • Conduct regular employee training: The operators spend most of their time with the machines and they are the initial responders too. If they are appropriately skilled in managing and maintaining their equipment well then such untoward events can be avoided.

8. • Regular maintenance is important: Preventive maintenance is always better than reactive maintenance. If the operators are well trained for regular oiling and greasing of the machines and apparent maintenance issues then it will contribute to a great extent towards Downtime Reduction. • Prop up for emergencies: In case of a breakdown, always have suitable mechanisms for carrying out maintenance. This will help reduce on time and money in the long run. • Assess the Derived Data critically: The data received from Downtime Tracking mechanism is crucial and proactive steps must be taken so that one does not have to face unplanned emergencies on the plant floor. Preventive maintenance gets an enormous boost from this data.

9. Until recently, the method of manual tracking of the OEE has been widely in use, but nowadays, it is declining due to the implementation of Predictive Maintenance Technology. It offers an effortless way to monitor machine performance, thus enhancing OEE and minimizing downtime. The technique involves one or more sensors to stream the machine’s real-time data into a Computerized Maintenance Management system (CMMS). Predictive maintenance allows operators, maintenance technicians, and production supervisors to fix downtime issues in real-time, instead of weeks later. The system is not only equipped to inform a plant manager about how much downtime has occurred, it also tracks precisely when, where, and why the downtime happened. To troubleshoot downtime problems quickly and efficiently, this kind of speed and accuracy are crucial.

10. One can improve the Overall Equipment Efficiency score to a great extent by proactively Reducing Machine Downtime. Downtime Reduction will not only give a boost to the production capabilities but also make the unit dependable and credible.