We’ve talked a lot about how the Leap Sensors product line was designed with user-friendliness, improved maintenance, and a high level of modularity in mind. What we haven’t talked as much about is Leap Sensors’ potential to improve productivity by tracking Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

OEE is one of the most effective ways to measure manufacturing productivity. OEE is an important metric because it provides manufacturers with a comprehensive view of how well their equipment is operating and helps them to identify areas for improvement. It measures what amount of manufacturing time is actually productive. A perfect OEE score would be 100%, meaning that the equipment is operating at maximum efficiency without any downtime, producing only high-quality products. Being able to measure OEE and recognize losses due to ineffective manufacturing practices gives you important information on specific areas for improved productivity.   

There are many formulas used to calculate OEE. The most common key performance variables that are included in these various tracking methods are

  • Fully productive time: production time used producing only good parts, as fast as possible.
  • Ideal Cycle Time: the theoretical fastest time it takes to manufacture one part.
  • Planned production time: the total time your system is scheduled to produce.
  • Downtime: all unplanned stoppages in production.
  • Good count: parts produced that are manufactured to meet all quality-control standards.

This reporting and data is critical for knowing how operations are running in order to address issues that arise, eliminate chronic issues, make plans, and maximize efficiency and profits.

Phase IV’s Leap Production Line Counter is ideal for OEE. It’s simple but sophisticated design utilizes edge computing to provide metrics such as simple count, number of stops, downtime, and line rate. By downloading this information into an Excel spreadsheet, you can calculate several key performance indicators that contribute to OEE. These include: Rate Utilization (also known as Performance), Availability, Mean Time Between Stops (or Mean Time Between Failures), and Mean Downtime per Stop (often known as Mean Time to Repair). All of these things can be measured and tracked with time-stamped production counts reported from the sensor. Receive a preconfigured, ready-to-use spreadsheet from us with your Production Counter order and you’ll have your OEE report ready to go.

Overall, If you want to improve the performance of your manufacturing processes, OEE is a key metric. By measuring availability, performance, and quality, OEE provides a comprehensive view of equipment efficiency and helps to identify areas for improvement. The Leap Production Line Counter Sensor makes it easy to track and utilize this crucial information. Learn more about how Leap Sensors can improve your OEE by talking with one of our wireless sensor experts today.