Unlocking Manufacturing Efficiency: The Role of Digital Transformation in Improving OEE in Food and Beverage

Since the 1960s, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) has been a cornerstone metric in the manufacturing industry, gauging how efficiently operations are utilized. In the realm of Food & Beverage (F&B) and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturing, OEE stands as a pivotal measure, revealing operational losses and paving the way for substantial savings.

While an OEE perfect score is 100%, achieving 100% in real-world manufacturing is extremely rare and challenging. In fact, a widely accepted industry benchmark is around 85%, which is considered excellent. A mere 1% increase in OEE can translate to millions of dollars saved annually for some companies.

This blog discusses the significance of OEE, particularly in cutting waste related to availability, performance, and quality, to drive transformative changes and continuous improvement in the F&B manufacturing industry.

OEE encompasses three critical factors: Availability, Performance, and Quality. In the context of F&B manufacturing, six potential areas of losses are identified:

1. Availability: Planned and unplanned downtime.
2. Performance: Micro stops and speed losses.
3. Quality: Production and start-up rejects.

To effectively eliminate these losses, organizations must have visibility into the performance of each unit within the production line. This visibility is crucial for uncovering inefficiencies and making incremental improvements in OEE.

For many companies, the lion's share of improvements lies in addressing losses related to plant availability. Clean-in-Place (CIP), a critical process in various industries, can account for up to 30% of energy and water usage, leading to significant downtime and costs. However, the challenge lies in the "worst case" design of CIP processes, often resulting in over-cleaning of production lines. Industry-wide efforts are underway to minimize downtime, with a particular focus on optimizing the efficiency of CIP processes.

Site performance losses, often occurring during ramp-down and ramp-up around machine stops, demand attention. Identifying patterns of significant performance loss, such as slow cycles or small stops, is crucial. Changeovers, events with considerable variation, are a key contributor to site performance losses. Common issues include lack of standards, inadequate operator training, difficulties in equipment calibration, variability in sequence and work methods, and insufficient coordination during changeovers.

To enhance changeover performance, manufacturers can implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

These standardized instructions function as training protocols for operators, ensuring consistency and preventing shortcuts. In equipment-intensive industries like soft drinks and dairy production, where plant operation relies on centralized control computers, proficiency can take months or longer. Analyzing and standardizing processes can uncover unnoticed site performance losses, leading to significant improvements in OEE.

While OEE is a powerful metric, it is essential to recognize that it is not perfect and must be considered alongside external factors. Ignoring variables such as higher energy usage or labor costs during specific times can lead to increased overall waste. Not only does waste reduce profitability, but it is also counter to the sustainability goals man F&B and CPG manufacturers are trying to achieve. Software solutions such as Proficy Smart Factory MES helps identify utilities waste and promote efficient resource utilization. With persona-based workflows manufacturers can direct eco-efficiency actions to individual parts, lines, at one facility, or across sites.

In summary, Overall Equipment Effectiveness continues to be a vital metric to drive continuous improvement in food and beverage manufacturing. With comprehensive information leveraging digital tools such as Proficy Smart Factory - Cloud MES, fully hosted in the AWS Marketplace, enables companies to have the visibility to manufacturing data needed to maximize production efficiency by understanding operations performance down to the individual asset. By strategically addressing losses in availability, performance, and quality, companies can unlock significant savings and propel transformative changes. Standardizing processes, optimizing changeovers, and considering external variables are essential steps in leveraging OEE to its full potential, ultimately leading to a more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing ecosystem.