8 nonsense statements about OEE

I regularly read articles about OEE that make me at the very least frown.... But how do you know whether you can expect an 'OEE expert' to help you make your production perform better?

?8 hints when to distrust an OEE Expert

1. He talks about Equipment Efficiency.

OEE is not about efficiency but about Effectiveness. Read here that the difference is huge.

2.?He tells you that with OEE you will be able to compare machines and even factories.

Why this is nonsense you can read here.

3.?He promises that your machines will perform better because with OEE you will know exactly what is happening.

Will your car perform better if we fill it with information screens that show your boss exactly what is happening? So why should your other machines?

4.?He is proud that 'All data can be collected fully automatically, the operator does not have to do anything'.

Then who else is going to operate, maintain, load the machine? And why then? Isn't it the operator who has the greatest influence?

5.?He tells you that his solution is specifically made for machine type x or industry y

One of the great things about a correctly defined used OEE is that any loss of effectiveness can be made visible on any production machine; so there is no reason at all to make a special OEE for a particular type of machine!

6.?He distinguishes between planned and unplanned downtime and does not include planned downtime in the OEE; after all, 'these downtimes are planned'.

Planned or unplanned; a loss is a loss and we want to at least know and minimize it as much as possible. That is the purpose of an OEE measurement!

7.???????He is proud to promise 5, 10 or even 15% more output due to his solution.

You do not need OEE to achieve such numbers of improvement... Simply go and stand beside the machine and the machine will perform better. That is the effect of focus, not OEE.... Most machines can easily generate 50%, 100% or even more output. But then you need to deploy and use OEE in the right way!

8. He tells you that 85% OEE is 'World Class'.

A much talked about statement that is nonsense for several reasons. Here you can read why.

As a bonus... Demonstration of manufacturing expertise (LoL!!)

To contact the Autor, call +31-651183662 (CET) or send a mail to

[arno dot koch at oee dot coach]