Overall Equipment Effectiveness is a measure of how well manufacturing organize and manage the activities of engaging the machines to make products.

There are many factors affecting OEE performance of a manufacturing enterprise. First is the issue of Available Time; second is the issue of Uptime after allowing set-up loss and downtime loss; and finally, the question of Process Reliability resulting directly from the state of condition of the machine.

Although the computation of OEE is straight forward, the definition of input time for computation of the base-line performance is often not properly understood. Hence, this leads to poor interpretation of performance as well as identifying the wrong causal factors and their contributing sub-causes.

Knowing how to establish OEE performance indicators and what data inputs are needed provides the basis for monitoring equipment and process performance. Once this is put in place, Cross-functional Team and Self-managed Team will be able to have a feel of how well they are performing.

While several factors are compared to produce the OEE, it is necessary for the managers, engineers and workmen to have an in-depth understanding of how to use the OEE to monitor their rate of progress in controlling losses on the line. OEE provides both an indication of performance as well as the potential probable causes and sub-causes for the poor or good performance. It helps the engineers working on restoring equipment performnace to be more focused toward seeking the right solutions.