Does OEE really work?

You've heard about OEE for years now. But does it really work? I've got a story for you but first I'd like to comment that OEE is just a tool. You can either use it, abuse it or neglect it.

Some months ago one of our end-users installed the OEE module at one of their facilities that has a lot of lines. A lot of data has been collected but only recently did the production manager started analyzing it. His attention was drawn to one machine on one line by reason of the OEE. On closer inspection he determined the machine was pausing at times for no apparent reason so he called in maintenance. It's not unusual for automated machinery to slow down or pause due to low product supply or backup conditions but this just didn't seem right. By monitoring the PLC logic maintenance was able to trace the problem to an intermittent field IO block that sometimes gave false state information for some photoeyes.

After the part was replaced the OEE jumped up by 10%. They had accumulated a baseline of OEE information and just by replacing this one part the OEE increased dramatically. In this case the faulty component didn't entirely stop production so its effects weren't obvious. It just made the line not run as well as it could.

This brings me back to the main point. For OEE to work it has to be properly implemented and then the resultant data need to be acted upon. When this is done the results can be significant.

The Value of Fast SCADA Installation & Development

When integrators install Ignition for their customers they deliver more bang for the buck in two ways. By an order of magnitude, they save their customers money both on software itself and on the labor to develop applications and deploy them. It's a double-sided benefit for end-users.

If you're an integrator, you might say, "but that's less work for me!" From experience I can tell you that's not true. I've discovered that in the same number of hours you will deliver way more functionality and end-users will love you for it. Then they will ask you to do even more. It's a win-win proposition. Essentially, what I have found is that they finally feel like they are getting the value they always expected.

This is a valuable concept you can use to your advantage as you offer your services.

Also consider this: Who wants to pay for an integrator to spend all week just to install and deploy HMI/SCADA/MES software? That's a huge waste of time and money and it makes the end-user feel like he's getting milked. Enough with that! Why should an installation and deployment take more than a few minutes? Spend the rest of your time building what the customer really wants and deploy it to a hundred clients with just a mouse click.

End-Users Are Beginning To Expect More From Integrators
End-users are starting to take all this for granted. I've been witness to the overwhelming reception of Ignition by end-users once they truly understand it. Hundreds of other integrators have discovered this as well. But now many end-users have come to expect what Ignition delivers as the new norm. When integrators approach these end-users with the old way they're going to get laughed right out of the place. I was recently a witness to a CEO ridiculing an integrator who proposed doing it the old way. It was embarrassing for me to watch.

Virtually all other software I'm aware of is so '90s. Relational databases are a way of life now in manufacturing yet most HMI/SCADA software treats it as an afterthought if they handle it at all. Sure, you could band-aid something together but why would you want to when you could be delivering real value in a fraction of the time? You want to feel loved? Well trust me, that's how you do it.

Offer Higher Value Before Your Competitors Do
Integrators should always be on the look out for better ways to do things more efficiently. Some integrators say, "I just do what the customer tells me." Do that at your own peril because one day the end-user will discover it on his own and some other integrator will be putting it in.

In one case recently, an integrator lost about a year's worth of work when another integrator showed the customer two bids: one for what the end-user requested, and an alternative bid using Ignition. The customer decided to use Ignition because the integrator showed that for the same amount of labor he could deliver more functionality – and more value for the money. He's feelin' the love now!

Automating Business Processes Can Save U.S. Jobs

Recently, I was talking to corporate engineers at a major United States company that has adopted Ignition with a vengeance. They said, "You know what we're doing, don't you? We're saving U.S. jobs."

I've always felt this was the case. But you can't just plop down Ignition and expect to automatically save jobs. Ignition has to be thoughtfully integrated against existing business flows; then if you did well, you can make the same statement as the company above.

I'd love to tell you more about the company that was rejoicing over the phone about saving jobs in America, but we're under a non-disclosure agreement because they are serious about keeping their new-found business advantages.

Better Efficiency Begets Better Jobs
There is another company that generated reams of paper every day just to keep track of their operations. They are in the food industry and have stringent genealogy requirements. The amount of double, triple and quadruple data entry was astounding. Now it's all electronic using Ignition.

You might say, "well, what happens to all those people's jobs?" The answer is they still work there, but in better, more productive, more rewarding jobs. That company is now more competitive. Similar stories are rolling in every day from Ignition users.

A "Living Application" Example
Our own customer relationship management (CRM) system is an example of making everyone's job better. Way back in 2005 we were being overwhelmed administratively on just the traffic we had at the time. We had a hard time tracking everything that was going on. We were doing it all manually and it was labor intensive and not very scalable.

So we took every one of those existing business flows and automated them using Ignition. Everyone knows what's going on. The sales pipeline, all communications, tech support history, knowledge base, statistics of many types, website back-end, license activation and history, quotes, email, phone, appointments, cameras, you name it, it's probably there. And every single day there are updates rolled out to the multitude of open clients, which adds even more functionality.

It's a living application which keeps up with our business processes as we improve them. Ignition makes "continuous improvement" attainable in reality. There is just no way to communicate how our CRM has taken all the internal friction out of our operation and for that we're far more competitive than we otherwise would have been. And it didn't cost us a million dollars.

The Right Mix for Automating Business Processes
Why is Ignition so adept at automating business processes and creating paperless plant floors? Because Ignition is a rapid application development (RAD) tool, because it can easily talk with almost anything in the enterprise, because it has an amazingly simple deployment model, and because it has flat server pricing so you can scale it out without dealing with oppressive economics.

As I mentioned before, achieving these efficiencies doesn't happen auto-magically. It still requires someone who knows existing company business processes as well as a familiarity with Ignition and databases. But with these in place you can do miracles and be the hero.

What many companies are doing here in America today with Ignition is breathtaking. I've seen many of these applications and I'm just thinking, "Wow, these guys have got to be deadly to the competition – such ingenuity." Ingenuity certainly hasn't left America.