
What are the common pitfalls of improving Overall Equipment Efficiency and how to avoid them?
Most enterprises, be it in biopharmaceuticals or other industries will naturally strive to enhance their overall equipment effectiveness/efficiency (OEE) in a bid to stay competitive in a fast-changing global environment. However, there are several OEE optimisation mistakes that are avoidable for Biopharma and other industrial players. Knowledge of the right OEE fundamentals is also necessary for proper implementation and optimisation alike. Here’s taking a closer look. OEE fundamentals at a glance Here are some key points on overall equipment effectiveness/efficiency (OEE) that are worth noting. Now that you have a basic grasp of the OEE fundamentals, it is time to look at how you can avoid common mistakes within the fold of your optimisation efforts. OEE Optimization- Mistakes to Avoid Let us look at a few common overall equipment effectiveness optimisation mistakes that Biopharma companies often end up making. As can be seen, while striving to enhance OEE is always desirable, it is important to set realistic benchmarks and look at surrounding issues that your system may not always help you detect. Avoiding these mistakes will undoubtedly be beneficial for Biopharma companies in the long run. FAQs What risks are associated with neglecting the impact of external factors, such as supply chain disruptions, on OEE in the Biopharma industry? There are several risks that are associated with neglecting the sheer impact of external factors on OEE like disruptions in the supply chain. Biopharma players can face risks like improper forecasting and risk management, inventory management woes, higher loss ratios, poor delivery of requirements, and even quality drops. How can a lack of standardized metrics and benchmarks hinder OEE improvement efforts in the Biopharma industry? The absence of standardised benchmarks and metrics will naturally bog down OEE improvement initiatives in the Biopharma industry. There will be no clarity on what to measure and fix with most companies calculating OEE in the wrong way as a result. What risks are associated with setting unrealistic OEE improvement goals in the Biopharma sector? There are associated risks for Biopharma companies setting OEE improvement goals that are unrealistic. These include insufficient visibility, decisions based on wrong or limited analytics, not accounting for actual issues in the calculation, and focusing on the wrong metrics at the outset. How does Equipment Utilisation impact time-to-market for biopharmaceutical products? Equipment utilisation has a huge impact on the time-to-market threshold for biopharmaceutical products. Proper utilisation and productivity will help combat unplanned downtime and sudden disruptions, while enabling smoother delivery as per targets without frequent changeovers or higher occurrences of rejects. Faster time-to-market is a necessity for staying competitive in the current scenario and suitably utilizing equipment is necessary for this purpose. How does a lack of scalability in OEE improvement solutions pose challenges for growing Biopharma companies? Non-scalable solutions for OEE improvement may pose various challenges for growing Biopharma entities. They may be bogged down by issues like improper risk management and higher loss ratios along with poor inventory management and real-time performance tracking.