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Overcoming an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) Emergency : Lean and Six Sigma Practices Keep Chaos at Bay

Posted on Thursday, September, 13, 2007, 4:35PM

Disciplines such as lean manufacturing and Six Sigma are being applied much more broadly today by manufacturers seeking to reap efficiency benefits in multiple functional areas of the manufacturing enterprise. Lean is a strategy that is applied to eliminate waste, typically on a production line. Six Sigma, on the other hand, includes methodologies to improve quality in a product or process. Together these two disciplines can transform manufacturing. But how should they be applied and managed? Much more, as these two disciplines increase operational efficiency, can they counteract the most disruptive occurrence in the plant--equipment downtime? And, what about the interruption that often happens as a result of a typical business scenario, such as an acquisition? Suddenly operational efficiency is compromised because there are inconsistent inventory, scheduling and delivery practices added into the mix. This webcast on Operational Efficiency provides an overview of the disciplines of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma, as these are two vital areas of adoption for any manufacturer. But beyond the basics, this webcast will uncover some tactical ways to keep operational equipment effectiveness (OEE) at peak performance levels. And when the unexpected happens--equipment on the production line shuts down-- how can workflow and the workforce continue on? Sometimes it's as simple as having intuitive scheduling software, other times it means having a well-trained "lean team" that know how to apply these fundamental principles to overcome an OEE emergency. Among the key questions, this webcast answers are:

  • Where do lean and Six Sigma disciplines complement each other and where do they overlap?
  • How can they be used for maximum productivity improvement?
  • How does a manufacturer go about building teams that not only put these disciplines into effect, but leverage them as part of their jobs to avoid putting out these fires all day?
  • Are there metrics that should be applied to monitor and measure their effectiveness?
  • Can there disciplines be linked to financial metrics and performance?
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