Improving OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) means reducing the losses that limit a plant’s production capacity. It’s not simply about increasing a percentage; it’s about identifying where time, speed, or quality is being wasted so you can address the root causes.
When a company systematically works on improving OEE, it can produce more using the same resources, reduce operating costs, minimize downtime, and make data-driven decisions.
If you’re not yet familiar with this KPI, we recommend first reading our article on what OEE is and how it is calculated, where you’ll find the theoretical foundations of this indicator.
Keep reading to learn how to improve OEE step by step, which methodologies deliver the best results, and how an MES system supports continuous improvement on the shop floor.
How to prioritize OEE improvement
OEE is a metric that measures how much of the theoretical production time is converted into good-quality output at the standard production speed.
Improving OEE requires identifying availability, performance, and quality losses separately and addressing the largest source of inefficiency first.
For example:
- If machines experience frequent breakdowns or long setup times, the issue lies with availability.
- If production runs below the expected speed, you need to improve performance.
- If the number of defective parts or rework increases, the focus should be on improving quality.
Working in this order helps achieve quick wins while establishing a much more sustainable continuous improvement process.
How to increase equipment availability
Availability is usually the first factor companies focus on because any downtime immediately reduces production capacity.
The most effective actions include:
- Implementing preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
- Monitoring equipment condition using IoT technology and sensors.
- Reducing response times to equipment failures.
- Standardizing maintenance procedures.
- Analyzing the root causes of recurring breakdowns to prevent them from happening again.
For example, an industrial plant installed IoT sensors on critical equipment that detected abnormal vibrations, allowing maintenance to be scheduled before a failure occurred and preventing extended downtime.
Using TPM to reduce breakdowns
One of the most effective strategies for improving availability is TPM (Total Productive Maintenance), as it actively involves both maintenance and production teams in caring for equipment.
This approach is particularly valuable when breakdowns are recurring or difficult to predict because it shifts maintenance from a reactive model to a structured preventive approach.
Once these issues are under control, the next area of improvement is typically equipment performance, where speed and efficiency losses become more apparent.
How to improve production performance
When machines are available but operate below their full capacity, OEE remains low.
The most common causes include:
- Frequent minor stops.
- Running below the target speed.
- Excessively long changeovers.
- Process imbalances.
- Bottlenecks.
Reducing changeover times with SMED
Once availability is under control, one of the biggest sources of production loss is often unproductive time during changeovers.
This is where SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) becomes a key methodology, enabling companies to dramatically reduce setup times without investing in new machinery.
For example, a beverage manufacturer reduced changeover times from 60 minutes to 25 minutes by implementing SMED, freeing up more than 90 minutes of additional production time every day.
After optimizing changeovers, the next step is detecting production deviations in real time to prevent performance losses.
Monitoring production in real time
Reducing changeover times is not enough if production speed deviations are not detected quickly.
Real-time production monitoring makes it possible to identify when a production line starts losing performance before the issue impacts overall OEE.
This is especially important in processes involving multiple machines, where small accumulated deviations can result in significant production losses.
Maintaining this level of performance control is essential before moving on to the next OEE factor: product quality.
How to improve quality to increase OEE
Every defective part represents a loss of materials, time, and production capacity.
For this reason, improving OEE also requires reducing the percentage of non-conforming products.
Some of the most effective actions include:
- Digitizing quality inspections.
- Detecting defects during production instead of at the end of the process.
- Implementing traceability systems.
- Training operators on quality standards.
- Performing root cause analysis on quality issues.
For example, a food manufacturer implemented machine vision systems to inspect every product on the production line, reducing product returns by 25% while improving overall product quality.
Performing root cause analysis
When quality defects occur, simply correcting the visible problem is not enough to achieve sustainable OEE improvement.
Root cause analysis helps identify the underlying source of quality issues using tools such as the 5 Whys or the Ishikawa (Fishbone) Diagram.
This prevents the same issues from recurring in the future, reducing scrap and rework.
Once quality has been stabilized, the next step is to sustain improvements through continuous monitoring and performance measurement.
KPIs that complement OEE
Although OEE is one of the most important production metrics, it does not always explain the root cause of production losses on its own.
For this reason, many manufacturers also monitor additional quality, maintenance, and production KPIs, including:
- MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures).
- MTTR (Mean Time to Repair).
- Scrap generated.
- Number of minor stops.
- Average changeover time.
- Production schedule adherence.
These KPIs provide a more accurate understanding of where improvements should be made to continue increasing OEE.
Common mistakes when trying to improve OEE
Many OEE improvement initiatives fail because they focus exclusively on the final OEE percentage.
Some of the most common mistakes include:
- Trying to improve all three OEE components simultaneously.
- Collecting production data manually.
- Looking only at the final OEE score without investigating its causes.
- Failing to standardize processes.
- Implementing improvement actions without measuring their impact afterward.
- Making decisions based on outdated information.
- Confusing manually entered data with actual machine data.
- Failing to perform root cause analysis before taking corrective action.
Improving OEE requires an ongoing process based on accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information.
How an MES system facilitates OEE improvement
Maintaining a continuous improvement process becomes challenging when production data comes from spreadsheets or paper-based records.
An MES (Manufacturing Execution System) automates data collection and provides a complete, real-time view of production operations.
With an MES such as Mapex, companies can:
- Automatically calculate OEE.
- Detect downtime and performance losses instantly.
- Digitize quality inspections.
- Display dashboards with key production KPIs.
- Manage end-to-end traceability.
- Eliminate manual data entry.
- Standardize production processes.
- Support Lean Manufacturing initiatives.
- Manage operator training through tools such as the ILUO skills matrix.
All of this reduces the time spent collecting information and allows teams to focus on continuous improvement.
OEE improvement success stories
Companies across different industries have already improved their operational efficiency by digitalizing OEE management with Mapex.
Some of the results achieved include:
- An increase of up to 10 percentage points in OEE on production lines through automated data collection and real-time KPI visualization.
- A 6-percentage-point increase in OEE within six months thanks to continuous production monitoring and data-driven decision-making.
These results demonstrate that improving OEE depends not only on using the right methodologies but also on having accurate, up-to-date production data.
Improving OEE is not simply about increasing a performance metric—it is about systematically eliminating the losses that impact production.
Prioritizing improvement initiatives correctly, implementing methodologies such as TPM, SMED, and Root Cause Analysis, and having access to real-time production data enables manufacturers to sustainably improve availability, performance, and quality.
Implementing an MES system simplifies this entire process by automating data collection, providing complete visibility across the plant, and accelerating decision-making.
FAQs about improving OEE
Where should I start to improve OEE?
The first step is identifying which of the three OEE components—availability, performance, or quality—is responsible for the greatest production loss. Addressing the primary bottleneck usually delivers the fastest results.
Which methodologies help increase OEE?
The most widely used methodologies include TPM to reduce equipment breakdowns, SMED to shorten changeover times, Lean Manufacturing to eliminate waste and Root Cause Analysis to solve problems permanently.
Which KPIs should be analyzed alongside OEE?
It is recommended to complement OEE with KPIs such as MTBF, MTTR, scrap rate, minor stops, changeover time, and production schedule adherence, as these metrics help identify the underlying causes of production losses.
How does an MES system improve OEE?
An MES automates data collection, calculates OEE in real time, immediately detects production issues, digitizes quality inspections, and enables faster, data-driven decision-making based on reliable information.
How long does it take to improve OEE?
The timeline depends on the company’s starting point and the improvement initiatives implemented. Many manufacturers begin seeing measurable improvements within the first few months when they combine real-time production data with a structured continuous improvement methodology.
