It’s easy for manufacturers to get lost in a sea of KPIs – labor efficiency, cycle times, changeover durations, energy usage, and more. While each metric plays a role, one stands out as a leading indicator of operational success: Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
At Flexware Innovation, we recently hosted a webinar exploring how manufacturers can drive meaningful improvements through a focused OEE strategy. Two of our experts, Business Development Manager Ashley Hooley and Solutions Architect Jonathan Geva, walked attendees through the value of OEE and how to leverage it for measurable ROI.
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What is OEE?
OEE is a composite metric that combines Availability, Performance, and Quality into a single percentage that reflects how effectively your manufacturing assets are producing good parts on time.
- Availability measures uptime—how often your equipment is actually running.
- Performance tracks whether you’re hitting optimal cycle times.
- Quality reflects the ratio of good parts produced versus scrap or rework.
World-class manufacturers aim for OEE scores above 85%, but many operate in the 60% range. The good news? Even small improvements in OEE can have a significant impact.
Why Focus on OEE?
While it’s tempting to chase every KPI, OEE offers a unique advantage: it directly correlates to profitability. For example, in a high-speed can-making line producing 2,000 cans per minute, increasing OEE by just 1% can yield over $350,000 annually in added profit.
Jonathan Geva explained why OEE is such a powerful metric, “OEE shows you how well you’re utilizing your existing resources without adding more cost, time, or labor. It highlights exactly where you’re falling short and gives you the data to fix it.”
How OEE Enables Actionable Improvements
A mature OEE solution—like Flexware’s Acumence platform—can provide real-time dashboards, historical data, and granular root cause analysis that drive meaningful action.
Some of the key benefits include:
- Predictive Maintenance: Use downtime reason codes to forecast failures before they happen.
- Balanced Line Speeds: Identify starved or blocked stations for smoother line flow.
- Root Cause Analysis: Use Pareto charts to focus on the biggest contributors to inefficiency.
- Changeover Efficiency: Eliminate the “black box” during SKU or tooling transitions.
- Enhanced Quality Control: Leverage automation and AI to detect defects before they hit the customer.
A Real-World Example: Ball Corporation
Global aluminum can manufacturer Ball partnered with Flexware to implement the Acumence platform across 20+ sites. Their goals were to:
- Eliminate delays in accessing real-time data
- Improve trust in production metrics
- Reduce the manual effort required to aggregate data from multiple systems
The result? A 3% increase in OEE, consistent bottleneck identification, and standardized performance improvements across all sites.
What’s Next for OEE?
The future of OEE lies in AI integration, system interoperability, and automation:
- AI-driven optimization: Adjust processes on the fly based on real-time machine data.
- Integrated ecosystems: Tie in ERP, MES, LIMS, and maintenance systems for enterprise-wide insights.
- Smarter automation: Use the growing stream of sensor data to power predictive maintenance, smarter alarming, and real-time scrap tracking.
As Jonathan put it, “We’re no longer just collecting data. We’re turning it into strategic decisions.”
Is OEE Right for You?
If you’re a manufacturer producing anything from beverages to bearings, the answer is likely yes. From plant supervisors to quality teams to executive leadership, OEE can inform and empower every level of your organization.
Whether you’re looking for real-time insight, long-term trend analysis, or a foundation for digital transformation, OEE is the metric that ties it all together.
How to Get Started
If you’re unsure where to begin, start by identifying:
- Which machines or lines have the most opportunity for improvement
- What data is already available from your PLCs or operators
- Whether you need automated collection or are fine starting with manual input
Flexware offers tools to guide this journey, including an OEE data template to help map out your plant floor, available protocols, and data sources.
Flexware has nearly 30 years of experience deploying enterprise OEE solutions customized to diverse industries. We are platform-agnostic, supporting tools like Acumence, Ignition, Rockwell, and Wonderware, and specialize in developing roadmaps to help you crawl, walk, and run with confidence.
Want to see how OEE could impact your plant? Contact us today to request the OEE data template, schedule a discovery session, or get a customized demo.
Let’s unlock the potential in your data—one percentage point at a time.
Director of Marketing
I’m driven by the belief that meaningful progress happens when people, processes, and technology work in harmony. In my role as Director of Marketing at Flexware Innovation, I focus on elevating the stories and solutions that empower manufacturers to operate smarter and lead with confidence. I strive to create clarity, build trust, and make complex ideas accessible so my colleagues, customers, and partners can move faster toward what matters most.
