A line not running at optimum efficiency and producing less than expected might only be second to unplanned downtime in terms of headaches faced in manufacturing—both of which can be caused by a weak link in the production line. We spoke to Craig Souser, president and CEO of JLS Automation, about overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), about maintenance best practices and strategies to use in order to keep a line operating at its fullest.
Today’s artificial intelligence-based software visibly improves the operation of packaging and production systems, yet operates quietly behind the scenes.
Like a 15th century expression, “Children should be seen but not heard,” artificial intelligence (AI) is typically an embedded software technology that operates quietly behind the scenes keeping a production or packaging system running smoothly—and is silent unless something goes out of control and is not easily corrected. Then, the system sounds an alarm, possibly shutting down the process until the problem—which AI has already identified—is remedied by humans.
Does OEE hold its own in being the only KPI you should be using? How should you apply OEE? What data should you use to determine OEE? How useful is it, really?
Large gains in productivity have been made over the years using lean manufacturing and Six Sigma, but today new technologies can further efficiency improvements
Enter EPIC—a controller capable of handling analog and discrete I/O with direct connection to sensors and actuators, running real-time tasks on board and connecting safely to cloud-based and on-premises applications.