Implementation of OEE – issues and challenges Amrik Sohal 1 , Jan Olhager 2 , Peter O’Neill 1 , Daniel Prajogo 1 1 Monash University, Melbourne, Australia {amrik.sohal, peter.o’neill, daniel.prajogo, all@buseco.monash.au.edu}, 2 Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden {jan.olhager@liu.se} Abstract An operations strategy should be based on a strong systematic and standardized way of working combined with empowered shop floor teams who drive continuous improvement in that standardized work. OEE data on machine performance is a key starting point for teams to understand there equipment losses and to establish improvement programs to eliminate them. We find that the implementation of OEE is typically based on the motivation to use a basic reference measure for analysing and comparing the utilization of resources at the plant. The use of OEE can also be transformed to a system for analysing production data to identify potential areas of improvement, and supporting lean initiatives. Thus, characteristically, OEE typically advances from a base measure for efficiency as the initial purpose, to being a tool to improve effectiveness for analysing data to support CI objectives via the identification and elimination of waste. Keywords: Multiple-case study, Overall equipment effectiveness, Lean. 1 Introduction In many industries, the effectiveness of manufacturing equipment is of the utmost importance. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is gaining increasing interest as a key measure of considerable relevance for sustainable manufacturing. There is some research literature on OEE but it mostly deals with the technical aspects of OEE as a measure. There are very few case studies reported and when case studies are included, these typically have the role of merely illustrating a particular aspect of the measurement or definition of OEE. We identified a lack of literature concerning the implementation of OEE, i.e. how to introduce it in a plant or company, and how to use it for the continuing operations. This research reports on the results of a multiple case study involving six Australian firms that have implementation experience of OEE. This paper is structured as follows. First, we review the related literature and define OEE. We then present the research methodology and the case studies one by one, before conducting a cross-case analysis. These results are synthesized into the main findings. We hope that this research contributes to the understanding of how to implement and use OEE in practice. 2 Related Literature There is a stream of literature dealing with OEE directly, e.g. Leachman (1997), Ljungberg (1998), Jonsson and Lesshammar (1999), Dal et al. (2000), Jeong and Phillips (2001), Da Costa and Da Lima (2002), Bamber et al. (2003), De Ron and Rooda (2005, 2006), Nachiappan and Anantharaman (2006), Muthiah and Huang (2007), Muthiah et al. (2008),