OEE and quality tools: an integrated application in the distillation process of a biotechnology industry

Abstract

This article provides an application of the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and the quality measurement tools in the distillation process of a biotechnology industry located in the Norte Fluminense (Brazil) in order to identify the efficiency of the most critical equipment of the process, to indicate the root cause of the failure with most impact and to propose strategies for improvement. The quality tools employed to accomplish the study were 5S, flowchart of the process, Pareto chart, diagram of cause and effect, brainstorming, 5W1H and the Microsoft Office Excel software as a support for data analysis and organization. The traditional methodology for calculating the OEE required some adaptations since other variables had to be accounted for in order to efficiently measure the equipment and to be consistent with the reality of the company. The results indicated that the equipment was below the world class with a cutoff value of 85%, and that the failure with the greatest impact was caused by an obstruction due to low frequency of chemical cleaning. The research concluded that the adapted methodology was efficient to identify the losses of the process, to measure the real usage of the equipment and to apply actions of improvements.