How can manufacturers move from monthly OEE analysis to daily performance monitoring that directly drives maintenance and continuous improvement actions?
This was one of the challenges faced by the teams at Manitowoc at their Moulins manufacturing site in France.
As a manufacturer of Potain tower cranes, Manitowoc operates in an industrial environment where equipment availability, downtime control and the ability to quickly identify the causes of performance losses are critical.
To gain a more reliable and responsive view of its production equipment, the company chose to deploy KEYPROD.
Today, 14 machines are already equipped, with a target of 18 machines in total, creating a consistent performance monitoring standard across the shop floor.
Initial analyses have already revealed 22% breakdown-related downtime on one machine over the equivalent of one month of production, enabling the teams to identify the causes that needed to be addressed first.
From monthly data processing to real-time performance monitoring
Before deploying KEYPROD, Manitowoc used an internally developed system to collect production data.
Operators had to enter a significant amount of information and comments to provide the level of detail required for analysis.
But the main challenge came afterwards: turning this data into actionable insights.
Data processing was time-consuming enough that analysis was mainly carried out once a month, requiring approximately four hours of work each month.
For the Manitowoc teams, the objective was therefore not simply to collect more data.
They needed data that was:
- reliable;
- available in real time;
- easy for operators to enter;
- understandable across different levels of the organization;
- structured enough to quickly identify the causes of OEE losses.
In other words: turning machine data into actionable information for better decision-making.
Towards a consistent OEE monitoring standard across 18 machines
KEYPROD is currently deployed on 14 machines at the Moulins site, with the rollout set to continue until 18 machines are equipped.
The objective is to standardize OEE monitoring and establish a consistent approach to performance management across the entire scope.
But digitizing OEE is about more than simply installing a monitoring solution.
For data to be truly actionable, it needs to accurately reflect what is happening on the shop floor.
The teams therefore progressively customized breakdown and fault categories in collaboration with operators.
Recurring events can be selected quickly, while operators can still add comments whenever a more specific event occurs.
This approach simplifies operator input while maintaining the level of detail required for meaningful analysis.
Making industrial performance visible at every level
Performance is not monitored from a single computer.
Screens have been installed throughout the shop floor and offices, making performance indicators accessible across the organization:
- Operators have access to information directly at machine level.
- Supervisors can monitor and analyze results.
- Managers and senior leadership also have a consolidated view of key performance indicators.
This shared visibility means everyone can work from the same data.
Performance monitoring no longer relies solely on shop-floor feedback or information that is difficult to verify: discussions can now be based on objective, measurable data.
22% breakdown-related downtime identified: using OEE to understand where to act
Industrial data creates real value when it leads to action.
On one of the plant's newest automated machines, the Manitowoc teams used the data collected through KEYPROD to analyze the causes of breakdowns.
Over the equivalent of one month of production, the analysis revealed 22% breakdown-related downtime.
But the analysis did not stop there.
Using Pareto analysis, the teams determined that the top three breakdown categories alone had a 15% impact on OEE.
Three issues stood out in particular:
- conveyor issues;
- robot faults;
- press faults.
This prioritization enabled the maintenance and methods teams to focus their efforts on the losses having the greatest actual impact on equipment performance.
Addressing root causes instead of simply reacting to downtime
A succession of minor stops and breakdowns can quickly reduce a machine's OEE.
Without sufficiently accurate data, however, determining which causes should be addressed first can be difficult.
This is precisely where Pareto analysis provides value for the Manitowoc teams: turning a list of events into a clear hierarchy of performance losses.
Once the main causes have been identified, maintenance and methods resources can be directed towards the issues having the greatest impact.
For some of the breakdowns identified at Manitowoc, root cause analysis has already generated time savings and, in some cases, enabled the teams to eliminate the cause of the breakdown altogether.
OEE monitoring therefore becomes a genuine driver of continuous improvement.
From monthly analysis to daily performance management
Another major change is the frequency of analysis.
Before KEYPROD, data processing and analysis were mainly carried out once a month.
Today, performance indicators are monitored every day.
Teams can quickly access Pareto analyses of breakdowns, planned and unplanned downtime, supervision dashboards and weekly timelines.
The data is also used during a monthly meeting bringing together senior management and Value Stream Managers to review performance indicators and determine the corrective action plans to implement.
Monthly analysis has therefore not disappeared: its role has changed.
Instead of spending valuable time rebuilding and processing data, teams already have the indicators they need and can focus their discussions on interpreting the results and deciding what actions to take.
Measuring OEE is not enough: you need to act on it
Displaying OEE on a dashboard does not improve factory performance on its own.
The real value comes when teams can quickly understand:
Which machine is losing performance?
When is it happening?
Why is it happening?
Which cause is having the greatest impact?
And which action should be prioritized?
This is the approach Manitowoc is progressively implementing with KEYPROD.
Data is collected as close to the equipment as possible, enriched by operators, analyzed through shared performance indicators and used by both operational teams and senior management.
The next step is to use these insights to challenge teams and target higher OEE by working directly on the factors that are reducing performance.
What if your biggest OEE losses are already right in front of you?
You probably know the average OEE of your shop floor.
But can you immediately answer these questions?
- What are the top three causes reducing OEE on your most critical machine?
- How many hours do they represent each month?
- How much is caused by breakdowns, minor stops, changeovers or other factors?
- And most importantly: how many OEE points could you recover by addressing the right causes in the right order?
If answering these questions still requires extracting multiple files, consolidating Excel spreadsheets or spending hours processing data, it may be time to change your approach.
Your machines are already generating data. It's time to put it to work.
At Manitowoc, analyzing one machine revealed 22% breakdown-related downtime and identified the top three causes accounting for a 15% impact on OEE.
What could the data reveal about your machines?
Don't take our word for it.
Connect KEYPROD to your own equipment and see what is really happening on your shop floor.
- Identify your downtime.
- Analyze your biggest performance losses.
- Build your Pareto analyses.
- Prioritize the right actions.
And improve your OEE using reliable shop-floor data.
🚀 Try KEYPROD for free on your machines and discover where your performance losses are really coming from.
