Deprecated KPI and invisible KPI

Introduction

The trap of efficiency 4.0

The industry has achieved high levels of efficiency. Investments in industry 4.0 have optimized production, and the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) has certified it.

However, in the current endustrial environment, marked by volatility and the break-up of supply chains, a critical question arises: Is efficiency a guarantee of business survival?

The reality is that the OEE, by focusing on stability, penalises change and leads to operational rigidity. Measure optimal performance in a scenario that does not admit changes, therefore, it is blind to the ability of an organization to make agile decisions. Efficiency that does not allow adaptation is, in essence, fragility.

Operational rigidity

The blind spot of the OEE

The OEE has been a fundamental KPI to measure performance in stable conditions. However, in an environment that demands massive personalization and immediate reaction capacity, it presents two insurmountable strategic limitations:

1. Incentive to immobilism: The OEE penalizes the time of change, thus encouraging avoid necessary reconfigurations, even when market demand has changed.

2. Change Total Cost omission (CTC): Do not quantify the real cost of pivoting (adapting): downtime, system reprogramming, investing in new tools and the staff learning curve.

A metric is required that assesses the capacity of the manufacturing system to respond to future demands, beyond exploiting the already installed capacity.

Introducing the Adaptability Rate (AR)

The most valuable metric

AR focuses on operational resilience. Measure the speed and cost with which a factory can change from one reference or product to another, minimizing friction and losses.

Understanding the Change Total Cost (CTC)

AR is calculated by seeking to reduce CTC, which affects the entire transition process in an integral way:

• Physical reconfigure: The disassembly and assembly time of the tooling and line changes.

• Digital adjustment: The reprogramming and validation of automated or automation systems.

• Human adoption: The time needed for staff to achieve efficiency in the new task.

A high AR is the direct manifestation of a modular architecture and human-centered design. It provides a guarantee that external disruption will not paralyze production.

AR optimization

Technological integration 5.0

Improving AR is a system design and integration project. This CTC optimization process is adressed through:

• Modular and flexible design: Implementing plug-and-play systems that facilitate the rapid exchange of modules, significantly reducing the time of physical reconfiguration.

• Strategic utility: Using additive manufacturing (3d printing) to create light, accurate, ergonomic and customized tools; minimizing friction and manual adjustment time.

• Systems connection: Ensuring that information flows without silos, allowing digital reconfiguration to be executed in an agile way.

Conclusion

A new strategic focus

It is imperative to update the management dashboard. Stop prioritising OEE as a single measure is the first step to freeing the company from the rigidity.

If the goal is for efficiency and survival to work hand in hand, the focus should be on the Adaptability Rate. It is the only way to design systems prepared for change.

The organisations that measure their true agility are the ones that are ready for the future.