Gamification is spreading. Playful elements are used in a non-game context. Wikipedia says that “by integrating these playful elements, an increase in the motivation of people is (should) be achieved...” Game-typical elements can be diverse: experience points, high scores, progress bars, virtual goods or awards — anyone who has children can barely escape these topics in the age of mobile gaming. oee.ai uses yet another element to optimize OEE — the ranking.
OEE optimization as a competition
The idea is not so remote: Companies confront employees with many issues. Something is constantly changing here and there, something (different) is always required. It seems understandable that employees get tired of immediately getting fully involved in the next productivity improvement project. Employees want to be convinced that it's worth taking part. Every manager experiences every day in their work that employees and their motivation are needed to take the step towards improvement. So how do you awaken the motivation that lies dormant in employees?
One possibility: People like competition. It can inspire, spark ambition, create innovations. Many millions of people watch the Olympic Games, the Bundesliga or the Super Bowl because they enjoy competing according to defined rules. We can also tap into this source of motivation for OEE optimization.
Necessary conditions for OEE optimization as a competition
You don't have to be a large corporation to face the challenge. If you want to carry out an OEE upgrade project at different locations at the same time and if you want the different plant teams to compete against each other, a number of technical framework conditions must be met:
- The definition of OEE must be identical across the different locations.
- The initial situation at the respective plant, the zero line, should have been determined under identical conditions.
- The OEE should be determined as without intervention as possible in order to be able to counter even the rumors of targeted human influence on the measured values.
- The current status of the competition should be transparent for all participants — because this is exactly what drives the motivation that is so urgently sought.
When these conditions are met, the technological foundations are laid. If a central organizing committee now takes over project management and, in particular, communication relating to the competition, nothing stands in the way of the competition being launched.
oee.ai as a tool for an OEE competition
The “OEE Olympiad” module is optionally available in oee.ai. This makes it possible to meet the technical requirements for a successful OEE promotion competition without effort. The system is designed analogously to a Bundesliga table and can be regarded as a Bundesliga season in procedural terms.
At the start of the project, a zero line of the current OEE is determined for each system. In this way, the performance of all participating plants is normalized to the same status. A relative OEE change is then calculated and reported week by week. This results in a new placement of the plant teams at the end of each week. At the end of the “season” — which can last any number of weeks or months — the winner of the OEE competition is announced.
The following illustration shows what the visualization looks like on a mobile phone — any other device with an Internet connection is also suitable.
In this way, all participants in the OEE optimization competition can find out about their position and the distance from the competition at any time. With the built-in Andon function in oee.ai, overviews of system availability, performance and quality are possible at any time. More about this in this article.
A short pause before the start
The technology is described here: To create the infrastructure for an OEE optimization competition in just a few steps, in a short period of time and without investment. However, managing, communicating such a project and dealing with the results are at least as decisive for success: In which context is the competition carried out, who takes part, what does the winner receive, but also how are the relegation and relegation positions — in order to remain in the image of the Bundesliga — dealt with? Corporate cultures are fragile and very specific structures that can also be damaged. That is why it is important to have a well-thought-out concept here. Positioned correctly, an OEE optimization competition unleashes previously unimagined potential.
What now?
We've sparked your interest. Contact us at info@oee.ai or call us: +49 (0) 241/401 842 75. We will be happy to provide you with oee.ai sensors, access to the analysis cockpit and an Andon box for a test period. Only then do you decide. We're easy at this point too!