The customer faced low Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) due to unplanned machine downtimes and resulting availability constraints in one of their major global manufacturing plants for medical devices. The manufacturing setup was dominated by a high degree of automation tailored for high-volume, high-throughput production, but was also highly complex and heterogeneous in its automation components.

Our team of manufacturing experts analyzed the current manufacturing setup, including its historic data, and identified the major failure areas and reasons. To continuously monitor the line performance, we implemented a state-of-the-art real-time OEE monitoring system and a cloud-based predictive analytics solution tailored to our client's needs. The new solution was first implemented on a select set of pilot lines to ensure risk control and real-life comparability. In a later step, this solution was rolled out to other lines. In addition, we adjusted the maintenance regime to account for the new predictive capabilities and supported the transformation with organizational change management.

We improved the OEE of the manufacturing line in scope by 3% compared to the other lines without the solution, resulting in a positive return on investment within less than 12 months.