OEE software and real-time machine monitoring
An OEE figure is only worth reading when the machine produced it. Meta Smart Factory takes machine states, counts and cycle times straight from the PLC, lets the operator give each stop a reason at the machine, and shows OEE and TEEP live per machine, line and plant, with a Pareto of what is costing the most.
Talk to us about your machinesWhat is OEE software?
OEE software calculates overall equipment effectiveness: how much of the planned time a machine ran (availability), how close it ran to its ideal speed (performance) and how many of the parts were good (quality). The calculation is simple. Getting trustworthy inputs is the hard part. When stops and cycle times are typed in at the end of a shift, short stops disappear and availability turns into an estimate. Machine monitoring fixes that by recording the stop when it happens.
How the numbers are captured
The source depends on the machine. Every route ends in the same MES record, so a new press and a machine from the 1980s sit in the same report.
What you see
OEE, TEEP, employee efficiency and cycle-time efficiency are calculated live and can be viewed per machine, line, shift and plant, across several plants on one screen. Downtime and scrap reasons are grouped into a Pareto, so the biggest loss is the first one you work on. Short stops are recorded from the machine instead of being rounded away, and that is usually where the first surprise is.
Downtime reasons recorded in the MES create maintenance notifications automatically, with the machine, the time and the fault already filled in, and the same events feed the maintenance module (MTBF, MTTR) and energy per product.
Agree the definitions before the first report
Most disputes about OEE are disputes about definitions. Setup and adjustment stay inside planned production time and cost availability, as the six big losses intend. Excluding changeover is the commonest way an OEE number gets flattering, so agree the time base in writing first. Events are stamped with one clock and attributed to the shift they happened in, so an order that runs across a shift boundary is split by time, not credited to whoever closed it.
If you already have an OEE number and do not trust it, the OEE data quality audit checks how each input is captured.
OEE software and machine monitoring: common questions
What is the difference between OEE and TEEP?
OEE measures against the time the machine was scheduled to run. TEEP measures against all calendar time, so it shows how much capacity is left unused before any scheduling decision. The MES calculates both from the same events.
Do we need to connect the machines to get OEE?
You can start with operators reporting on the panel and get order status, labour booking and genealogy. Stop durations and cycle times are then whatever someone typed, so availability is an estimate. Machine-derived stop and cycle data starts when you connect, and numbers from before and after are not comparable.
Can older machines be monitored?
Yes. META Smart I/O reads the run, cycle and alarm signals an older machine already has, with no reprogramming. A decades-old press and a new line can report into the same system.
Does it replace our SCADA?
No. SCADA keeps controlling and visualising the process. The MES works one level above it and can collect machine data through an existing SCADA or OPC server, so nothing new goes on the control network.
How do we test it before committing?
Run a Proof of Concept on one bottleneck line with your own machines. It typically takes 2 to 12 weeks depending on the product.