Glossary · OEE

Overall equipment effectiveness

A single score for how well a machine is really being used.

Technical definition

A composite metric combining availability, performance, and quality into one percentage.

Formula

OEE = Availability × Performance × Quality

Manufacturing example

A line at 90% availability, 95% performance, and 99% quality has an OEE of about 85%.

Common misconception

A high OEE on a non-bottleneck machine does not mean more throughput; OEE matters most at the constraint.

Why it matters operationally

OEE reveals hidden losses — downtime, slow cycles, and scrap — that erode capacity.

Related terms

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