Leistungen im Bereich Operational Excellence
“ifp consulting provided a tailored, well-structured and efficient approach to manage a “breakthrough” improvement at all examined lines. The experience and profound background of ifp consulting was a success factor to improve the line and plant performance in a sustainable way.”
Jean Marc Butin
CEO SSC at ArcelorMittal Downstream Solutions (AMDS)
Who is our advice on increasing system efficiency aimed at?
VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS UNIT
P&L responsibility for plants
PLANT MANAGER, PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ensure output & actively manage risks
HEAD OF ENGINEERING, MAINTENANCE
Ensure availability of production lines & technical equipment
OEE as an interplay between production and maintenance
How does equipment effectiveness (OEE) influence a company’s success?
High system effectiveness – measured by Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – is achieved through the smooth interaction of production and maintenance in day-to-day operations. The decisive factor is not a perfect system, but rather the reliable interplay of technology, clearly defined procedures and processes and unambiguous responsibilities.
The foundation for a high OEE is a realistic production plan aligned with customer requirements, taking into account actual capacities, qualifications, availability and – ideally – plant-specific time fences (frozen horizon). Based on this, production is managed to ensure efficient operations while remaining flexible enough to respond to fluctuations on demand. Real-time transparency on progress, deviations and disruptions is just as critical as short communication channels and clearly defined decision-making routines
Maintenance plays a key role in this interplay as an indispensable enabler. It is evolving from pure troubleshooting to active production support. In addition to technical expertise, this requires a strong understanding of processes, structured working methods and the pragmatic use of data. Digital tools such as lightweight CMMS solutions (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) or condition-based maintenance approaches support this without creating additional overhead. The goal is a continuous improvement process that reduces unplanned downtime, increases equipment availability and measurably relieves day-to-day production operations.
ifp consulting – 40 years of experience in advising manufacturing companies
Our services for encreased equipment effectiveness (OEE)
Our approach is based on five clearly defined core elements, which can be applied individually, selectively or as a holistic framework, depending on the initial situation. Based on reliable data, we identify and prioritize technical, process-related and organizational pain points. Building on this, we develop effective concepts – ranging from classical preventive maintenance to targeted predictive maintenance approaches. The result is higher utilization, more stable plant performance and significant reduction in unplanned downtime. These form the foundation for a sustainable and effective continuous improvement process.
1. Production planning & production control
Our services in the area of Production Planning & Control (PPC) include the following elements:
How to avoid organizational losses and ensure predictable production output
Effective production planning and control form the basis for stable plant efficiency. They ensure that the right products are manufactured at the right time, in the right quantity and with the right resources. The objective is to consistently avoid organizational losses – for example due to insufficient material availability, lack of personnel, unrealistically planned targets or unplanned equipment downtime.
As part of our production planning and control approach, we create transparency across sales, demand, and capacities, and consistently align planning with operational execution. Together with our customers, we establish a transparent derivation of sales and production programs, determine material and component requirements to ensure availability, and translate these into the necessary capacity requirements for machines and personnel. In addition, we define appropriate batch sizes, throughput times, and inventory targets. Building on this, we support the design of structured order release and scheduling processes, enabling effective production control. Our focus lies on detailed planning and sequencing, as well as continuous monitoring of progress, deadlines, quantities, and disruptions—including the targeted management of deviations.
The result is realistic, robust production planning and reliable execution in day-to-day operations. Organizational downtime is reduced, utilization increases and production becomes more efficient and resilient. Production planning and control thus represent a key prerequisite for stable OEE levels and a sustainable continuous improvement process.
2. Reliability & risk management
Our Reliability & Risk Management consists of the following elements:
How to avoid downtime before problems occur
Reliability & Risk Management addresses the actual loss drivers in availability, performance and quality.
As part of Reliability & Risk Management, we increase system effectiveness by addressing failures at their root cause and consistently develop improvement measures with focus on maximum impact. Based on a systematic analysis of historical failure and repair data, as well as robust failure pattern analyses, we reduce recurring issues and limit their operational impact. At the same time, we critically review existing maintenance and inspection plans in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring that preventive measures are implemented precisely when they create real value—no earlier and no later. In addition, we assess failure probabilities and their potential consequences and develop risk-based strategies based on RBM (Risk-Based Maintenance) and RCM (Reliability-Centered Maintenance). Measures are consistently prioritized based on ROI to sustainably improve technical stability, predictability, and economic performance.
3. Operator care
With Operator Care production becomes the driver of plant effectiveness on the basis on TPM (Total Productive Management):
This is how we are developing the vision of “in-line maintenance” with Operator Care
With Operator Care, we anchor system effectiveness directly where it is created: on the line. A clearly structured, practical training approach enables employees to rectify simple and recurring faults independently, safely and quickly and take on defined maintenance and inspection tasks such as measurement-based condition checks, lubrication or simple adjustments.
With Operator Care, we anchor system effectiveness directly where it is created: on the line. A clearly structured, practical training approach enables employees to rectify simple and recurring faults independently, safely and quickly and take on defined maintenance and inspection tasks such as measurement-based condition checks, lubrication or simple adjustments.
4. Overhaul and shutdown management
With Overhaul & shutdown management for shorter downtimes with greater process reliability:
Overhaul and major shutdowns are often one of the biggest levers for OEE and profitability
Our structured overhaul and shutdown management ensures that overhauls can be planned without jeopardizing ongoing operations. We prepare shutdowns through targeted measures such as advance production (e.g., temporary 3-shift operations), close coordination with production planning to prioritize customer orders, and realistic resource and spare parts planning. Clear schedules, well-defined critical paths, and close coordination across production, maintenance, external contractors, and occupational safety create the foundation for controlled and efficient execution.
Overhauls and major shutdowns represent a key lever for significantly improving plant availability and efficiency. By systematically evaluating lessons learned—for example in areas such as process stability, contractor management, or the restart phase—and transferring them into practical standards, we reduce downtime, enhance process and workplace safety, and ensure a fast and stable return to planned plant performance.
5. Setup time optimization
Our approach to setup time optimization:
How to reduce setup and downtimes and control your production more flexibly
We use setup optimization as a targeted value driver for greater system effectiveness, more flexibility in the production program and better utilization of your systems. The focus is on the systematic reduction of set-up and adjustment losses as well as the consistent preparation, structuring and standardization of all activities that previously caused downtime.
To do this, we analyse the setup process in detail, record all workflows and transfer them into a clear storybook or pitstop logic with defined roles, standardized work steps and reliable time specifications. Based on the SMED principles, we separate internal and external activities, prepare tasks in a targeted manner, parallelize work steps and define a clear critical path to control the setup time. Implementation is workshop-based with the active involvement of the operators, supplemented by standardization, training and sustainable anchoring in the continuous improvement process.
Our approach: How to successfully and sustainably increase OEE
In many plants, performance deviations are identified but not analyzed holistically or effectively addressed. Disruptions, set-up losses, planning deviations and organizational bottlenecks are typically viewed in isolation – their interdependencies between production and maintenance remain largely untapped.
This is exactly where our approach comes in: We understand OEE as the result of the integrated interaction of technology, processes and organization. Based on transparent data, we identify and prioritize losses in performance, availability, and quality along the entire value stream. .
For sustainable system efficiency
OEE control and Shopfloor Management
An effective KPI system is the basis for targeted OEE control and the sustainable improvement of plant efficiency. ifp consulting develops practical, customer-specific KPI systems that are tailored to plants, processes and organizational structures. The starting point is a reliable baselinening of current performance, from which realistic target values are derived and consistently tracked transparently. This creates clarity about availability, performance and quality as the basis for well-founded decisions in day-to-day production.
Building on the logic of the balanced scorecard, we bring together performance, costs, organization and technical stability in a consistent management model. Clear control loops in Shopfloor Management ensure that deviations are systematically analyzed, measures are prioritized and their impact is measurably monitored. The key performance indicator system anchors improvements permanently, strengthens operational control capability and ensures high and stable plant efficiency.
“Plant effectiveness is not achieved through isolated measures, but through transparency on the true loss drivers and consistent actions in daily operations. Together with our customers, we improve plant effectiveness by increasing technical availability and performance, enhancing delivery reliability, and indirectly reducing unit costs while at the same time improving margins.”
Georgios-Max Kostopoulos
Business Unit Manager, ifp consulting
Georgios-Max Kostopoulos
ifp consulting advises on how to effectively increase OEE
Key takeaways
This page at a glance
Summary
Increasing equipment effectiveness (OEE) is one of the most effective levers for sustainably improving productivity, stability and profitability in manufacturing companies. The decisive factor here is not the optimization of individual measures, but the systematic interaction of production and maintenance across technology, processes and organization.
An effective OEE approach starts with transparency about the actual loss drivers and combines this with stable production planning, consistent reliability and risk management, clear roles on the line (operator care), structured revision management and targeted set-up optimization. This is the only way to sustainably reduce unplanned downtime, performance and quality losses.
ifp consulting supports companies with a consistent, integrated approach – from the analysis of OEE drivers along the value stream to the development of effective production and maintenance approaches through to implementation and anchoring in day-to-day business. The aim is to make systems more stable, more flexible and more efficient, increase utilization rates and raise OEE to a permanently higher level.
