Abstract
The efficiency and effectiveness of manufacturing equipment are key to the productivity and profitability of food manufacturing organisations. This central role in the success of the food manufacturing industry that is played by manufacturing equipment, directs to the need to have the performance of the manufacturing equipment measured. The use of Overall Equipment Effectiveness as a metric to measure manufacturing equipment performance is generally practiced amongst food manufacturers. This metric is used by process owners to advise maintenance strategies that an organisation can put in place to improve productivity. Though a very efficient measure, the omission of information about factors such as quality losses or improper calculation of overall equipment effectiveness, has resulted in maintenance strategies that have failed to produce the desired outcome. This has also resulted in food manufacturers failing to control or eliminate waste in the manufacturing process, and also manufacturing costs such as the costs of unnecessary maintenance activities. Although these challenges are experienced by food manufacturers globally, studies have indicated that most food manufacturers omit quality losses in the measurement of overall equipment effectiveness. This study aimed to investigate the impact that quality losses have on Overall equipment Effectiveness in the South African food manufacturing industry...
M.Phil. (Engineering Management)