Investigating the influence of operations management decisions on overall equipment effectiveness in an engineering company

Abstract

The study investigating the influence of operations management decisions on overall equipment effectiveness in an engineering company. The company is based in Gauteng and 139 employees are involved in producing engineering solutions. The objective of this study was to find out what influence management decisions have on the over equipment efficiency, which currently stands at 46%, with the company improvement target set to 60%. The literature was meant to give a theoretical understanding on the following principles such the definition of OEE, factors effecting OEE such as the elements of overall equipment efficiency, the calculations for overall equipment efficiency, overall equipment effectiveness, OEE benefits, a typical form of operational decisions in any business, and the decision challenges in operations management. The population of the study design involved the manufacturing unit, which consists of 139 employees and over 20 CNC and other machines. A qualitative approach was used, and the sample was 6 CNC machines in the technical study analysis. The response rate was 33 from 139 employees. The data collection was done through a management questionnaire that was distributed in the company, and the technical data collection instrument was used to calculate the prior average OEE score. The OEE scores are from the company's historical data (2019 -2021). The results were obtained from factors that influence operations management decisions and included and discussed in the report and recommendations will addressed in the final chapter.