Short Interval Control
Keeping score for every hour of production is what short interval control (SIC) is all about, if this is a new concept you may be thinking “isn’t that over kill ?”. Let me explain why managing at short intervals works !
Operator asset care promotes the reduction of losses by utilizing Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) as a measurement system to enable accurate score keeping and reporting of quality, performance and availability. During a production day there are many events that can threaten productivity and create waste, some of these events and measures include:
- Yield losses – Liquid,Dry and Packaging
- Material non conformance’s
- Rejections
- Minor stops
- Breakdowns
- Changeovers
- Running at reduced speed
- Etc.
When we look at losses like minor stops or breakdowns for example, these can be related, but the duration’s are usually dramatically different. I would always classify minor stops as being “death by a thousand cuts” and breakdowns as the “big bang” that everyone remembers. Minor stops can be more harmful to production in terms of regular hemorrhaging of time from the production day, when we use an SIC board its possible to log minor stops and as a team review whats happening on an hourly basis to quickly correct.
Short Interval Control – review team
Response time and request/complete work cycle efficiency now has a platform in your organization, If we log events hourly for measures that are important and we meet to review those statuses, we can act to bring the ship back on course before we hit the rocks, now were adding value, right ?
Keeping Score with Short Interval Control (SIC)
SIC board on your line
Short interval management may not be a new concept in your organization but having it led by self managing teams that problem solve can often be an innovative way to align the correct behaviour with positive action while adding value too.
Implementing an SIC board should be part of a broader suite of solutions that’s inline with your overall TPM strategy. The board itself is nothing more that a simply designed white board placed in a location that’s visible to the majority of the line but close enough so that the lead operator can keep score easily.
Typically the lead operator would update and facilitate the hourly meet with his team at the SIC board, A simple 5 minute scan of the past hour and recording of agreed actions if any is all it takes! The team members would include line manager, maintenance technician and quality technician. This team configuration provides a rounded opinion to the priorities of improvement that may be required.
Short interval control is a way of working rather than a technological solution, it increases operator involvement with problem solving and enables the identification of issues before they escalate and stop you from running.
We really hope you have found this article of value and that it has inspired you to learn more about OAC and SIC, just remember the hardest part of any journey is getting started but once begun you will learn it’s an enjoyable and rewarding experience that can improve your organization’s culture and performance in a very positive way.
“Operator Asset Care helps you operate at your optimum”