What Is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)?

Optimize. Measure. Grow: The Business Case for OEE

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the gold-standard metric for measuring manufacturing efficiency. It shows how well you’re using your equipment during scheduled production time by combining three key factors:

• Availability: How often your equipment is up and running vs. down for maintenance or breakdowns.
• Performance: How fast your equipment is running compared to its maximum designed speed.
• Quality: How much of your output meets your quality standards without rework or scrap.

A perfect OEE score is 100%, meaning you’re producing only good parts, as fast as possible, with zero unplanned downtime. In reality, most facilities fall far below that.

• World-class OEE: ~85% (90% Availability × 95% Performance × 99% Quality)
• Average OEE: ~60%
• Low OEE (<50%): Significant production losses and inefficiencies

Every point of improvement in OEE translates to tangible results: more products made, less waste, and higher returns on every piece of equipment.

Why OEE Matters

Manufacturers around the world lose over $50 billion annually to unplanned downtime, with some facilities losing 11% of total revenue due to production stops. On average, plants experience 800+ hours of downtime per year, time that could have been spent producing revenue-driving output.

Improving OEE has a direct impact on your bottom line:

• Reduce downtime: Every avoided breakdown saves thousands of dollars per hour in lost production.
• Boost throughput: Maintain output speed and consistency without expensive capital investment.
• Improve quality: Lower scrap and rework rates to save materials and labor.

Studies show facilities that adopt predictive maintenance to support OEE improvement have seen up to 52% less downtime and 87% fewer defects, creating a significant competitive advantage.

How GraceSense™ Helps Improve OEE

GraceSense™ makes it simple to track, monitor, and act on the data that drives OEE improvements. Its wireless vibration and temperature sensors, scalable gateways, and intuitive Maintenance Hub platform allow maintenance teams and plant managers to catch issues early and make data-driven decisions, without needing a team of vibration analysts.

Here’s how GraceSense supports each component of OEE:

• Maximize Availability: Sensors continuously monitor your equipment and send alerts at the first sign of trouble, so you can plan maintenance before it becomes a costly breakdown.
• Improve Performance: Detect subtle performance drags—like misalignment or early bearing wear—before they slow production.
• Protect Quality: Maintain process stability, preventing the drift that can lead to scrap, rework, or inconsistent batches.

With fast, magnetic installation and direct integration into your PLC, CMMS, or cloud systems, GraceSense scales from a single asset pilot to enterprise-wide deployment without disrupting operations.

The ROI of OEE with GraceSense™

Improving OEE delivers measurable returns:

• Higher uptime: Fewer stoppages mean more billable hours of production.
• Lower maintenance costs: Shift from emergency repairs to planned maintenance.
• Better labor efficiency: Teams can focus on proactive work instead of firefighting.

Facilities using GraceSense have reported avoiding multiple unplanned downtime events, saving days of production time, and significantly reducing repair costs. For many plants, that means achieving ROI within months, not years, of deployment.

Start Improving Your OEE Today

OEE is more than a metric; it’s a strategy for maximizing the value of every piece of equipment in your operation. GraceSense helps you turn that strategy into action with scalable, easy-to-deploy machine health monitoring that delivers actionable insights where and when you need them.

Learn more about GraceSense™ and see how you can start improving OEE in your facility today.