Page 58 - FoodFocusThailand No.240 April 2026

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SMART MACHINE MAINTENANCE

STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY

IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY

Machinery is a critical factor in food production, directly impacting product quality (Q), production cost (C),
and on-time delivery (D), all of which determine business competitiveness. However, many operators do not
fully utilize their machines, often facing breakdowns, lower-than-standard speeds, and high defect rates,
mainly due to inadequate maintenance and poor management.

Machine Performance Measurement: 2. Performance (P) represents the machine’s operating efficiency
The First Step in Establishing a by comparing actual output with the standard time. In practice, actual
Maintenance System performance is often lower than the standard due to speed loss, caused
Effective machine management begins with clear by factors such as non-standard raw materials, machine deterioration,
measurement. The concept “You cannot manage or minor stoppages from disturbances (e.g., product or packaging
what you do not measure” highlights that without data, jams). Even brief interruptions can reduce overall performance.
improvement is not possible. Common performance 3. Quality (Q) measures the ability to produce conforming products,
indicators include machine utilization, machine breakdown, considering defects, rework, and yield losses caused by the machine.
production efficiency, and defect rate. However, the OEE is calculated as A × P × Q. A high-performing machine should
most comprehensive metric is Overall Equipment achieve an OEE of over 85%, typically with Availability (A) > 90%,
Effectiveness (OEE), which consists of three main Performance (P) > 95%, and Quality (Q)> 99%. OEE is influenced by
components: the six big losses, which occur during machine operation, as illustrated
1. Availability (A) reflects machine readiness, in Figure 1.
indicating whether the machine can operate as planned.
Downtime due to breakdowns or changeovers will reduce
availability.

ภาพที่่� 1 แสดงค่่า OEE และค่วามสูญเสียหลัก 6 ประการ (6 Big Losses) ที่ี�ส่งผลต่่อ OEE
Figure 1 Shows OEE values and the six major losses (6 Big Losses) that affect OEE

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