April 24, 1998 (Pleasanton, CA) - Wright Williams & Kelly announced today the release of its latest version of TWO COOL® cost of ownership (COO) software, version 2.3. This historic release marks the world's first commercial software to combine the proven power of COO and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
"This release of TWO COOL® puts the semiconductor industry on track in applying OEE as part of total productive maintenance (TPM), " states David W. Jimenez, WWK's Vice President and General Manager. "Lately, OEE has been applied without consideration to its cost impacts or financial benefits. Certain consulting elements in the industry have forgotten that 'TPM strives to achieve overall equipment effectiveness by maximizing output while minimizing input, i.e., LCC [Life Cycle Cost]'1."
OEE is useful for measuring productivity of already installed equipment. It is most useful in focusing attention on productivity improvements for factory bottleneck tools. Since most factories are designed with the most expensive tool set as the bottleneck, any decisions regarding changes to such a tool set must include financial considerations.
1Seiichi Nakajima, Introduction to TPM - Total Productive Maintenance, Productivity Press, page 14.
Example of OEE graphical representation :