Asset Utilization


Keep Your Assembly Machines Running!

Walk through a typical assembly plant on a given day and you’ll see some machines running and others not. Why? Because assembly machines tend to be customized assets, dedicated to specific products. When there are orders for those products, the machines run. Otherwise, they simply bide their time, collecting dust.

In contrast, Symphoni machines are multi-purpose assets. They adapt quickly from one product to another. They keep running when dedicated machines sit still.

The versatility of Symphoni machine can be measured by higher utilization rates and higher TEEP (Total Effective Equipment Performance). But the most important metric is the increased revenue they generate!

“Multi-purpose Symphoni machines make money while dedicated machines collect dust. ”

Symphoni™ Brochure

Asset Utilization and TEEP

Over the life of any given product, the time its assembly machine sits idle can be quite high. In fact, at the early and late periods of the product’s life cycle, the machine does little more than take up precious floor space. The graph below illustrates that the Machine Capacity is fixed, but sales volumes vary. They tend to ramp slowly in the early phases of the product’s life and to tail off in the later phases. The difference between the two curves represents utilization loss – potential revenue that the machine could be generating if only there was demand for its product.

Ironically, manufacturers often overlook the economic impact of low utilization. This is in part because asset utilization does not factor into the most common metric of asset performance, OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). That is, a machine can still enjoy a high OEE even if it runs only 20% of the time!

The picture changes when we employ the broader metric of TEEP (Total Effective Equipment Performance). TEEP considers the entire time in which a machine could be producing if it had orders to do so. The chart below makes this clear, showing that TEEP accounts for the utilization losses that OEE ignores.

The Symphoni™ Advantage: High TEEP + High OEE

A Symphoni’s versatility allows it to be configured for multi-product use. Thus, if there are no orders for Product A, it can change over to run Product B, or C, or D. Rather than sitting idle, it runs constantly, continuing to generate revenue.

The benefit of high utilization and high TEEP is considerable. The graph below illustrates this, showing the dramatic difference in operating profit between a versatile Symphoni system and a dedicated machine as a function of the difference in their utilization rates.





Is Symphoni™ Right For You?

  • Are you frustrated with having to choose between fast or versatile assembly systems?
  • Do you experience production delays, long retooling time, and underutilized equipment when there are changes to your production schedule, product mix, or product demand?
  • Have you ever had to write off a custom assembly machine because the product it assembled is no longer viable?
  • Have you spent months, even years, custom engineering an assembly system from scratch.
  • Have you ever lost business because your assembly machine was delivered late?

If you have answered ‘YES’ to one or more of the questions, please contact us and we’ll show you how Symphoni will give you the competitive edge to win more business, optimize your capital asset and floor space.

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