Which device on the plant floor is capable of calculating Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)?

The reason a programmable logic controller (PLC) is capable of calculating Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) stems from its role as a central controller for industrial automation. A PLC is designed to monitor and control machinery and processes on the plant floor, and it can collect data on various operational parameters such as machine availability, performance, and quality metrics.

Calculating OEE requires data input on three critical factors: availability (up time vs. down time), performance (actual output vs. maximum possible output), and quality (defects vs. total output). A PLC can interface with multiple sensors and devices on the plant floor to gather this necessary data in real-time, process it, and subsequently perform the calculations for OEE. This capability allows the plant operators to gain insights into machine efficiency and identify areas for improvement.

While other devices such as human-machine interfaces (HMIs) or sensors play various roles in plant operations, their functionalities are more limited compared to a PLC. For example, an HMI is primarily a user interface that allows operators to interact with the control system but does not perform the data processing or complex calculations required for determining OEE. Similarly, sensors provide data regarding specific parameters but do not aggregate this information or execute the OEE calculations independently