Manufacturing Indicators: The Metrics That Matter The Most

Measuring metrics can seem much more simple than it actually is. Effectively measuring and analyzing your manufacturing metrics calls for taking a look into much larger goals, such as “SMART” goals. “SMART” goals will allow your operation to understand how the smaller jobs are connecting with the overall higher-level goals and objectives, and how to improve performance within the operation to help achieve those goals in a timely (or quicker) manner. This is why understanding the most important manufacturing indicators within an operation is key in enabling your operation to take themselves to the next level. Therefore, here are the metrics that matter the most within a manufacturing operation.

The Metrics that Matter the Most

The metrics that matter the most include the following:

• On-Time Delivery -  This metric pertains to the percentage of time it takes the manufacturing facility to deliver a finished or completed product in a timely manner. On-time deliveries are essential because without them it may cause the customer to become dissatisfied. On-time deliveries are one of the most important ways to understand how well your production is flowing. 
  

• Throughput -  Throughput measures how much product is produced on a machine, unit, line, or plant within a specific time period. This is beneficial to understand because of the importance of inventory control and how much needs to be produced within the time given. 

• Capacity Utilization - Capacity utilization is an indication of how much total manufacturing output capacity is going to be utilized within a given point in time. This is usually expressed as a percentage and is calculated through dividing total capacity with the portion being utilized.

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness - Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) measures the overall effectiveness of equipment or a production line. It is calculated by utilizing the formula Availability x Performance x Quality and provides insight into the overall effectiveness of equipment and labor within your operation.

• Downtime and Operating Time -  Understanding the ratio of downtime and operation time is an indicator of asset availability for production. It is important to make sure that equipment downtime is during times that production is not at its peak and you can afford to take the downtime that is needed. 

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software can offer thorough insight into your manufacturing operation through allowing you to analyze overall production performance and areas of production that can be improved. Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software has become a key component within manufacturing operations today.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software has become a must for modern-day manufacturing operations due to customer demand for increased product mix and fast delivery combined with downward cost pressures. APS can be quickly integrated with a ERP/MRP software to fill gaps where these systems lack planning and scheduling flexibility and accuracy. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) helps planners save time while providing greater agility in updating ever-changing priorities, production schedules, and inventory plans.

• Create optimized schedules balancing production efficiency and delivery performance
• Maximize output on bottleneck resources to increase revenue
• Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories
• Provide company-wide visibility to capacity
• Enable scenario data-driven decision making
  

Implementation of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software will take your manufacturing operations to the next level of production efficiency, taking advantage of the operational data you already have in your ERP.

Video: Using What-If Scenarios in PlanetTogether APS to Improve Key Manufacturing KPIs

In this video, you’ll see how PlanetTogether Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) uses what-if scenarios to improve your most important manufacturing indicators—including on-time delivery, throughput, capacity utilization, OEE, and downtime. Learn how planners can compare multiple schedule options and choose the one that best supports your SMART goals and long-term performance targets.

Turn Your Manufacturing KPIs into a Planning Advantage

You already know which metrics matter—on-time delivery, throughput, capacity utilization, OEE, and downtime—and you may even have SMART goals around them. The question is: Are your production plans and schedules actually designed to move those numbers? When planning still happens in spreadsheets or with rough-cut logic, it is difficult to see how schedule changes affect KPIs in a consistent, data-driven way.

Download our one-page “The Money Is in the Planning” infographic to see how better planning and scheduling can help you:

• Translate KPI targets (on-time delivery, throughput, OEE, utilization, downtime) into concrete scheduling strategies
• Maximize output on bottleneck resources to increase revenue without adding equipment
• Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories while protecting service levels
• Use the operational data you already have in your ERP + PlanetTogether APS to create optimized schedules that support your SMART goals and long-term performance roadmap

Use this infographic with your leadership, planning, and CI teams as a quick visual guide to connect your manufacturing indicators to the planning and scheduling decisions that actually move those metrics—and profitability—in the right direction.