Asahi Photoproducts has published a brief, educational video that provides a simple but effective explanation of the value to a flexo plant of calculating, monitoring and managing the operation’s Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) percentage. The video also links to a simple-to-use OEE calculator that allows owners and managers of flexo operations to calculate OEE using their own data.
“Over the years, Asahi Photoproducts has published much information about OEE and the role our plates can play in improving a flexo operation’s OEE percentage,” says Dieter Niederstadt, Technical Marketing Manager of Asahi Photoproducts Europe. “Although not rocket science for many operations, the OEE concept has remained complicated and how to actually calculate it a bit obscure. There was no handy explanation for a quick and easy calculation of the OEE specific to flexography for a specific operation or press. With the release of this video and our easy-to-use OEE calculator, this all changes. Now, the meaning of OEE for flexo operations and how they can determine the operation’s OEE is no longer obscure or complicated.”
In Asahi’s experience, customers who simply switch to Asahi CleanPrint water-washable plates can improve their print production capacity by up to 1/3 with little requirement for change in the overall plant workflow. This was learned both from customers with long run jobs as well as customers with frequent job changes. As part of calculating the total cost of ownership (TCO) of prepress and the pressroom in a flexo plant, OEE is a significant factor. “Many operations limit their view by focusing mainly on the cost of flexo plates,” Niederstadt adds, “but once you examine the operation more holistically 
as you calculate your own OEE, you will note that the cost of plates is actually a significantly smaller percentage of the overall picture than you might have realized. The value gained by improving OEE boils down to the ability to increase throughput of sellable finished product while reducing waste, making it easier to meet the tighter production deadlines imposed by today’s brands, who are anxious to improve their time to market.”
To better understand how OEE applies to the flexo industry, how it is calculated, and the impact of improving it, view our educational video here. Then download the OEE calculator, and you’ll be on the road to improved overall performance and profitability!
