The previous discussion suggests substantial opportunity for production process improvement, or market share improvement, or production line rationalization, or some combination. However, the decision making process is subject to additional discussion, because not all factors that lead to business decisions at Beta or in any given organization are included in this approach. For example, if Beta decided to rationalize production lines at Hemp Hill (mothballing, decommissioning, etc.), it would also have to consider whether or not the remaining lines were capable and/or qualified under current regulatory, corporate, and engineering requirements to run the products that would otherwise run on the decommissioned line. Qualifications of operators, anticipated products, etc. would also have to be considered.

In the short term Beta used the given information to make tactical decisions about improving production practices. If Beta could eliminate unscheduled downtime, and reduce scheduled downtime for PM and repair (without deleterious impact on the equipment) by half, and if changeover and transition times could be cut in half, then on average production times could be reduced by 33%. Additional improvements could also be made in assuring running the process at peak rate during a production run, and assuring minimal quality losses. After considerable review, it was finally concluded that about the best OEE achievable under present circumstances for the Hemp Hill plant was 50 55%. At the present time, nine people are operating this line per shift. Theoretically then, the same quantity of product could be produced with 6 people. At...