Despite the fact that the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is an increasingly disseminated industrial management practice, indicators alternative to it have been proposed in the literature to cope with performance measurement at the higher level of production systems. The purpose of this article is to present such indicators and discuss their potential application in searching effective utilization of production capacity. Initially, a conceptual framework was built to arrange indicators that broaden the evaluation approach adopted by OEE. To analyze the application potential of indicators that present this function, a case study was developed in a food-processing firm. The case suggests that the application of indicators like Overall Throughput Effectiveness (OTE) and Overall Plant Effectiveness (OPE), besides making the diagnosis of capacity utilization problems more effective, can promote the integration of production strategy with other functional strategies, and thus promote a more effective management of a plant's overall performance.
OEE; OTE; OPE; Performance indicator; Capacity
