The operating curve: a method to measure and benchmark manufacturing line productivity

Every factory needs to benchmark and track its productivity level over time to remain competitive in today´s marketplace. Two fundamental indicators of factory productivity are product cycle time and asset utilization, which are mathematically related to one another. The IBM Consulting Group has developed a methodology called the Operating Curve that uses these two indicators to benchmark and predict a manufacturing line´s performance. With this methodology, a line´s performance over any time period is measured using two parameters: the line´s overall cycle time performance and the line´s overall throughput performance. Each parameter is then measured against the line´s theoretical best possible performance for each metric, resulting in the line´s Operating Point for the time period. These two parameters are also used to compute the line´s Performance Index for the time period, a measure of the line´s overall level of maturity. When applying this methodology, a line´s actual performance is measured using historical data, and required future performance is estimated using data from the company´s business or strategic plan. The Operating Curve methodology has been successfully applied in five of IBM´s semiconductor fabricators