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Real-Time Golden Batch Monitoring for OEE Improvement

The Challenge

Cabot’s inkjet dispersion facility runs multiple, similar batch production lines, each consisting of four to six sequential operations. Operators were responsible for monitoring several units simultaneously and responding to prompts, manual inputs, and field tasks throughout their shifts, creating a series of inefficiencies and delays.  Individually, these delays were minor, but collectively they reduced overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) by 5% or more. 

  • Traditional OEE tracking only recorded start and end times at batch completion, so over the course of one shift or campaign, small delays occurred when: 
  • An operator was responding to Distributed Control System (DCS) prompts 
  • The next unit could not start because a batch had not yet been moved over 
  • The operator was choosing which unit to work on next 

These small pockets of idle time accumulated and went unnoticed in the OEE metric.

  • Operators were busy but not always working on the most time-critical unit. Without clear visibility into upcoming tasks or emerging delays across multiple units, operators often had to rely on experience to prioritize their work, leading to inefficient task prioritization and lost production time. 

The Solution

Cabot deployed Seeq to provide real-time operational visibility and help operators prioritize their actions during production. Using Seeq, the team quickly began to: 

  • Identify and capsulize batches by grade, batch number, and unit operation using conditions built on DCS / historian data. 
  • Create golden batch profiles for key process variables in each unit operation, then compute upper and lower boundary conditions based on acceptable tolerance. 
  • Generate delay conditions that trigger whenever live data: 
    • deviates outside golden batch bounds within a batch, or 
    • leaves gaps between consecutive batches where none should exist.
  • Operators implemented Seeq dashboards that can be viewed alongside their control system screens in the control room. 
    • A 12-hour live view per line for control rooms, aligned with shift length, showing each unit’s current batch, grade, and live trace vs. golden boundaries plus color-coded delay markers. 
    • A 48-hour view for daily production meetings so supervisors and engineers can review recent performance, confirm delays, and agree on corrective actions.
  • The team leveraged Seeq Formula and asset-like structures, so once one product/line was configured, the same logic could be copied and retargeted to other grades, units, and lines with minor tag reference changes.
  • The Seeq platform was embedded into existing management of change (MOC) and training:
    • Operators were trained to interpret dashboards as part of normal DCS use. 
    • The project ran as a formal MOC focused on training and communication, not process recipe changes. 

The Results

Seeq delivered rapid impact for Cabot. With real-time visibility into production performance, operators can now address delays as they occur, improving workflow across unit operations and reducing small inefficiencies that previously accumulated over time. 

  • ~10% OEE improvement across targeted batch lines, versus an initial estimated opportunity of just over 5%. 
  • Real-time visibility into within-batch and between-batch delays at every unit operation, turning OEE from a retrospective KPI into a live operational tool. 
  • Higher confidence in lost-time classification: 
    • Ability to distinguish whether the bottleneck unit caused the delay or was blocked by upstream/downstream issues. 
    • Better granularity on where and when delays occur within the batch profile. 
  • Improved operator prioritization: 
    • Operators now see, at a glance, which unit will need attention in 5, 15, or 30 minutes and can plan their route accordingly. 
    • Operators can now ensure they are focused on the units that protect line throughput. 
  • Scalable analytics pattern: 
    • Initial implementation took about one month of joint effort (Cabot SME + Seeq engineer) to design and refine the logic. 
    • After that, Cabot quickly extended the solution to multiple products and lines with minimal additional build effort.