A Familiar Fire Drill
We’ve all seen it. A process blows up on the floor, and the default response is a flurry of speculation. War rooms get spun up. Emails and phone calls fly. Engineers start pulling static data into Excel, reports get made, and, if we're lucky, a root cause is identified before the next crisis hits.
But what if we could break the cycle?
The Hidden Cost of Speculation
In most industrial environments, the response to a problem looks something like this:
- Problem occurs
- Static data is pulled manually
- Excel-based analysis is generated
- A BI report is created (eventually)
- SMEs are looped in, but the BI report doesn’t match their original investigation
- Everyone gives up and returns to “old faithful”: Excel
No real-time context. No reusable solution. No trust in the system.
Introducing OIS – The Operation Investigation Strategy
We’re proposing a shift, an operational investigation strategy designed for speed, clarity, and action. At its core, OIS empowers a single person to move from discovery to resolution with as few handoffs as possible.
This isn’t a dashboarding exercise. It’s a real-time problem-solving approach.
The OIS Loop
Here’s the flow:
- Problem is detected
- Investigation happens using real-time data
- A Solution is created (maybe it’s HighByte, MaestroHub, UNS, Splunk, or whatever fits)
- The Solution is validated using the same tool that investigated it
- A Dashboard or report is generated that reflects not just the issue, but the outcome
This isn’t hypothetical. We’ve seen it work. And most importantly: the same person can carry this entire loop with the right toolset.
Why It Works
Let’s borrow from Simon Sinek and break it down:
- Why: Process and quality engineers deserve tools that help them solve their own problems, not just report them.
- How: Minimize handoffs. Empower real-time decisions. Build dashboards that do something.
- What: A unified, investigatory platform like Splunk that combines quality, process, and network data, all in one place.
Making OEE Useful Again
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is often jaded, either misused or misunderstood. But when tied to an investigation strategy, OEE becomes powerful.
With a cascading OEE structure (Company → Plant → Line → Section), the dashboard becomes the signal, not the solution. From there, OIS drives the investigation. OEE alone is noise. OEE with OIS is insight.
From Emotional Pain to Empowered Action
Every persona in this story has a pain:
- The plant manager wants knowledge, not speculation.
- The process engineer wants their work respected, and their time back.
By enabling both roles through OIS, you remove friction. You give people the power to investigate, validate, and act. That’s when problem-solving becomes a game, not a grind.
What’s Next
If you’ve felt the frustration of static reports, endless meetings, or BI dashboards that miss the mark, OIS is your next step.
You don’t need to overhaul everything. You need:
- A clear strategy that starts with investigation, not speculation
- A platform that empowers you to find answers in real-time
- A dashboard that helps you validate your solution, not just admire the problem
With OIS, your team can reduce time to resolution, regain trust in data, and make informed decisions at the speed operations demand.
The result? Fewer fires. More wins. And a new level of clarity in how you run your facility.
Ready to take the first step? Let’s talk about how to tailor this strategy to your environment.
