CooperVision’s Southampton facility faced a growing challenge: increasing customer demand, but no available space to expand. A global leader in contact lens manufacturing, the site produces around 920,000 lenses each day in a cleanroom environment. Downtime, including short stops, had a big impact.
Meeting demand without adding new equipment
Instead of adding more machines, the team focused on improving performance. By introducing MaintMaster OEE, CooperVision improved their changeover efficiency, reduced unplanned downtime by 68% and increased output by 29%, all using the equipment and the footprint they already had.
CooperVision manufactures soft contact lenses and supplies clinical and consumer markets in over 100 countries. Their Southampton site is a high-volume production facility where efficiency and consistency are essential. Any disruption in production affects their ability to meet demand.
The team in Southampton needed a better way to understand what was happening on the shop floor in real time.
Outdated data and no clear picture
While the team had a strong culture of performance, their tools were outdated. They tracked OEE using spreadsheets, which were updated manually and often several days behind. As a result, they couldn’t respond to issues quickly.
Recurring breakdowns, inconsistent changeovers and process variability were suspected causes of inefficiency, but they lacked data to confirm or solve the issues.
CooperVision chose to partner with MaintMaster and launched a pilot using MaintMaster OEE on a single production line. Their goals were clear:
- Reduce changeover variation
- Identify bottlenecks and repeat failures
- Improve visibility into unplanned downtime
From day one, the software gave them live and historical performance data. They could see losses as they happened, compare across shifts and understand where to take action.
Standardising changeovers and uncovering downtime causes
The team began with one line to evaluate the system. Results came quickly. They uncovered variation in changeover times and took immediate steps to standardise them. Equipment-level issues were recorded automatically, allowing engineers and operators to respond with clarity.
"The software gave us visibility to see exactly what was causing our downtime. It’s not just about measuring, it’s about acting on the data and locking in the improvements.“
Success on the pilot line led to rapid expansion. More lines were added and a control room was set up so that operations and support teams could collaborate. Continuous Improvement (CI) teams used the system to prioritise the opportunities for improvement with the greatest returns.
Standardising Changeovers for immediate OEE gains
One of the first improvements came from studying changeovers. Although teams followed the same process, their success at carrying out the steps efficiently in a timely way varied significantly. This was costing them valuable uptime that had previously gone unrecorded and unnoticed.
By tracking the changeovers in real time and comparing shift data, the team were able to standardise and improve their efficiency straight away.
Targeting the biggest causes of downtime with real-time data
With a clear view of where breakdowns and slowdowns were happening, the team could prioritise improvements. Some problems were unique to specific lines. Others were common across the site.
“It wasn’t just that we could measure losses - it’s that we could act on them and see the results right away".
The software helped them focus on the most frequent and disruptive issues. Fixes included mechanical adjustments, updated training and better maintenance scheduling.
Maintaining OEE gains through real-time production monitoring alerts
Improving performance is one thing, keeping it consistent is another. To make sure early gains aren’t lost over time, CooperVision introduced real-time production monitoring alerts across their lines.
“We now know the moment something goes wrong. The result? Problems don’t linger and past improvements aren’t lost.”
The system tracks 231 key process points across 50 machines. If any value drifts beyond a defined range, it triggers an alert. Operators can act straight away, often before the issue affects output or quality.
"MaintMaster OEE gave us the visibility to act on the data - and that made all the difference."
This approach gives the team a practical, fast-response for protecting the improvements they have already achieved and sustaining day-to-day performance without relying on delayed reports or post-event reviews.
Key results from the MaintMaster OEE rollout
- 68% reduction in unplanned downtime (from 13.7% to 4.4%)
- 20% improvement in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
- 29% increase in output
- 18% reduction in cost per unit
MaintMaster OEE helped everyone on the shop floor understand their impact. Operators could track performance as they worked. Engineers and CI teams responded with data-backed decisions and actions. The system supported them with the right information at the right time.
“It was about ownership. Teams could see their own performance, understand it and influence it.”
CooperVision’s team found a way to increase output and reduce costs, without buying new equipment or adding floor space. With real-time insight, they were able to act faster, improve reliability and build a solid foundation for continuous improvement.
