Downtime Tracking and OEE Glossary

Downtime tracking plays an important role in achieving a perfect OEE score so that you can get more
out of any production unit. It not only helps in making the whole manufacturing process smooth but
also encourages lean manufacturing and adds value to the product. Here is a list of key terms which
will clarify OEE, its components and other concepts which are used regularly.
5 Why Analysis
It is a very simple yet effective concept of asking questions till the root cause of the problem is
clearly identified. 5 Why Analysis concept originated in Toyota Motors and was conceptualized by
Sakichi Toyoda for finding the root cause of the problems that effected production. It is used for
exploring cause and effect relationship. The principle says that just by eliminating the superficial
cause of the problem wouldnt put an end to it as the main cause may still be present and hence it
can cause the same problem again bringing repeated downtime and hence when the problem occurs
one should get to the root cause of the problem so that comprehensive solution can be provided.
5S Principle
5S is one of the best Workplace Organization methodologies. It is a concept which originated in
Japan and it is a technique which enabled Just in Time manufacturing. 5S consists of 5 working
principles starting from S in Japanese.

Seri meaning Sort: Remove all the items which are not needed immediately at the
workplace and keep the workplace uncluttered.

Seiton meaning Set in Order: Keep all the things at the work place in the order of their
requirements so that minimum time is wasted in finding them as and when they are
required.
Seiso meaning Shine: Keep everything at the workplace spic and span so that even the
minor defects are visible easily and inspect the work place on regular basis for checking any
problem.
Seiketsu meaning Standardize: Make the procedures and methodologies standard so that
any lag in the system can be identified easily.
Shitsuke meaning Sustain: Maintain the same standard so that the problems do not arise in
future.

It is a methodology which reduces unnecessary problems in the workplace and makes response time
faster as the required things can be located faster and defects can be identified easily.

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance)

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a concept which focuses on increasing the overall
productivity of the plant, equipment and manpower with reduced breakdowns. TPM is a
comprehensive approach which aims at reducing the unplanned breakdowns, defective productions,
slow running of the processes and provide a safer working environment with no accidents. It is a
process which focuses on preventive maintenance so that unplanned stoppages which not only
cause loss of production from one assembly line but also affect other processes are eliminated. It
not only focuses on OEE principles but also makes everyone associated with the process accountable
and hence operators too become a part of the process.
Three main objective of TPM are:
1. Increasing up time of the various equipment in the process
2. Reducing the cycle time considerably
3. Elimination of the defects in the process

Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE)

Overall Equipment Efficiency is a very important metric when it comes to tracking the
productiveness of any plant or machinery. It is a metric which is used to analyze how effectively the
manufacturing capacity is being utilized. It calculates the fully productive time by getting the product
of the availability of the equipment, their performance ratio and the quality of the finished goods
which gives a good insight on how effectively the process is running.
Here:
Availability can be calculated by: Run Time/ Total Planned Production Time
Performance can be calculated by: (Ideal Cycle Time X Total Produce)/Run Time
Quality can be calculated by: Good Count/ Total Count
OEE= Availability X Performance X Quality

Autonomous Maintenance
Autonomous Maintenance is an important part of TPM which focusing on preventive maintenance
of machines carried out by the operator to avoid any undue breakdown. It empowers the machine
operators to carry out regular checks of the machines to ensure that they do not develop any
technical issues due to negligence. This includes performing simple maintenance tasks like cleaning,
lubrication, bolt tightening, inspection and monitoring of the machine.

Planned Maintenance
Planned maintenance is a proactive preventive approach where scheduled maintenance is carried
out to maintain the functioning of the machines. This term should not be considered as downtime of
the machines as it is a scheduled activity to ensure that the unplanned breakdowns can be
minimized and the uptime and productivity of the machines can be improved.

Quality Maintenance
Quality maintenance is an important part of TPM and it tries to achieve ideal zero defect condition
from the manufacturing process. This is undertaken by understanding and controlling the whole
process and its interaction with all the other components like manpower, material, machines,
delivery, etc. It aims at eliminating defects originating at any part of the process and make the whole
process more productive.

Availability Loss
Availability Loss is an important parameter for calculating OEE. It is the time the machines were not
working during the planned production time. The Availability loss can occur due to various reasons
like equipment failure, material shortage, or any other such issue. The time taken for the shift
changes and other changeovers is also considered as Availability loss and during that period too the
production gets affected. Availability loss needs to be minimized to get the highest productivity.

Equipment Loss
Equipment Loss is one of the six big losses of OEE. This is the loss of productivity due to breakdown
of machinery. It is a loss occurring at a time when the plant is scheduled to run but is not fully
functional due to any equipment failure.

Performance Loss
Performance loss is one the major losses in the functioning of a plant. Performance loss takes into
account the loss occurring due to idling and minor stoppages, reduced speed or other factors
responsible for the loss of production speed. Performance score of 100% is desired to get a good
OEE score as it means that all the components of the production are running at ideal speed and
arent encountering any unnecessary lag.

Quality Loss
Quality loss is one of the three major losses of OEE and it is determined by the process defects and
reduced yield of the plant. Quality loss means a loss of not only the material but also the time
consumed in producing it, manpower and the equipment utilization during that period. A quality
score of 100% means that a plant is producing only quality good during whole time of its production.

Down Time Loss

Down Time loss is a big OEE loss as it is the loss of production due to unavailability of equipment due
to unplanned downtime. This hampers production and leads to idling of the manpower and
production shortage.

Error Proofing
Error proofing is the process of detecting errors in the process and equipment so that OEE losses can
be prevented. Error proofing is a very important work as it ensures that the process defects and
reduced yield is minimized and the plant produces quality products and runs to its optimum
capacity.

Focused Improvement
Focused Improvement is an effective technique of Lean Manufacturing which aims and reducing
unplanned downtime considerably so that the production efficiency can increase. It aims at root
cause analysis of the factors causing unplanned downtime by 5 why analysis. In this process the
team goes to the root cause of the problems so that the issues can be eliminated from the system
completely.

Fully Productive Time

It is the actual productive time of any plant where all the components of the production were
running on their full capacity. It is an important factor in calculating OEE for any plant and it means
that during this period no availability loss, quality loss or performance loss was observed.

Ideal Cycle Time

It is the theoretical minimum time to produce any good. Ideal cycle time is used to calculate the
efficiency rate of the machines, manpower and the process.

Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing is the system to eliminate any kind of waste from the production system. It is a
process which aims at delivering the maximum value to the customer with zero waste. It strives to

optimize the entire process so that process defects, wastage and various system losses are
minimized and value added goods are delivered to the customer.

Net Run Time

Net Run Time is the actual time the plant was working at its full capacity. It is the time the plant was
functioning subtracting the scheduled loss, availability loss and performance loss from the All Time
available for production.

Process Defects
Process Defects are the defective parts produced during the production time. It is one of the big
losses of OEE during steady state production. Process defects lead to production of defective items
which lead to loss of actual productivity, material, manpower to produce it and actual countable
production.

Production Counts
It is the number of parts produced during steady state production in a manufacturing process.

Production Rejects
Rejected parts produced during steady state production. It is one of the six big losses of OEE. It is
also known as process defects.

Reason Code
It is the identification number or classification for event subcategory. It is used to identify the
problems of any particular nature in the manufacturing process. Reason codes makes it easier
identify the problems and resolve them specifically. It is used to minimize downtime losses by
proactively identifying the problem areas.

Reduced Yield
Reduced yield is the reduction is production immediately after an equipment failure or setup or
adjustment of any equipment. It is one of the six big losses of OEE.

Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis is the process of getting to the root cause of the problem in the equipment
causing unplanned downtime. It is the process of understanding the main reason behind the
problem by 5 Why analysis where not only the superficial reasons are resolved but the actual cause

of the problem is understood so that the problem can be resolved completely and any unplanned
downtime can be avoided.

Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a systematic quality program which strives to avoid any deviation in the process. It aims
at reducing the quality losses by standardizing the whole process of manufacturing. It is a quality
improvement program where the system is molded to function in a standardized manner so that
maximum quality products can be achieved.

SMED
Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is a program to reduce setup time. SMED is an important
part of OEE as it increases the availability of the machines and operators and aims at achieving
shorter changeover time.

TEEP
Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP) is the metrics used for measuring performance and
true capacity of any manufacturing process. It is calculated by taking into account equipment losses
and scheduled losses. It is measured by multiplying OEE percentage and Utilization percentage.

Six Big Losses

Six Big Losses are the six categories which cause availability loss, performance loss and quality loss
leading to reduced Overall Equipment Efficiency. The six big losses are equipment failure, time taken
for setup and adjustment, time wasted during idling and minor stoppages, reduced speed, process
defects, reduced yield. These six big losses need to be curbed if any process intends to achieved
good OEE score and increase its production efficiency.
Bottleneck
Bottleneck is a point in the production cycle where the demand from the resource is equal to or
more than its actual production capacity. Bottlenecks are used to identify machines in the
manufacturing process which are critical to the whole production cycle.
Band-Aid
It is the temporary fix applied to any machinery during the production cycle. Band-aids are
superficial treatment of a problem so that the process can continue to run till the machine can be
properly repaired during the scheduled downtime. A band-aid might be applied many times as it
does not provide a permanent solution to the problem.
Competitive Benchmarking

Competitive benchmarking is the process of comparing a plants performance to a best in class

competitor for understanding the areas of improvement. Competitive benchmarking gives industries
a clear idea on the things to improve and the methods to be standardized so that higher
performance can be achieved.

Just in Time
Just in Time production methodology aims at reducing inventory waste by producing only the goods
which are required by the customers and as they are required. It is system devised to reduce the
waste associated with overproduction.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the measurable parameters which indicate the performance
of any business or process. KPIs are used to measure the quality standards followed and the results
attained. These are the factors used to evaluate the success of any process and may differ from
process to process.
Planned downtime
It is the amount of time scheduled in the production for maintenance of plant and equipment. It is a
time utilized for repair or upgrade of the machinery so that higher efficiency can be achieved. This
time helps in increasing the reliability and performance of the machines so that unplanned
downtime can be minimized and the process runs smoothly in the productive hours.

Predictive Maintenance
This is a maintenance technique used for understand the condition of in-use machinery so that they
can be serviced before any unplanned downtime takes place. Predictive maintenance analyzes the
condition of the machines based on their performance and predicts which machines need to be
serviced on priority.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is carried out on machines still in use so that they do not fail and cause
unplanned disruption of work. It is a task undertaken by machine operators to ensure that the
machines keep working in the desired condition.
Reactive maintenance
Reactive maintenance is the process of attending a machine which has broken down during the
working hours. It focuses on restoring the machine to its working condition so that the production
process can be maintained.

True Downtime Cost

True downtime cost is the calculation of the actual cost associated with the downtime of a
machinery in any plat or manufacturing unit. It takes into consideration all the factors associated
with the downtime and the processes affected by it and denotes a monetary value to it. Like when a
machine breaks down not only the cost of the machine breakdown is associated with it but also the
labour which has gone idle, the loss of production caused due to it and the other processes which
are affected due to unavailability of the products from that machine are taken into account. It
considers all the tangible and non-tangible costs of the process.

Author Bio: Ted Mosbii from Thrive DCS explains some of the important terms associated with
Overall Equipment Efficiency. OEE has emerged as a very important metric in tracking the efficiency
of any plant and process and it is widely used as an important parameter to reduce downtime. Thrive
DCS provides effective solutions to track downtime in real time so that unscheduled stoppages can be
minimized.