# Downtimes A downtime is a period in which a machine is not producing. Downtimes are inevitable (changeovers, maintenance, breaks), but analyzing them is the key to increasing availability and thus OEE. ## Why track downtimes? Without downtime data, the answers to fundamental questions are missing: * How much time is lost to downtimes? * What are the most common causes? * How long does a typical product changeover take? * Which downtimes are avoidable? Automatic downtime tracking provides these answers objectively and without gaps, without employees having to manually record times. ## Two steps: detection and assignment Downtime tracking in ENLYZE consists of two parts: 1. [**Detection**](/en/concepts/downtimes/detection.md): A lead variable is monitored. When its value drops below a defined threshold, the system automatically detects a downtime. Detection is accurate to the second and fully objective. 2. [**Categories & assignment**](/en/concepts/downtimes/categories-and-assignment.md): Each detected downtime is assigned a reason. Reasons are organized into categories (planned, unplanned, no production planned) that factor differently into the OEE calculation. ## Downtimes in OEE Downtimes directly affect [availability](/en/concepts/understanding-oee/availability.md) as a component of OEE. The rules are: * **Planned and unplanned downtimes** during scheduled production time reduce availability. * **No production planned** (e.g. weekends, holidays) is not considered in the OEE calculation. ## Related topics * [Detection](/en/concepts/downtimes/detection.md): How automatic downtime detection works. * [Categories & assignment](/en/concepts/downtimes/categories-and-assignment.md): What downtime categories exist and how reasons are assigned. * [Setting up OEE tracking](/en/production-optimization/oee.md): Configuring downtime detection in the app (guide). * [Defining downtime reasons](/en/production-optimization/downtimes/defining-reasons.md): Setting up the reasons catalogue (guide). * [Downtime contextualisation](/en/production-optimization/downtimes/contextualisation.md): Assigning reasons (guide). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.enlyze.com/en/concepts/downtimes.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.