Categories & assignment

Downtime categories and how reasons are assigned to downtimes.

After a downtime is automatically detected, the question is: why was the machine stopped? Assigning reasons to downtimes makes the difference between a mere availability number and a real analysis.

Downtime categories

ENLYZE distinguishes three categories of downtimes:

Planned

Planned downtimes are anticipated interruptions that are part of regular operations. Examples:

• Changeovers and product switches

• Planned maintenance

• Cleaning

• Breaks (when configured as planned downtime)

Unplanned

Unplanned downtimes occur unexpectedly and are typically the biggest levers for improvement. Examples:

• Technical breakdowns

• Material shortages

• Process errors

• Staffing shortages

No production planned

This category covers periods when no production was scheduled at all. Examples:

• Weekends and public holidays

• Cancelled or unscheduled shifts

• Plant shutdowns

Downtimes categorized as "No production planned" are not considered in the OEE calculation. Only downtimes during scheduled production time affect availability.

Assigning reasons

Assigning reasons to detected downtimes is called contextualisation in ENLYZE. There are different ways to assign downtime reasons:

Manual assignment

By default, an employee assigns a reason to each downtime in the ENLYZE App. The configured reasons are organized into categories and groups. A downtime can also be split into multiple segments if different reasons apply (e.g. 30 minutes changeover, then 45 minutes breakdown).

Automation via shift schedules

Shift times can be configured in ENLYZE. Downtimes outside of shift times are automatically classified as "No production planned". This significantly reduces the manual effort.

Automation via machine signals

Some machines provide information about the reason for a downtime through the controller (fault codes, status messages). These signals can be evaluated via computed variables and automatically assigned to the appropriate downtime reasons.

Why assignment matters

Without assignment, the analysis only shows that the machine was stopped and for how long. Only with reasons does the following become visible:

• Which downtime causes occur most frequently (Pareto analysis)

• Where the biggest levers for improvement lie

• Whether changeover times are systematically too long

• How the distribution changes over time

How to set up downtime reasons in the ENLYZE App is described under Defining downtime reasons. How to assign reasons is described under Downtime contextualisation.

Related topics

• Detection: How downtimes are automatically detected.

• Availability: How downtimes affect OEE.

• 6 Big Losses: Downtimes in the context of the six major loss sources.