Steps
- Define stop categories: breakdown, changeover, material shortage, waiting, break
- Log the duration and cause of every stop, automatically wherever the machine gives a signal
- Distinguish planned from unplanned downtime
- Analyse the top causes with a Pareto: tackle the biggest one first
Worked example (illustrative)
In one week there are 300 minutes of downtime:
- 40% breakdown line 2 · 25% changeover · 20% material · 15% other
- Pareto points to breakdown line 2 as the first target
Without it becoming extra work
Keeping records by hand grinds to a halt: it is half right and it comes too late. The stops are therefore read automatically from the machine signal; the operator only picks the cause. For the maintenance department this means downtime becomes demonstrable, ammunition to defend a maintenance budget, without the recording becoming a new job. The data stays in your own environment. VDS supplies the measurement; the solving stays with you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between planned and unplanned downtime?
Planned downtime is foreseen (a break, a scheduled changeover); unplanned downtime is unwanted (a breakdown, a material shortage) and weighs more heavily in your availability.
How do you record downtime automatically?
By reading the machine's start/stop signal; the duration is determined automatically and the operator attaches a cause to it.
What is a Pareto analysis of downtime?
A ranking of stop causes from large to small, so that you find the few causes that account for most of the loss.
