Why the Second Shift Was Short, With a Number Behind It
Everyone has a theory. A power dip, a die change, a long tea break, a slow operator. With no runtime record, the loudest theory wins the meeting and the same hour goes missing next month.
Counted from the machine, not from a register
Running, idle and stopped are worked out from the readings the machine is already producing. Nobody writes a time down, so nobody writes Monday to Thursday in one sitting on Friday. The count is the same whether the supervisor is in the room or not.
What gets recorded
Run hours per machine
Hours the machine actually ran, by shift and by day. Press 2 and Press 3 stop being compared by memory.
A reason picked at the panel
When a stop crosses the minutes you set, the operator chooses from a short list: die change, no material, power, breakdown. Short and honest beats long and ignored.
Stoppages counted for the month
The same reason appearing forty times is an argument you can now win with a chart instead of three opinions at a meeting.
Service when it is earned
A service task is raised at the run-hour figure you set, so a pump is opened because it has worked, not because three months passed.
Who uses which number
Plant head
Downtime by machine and by reason, shift against shift. The meeting gets shorter.
Maintenance in-charge
Run hours and cycle counts, and the machines that have earned attention.
Operator at the panel
A short reason list when the machine has been down past the set minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How honest are the stoppage reasons?
As honest as the operator picking them. He will choose the easy option sometimes, and the list is short partly for that reason. The duration is machine-measured and cannot be argued with, even when the reason can.
Can it tell running from idle?
Usually yes, where the machine gives a signal that separates them: current draw, a run contact, a cycle pulse. What is available differs from machine to machine, and that is checked on the site visit before anything is promised.
Will these figures reach our ERP?
Run hours, downtime and consumption can be pushed into your ERP or maintenance software so production planning reads them. Tally keeps books rather than machine logs, so the usual link there is a figure your accountant asks for.
Tell us what you need.
Send a short brief and one of our engineers will come back to you — usually the same day.
- No obligation
- We reply the same working day
- Your details stay private