Reducing machine down time has an instant beneficial effect on manufacturing production efficiency and output. However, without accurate information on the real amount and the causes of downtime it can sometimes be a difficult to see how machine downtime can be reduced.

A Plantrun monitoring system that continuously and automatically captures and records machine status provides this information - with downtimes accurate to one second and exact stoppage reasons for every machine. Detailed down time reports, including colour graphs and charts can be produced at any time clearly highlighting where remedial action is needed.

Downtime is often categorised in terms of short or long duration stops….

Short duration stops

Short duration stops are usually where the machine is stopped for the operator to rectify a ‘minor’ problem then restart the machine - typically lasting just a few seconds.  Most businesses are unable to accurately quantify short stoppage times, as they tend to go unrecorded by operators - who are often too busy and may see them as insignificant.

With a machine monitoring system, all stoppage time is accurately recorded so it is easy to exactly quantify the downtime caused by short stoppages.  Although often seen as negligible, accumulated short duration stops can be surprisingly large.  Reducing the causes of short stoppages not only increases efficiency but also eases the burden on operators and results in improved man-machine ratio.

Long duration stops

Identifying the causes of long duration stops is particularly beneficial as focusing attention on these can greatly reduce downtime.  To provide accurate information of long stoppages the system not only records downtime but also stoppage reasons.  To do this, machines are usually interlocked after being stopped for a pre-set time and can only be started again once a valid down time reason has been provided.  This ensures that the operator is obliged to enter the reason for the stoppage at the time the stoppage occurs, not at the end of his shift when he may have forgotten or feel tempted to alter the reason to be recorded. In some situations interlocking after the second long stoppage is beneficial and this is available using Plantrun.

The downtime reason is inputted either via the system computer keyboard or a keypad terminal adjacent to the machine.  Any number of down time reasons can be selected from a scroll menu on the keypad display.  A single keypad can service one or more machines and can also be used for inputting/reading of batch ID and data, production rates etc.

Where machines have 'intelligent' computer or PLC control downtime reasons may be recorded directly without operator intervention. However it is likely that an operator can provide a more accurate downtime reason. For example a machine PLC may communicate a 'machine jammed' code for a stoppage whereas an operator could identify several causes for the jam. 

Plantrun allows multiple sequential reasons to be assigned to a downtime event.  Free form text comments can be assigned to any downtime event as an aid to analysis.  Plantrun offers a powerful tool set of viewers (dashboards) to allow easy analysis and reporting of downtime to improve machine utilization. Get more information.