APPLICATIONS
Investigate productivity losses in your plant.
Compare available time, cycles, stoppages and conforming output to understand what affects equipment performance and where further investigation is needed.
Three components requiring different data.
Availability
Relates actual operating time to scheduled production time. Stoppages must be classified to enable investigation of their causes.
Performance
Compares actual output against the rate implied by the ideal time defined for that product. Multi-cavity moulds require consistent units.
Quality
Relates first-pass conforming parts to total output in the same period. Reworked parts must not be counted as first-pass good output.
RECORDS FOR SHIFT ANALYSIS
An OEE figure alone cannot explain what happened.
A loss may be associated with stoppages, slower-than-expected cycles or nonconforming output. To analyse each component, examine the period, operating states and actual recorded quantities.
How to investigate stoppages using machine data →
Micro-stoppages: measuring time often missing from records →
OEE · PLANT-FLOOR RECORDING
Quality data can update OEE during the shift.
The KERN IoP | SMARTPRO touchscreen lets operators report conforming and rejected parts directly at the workstation. When data are synchronized, the quality component can reflect these records before the shift or reporting period ends.
Real-time OEE also requires valid time, cycle and quantity records for availability and performance, aligned to the same time basis and defined calculation rules.
UNDERSTANDING PRODUCTIVITY IN DEPTH
Why does a shift produce fewer units than expected?
Go beyond the indicator to the operating conditions and records that explain its result.
Stoppages or slow cycles?
Distinguish availability and performance using a production example.
How can quality be recorded during the shift?
Report good and rejected parts through SMARTPRO to update the quality component.
What you can analyse with KERN.
- Duration and frequency of recorded stoppages.
- Cycle-time differences between production periods for the same product.
- Recorded output compared with actual operating time.
- Consistency of downtime causes and production quantities.
The scope depends on available signals and records. If quality data or a valid ideal cycle time are missing, the first task is to establish how to obtain them; indicators must not be completed using undisclosed assumptions.
Useful comparisons for production teams.
Compare the same product under consistent rules and review each OEE component separately. Aggregate OEE alone does not explain a loss. For different products, account for their ideal production times and quantities rather than averaging percentages without a common basis.
RELATED CONTENT
OEE calculation
Formulae and an injection-moulding example.
Downloadable calculator
Input values, results and validation checks.
TECHNICAL LIBRARY
Quantify production capacity lost to downtime
Downtime reduction must be assessed alongside production rate, quality and line constraints. Potential additional output does not automatically translate into lost revenue.
Request a configuration for your plant.
Tell us which equipment you wish to monitor and which information you need to analyse.
Technical analysis of cycle time
Analysing injection, packing, cooling and ejection phases helps identify non-productive time. Dr.-Ing. Laura Flórez, CEO of PM Tec Engineering, discusses the opportunities and constraints of this analysis in Plastics Engineering (SPE, 2024).
Read “Optimizing Cycle Time in Injection Molding” in SPE ↗ · Other publications by Laura Flórez →
REGIONAL CONTEXT
OEE and productivity require consistent, contextualized data. Explore the difference between basic connectivity and mature industrial digital capabilities. Read the analysis and references →
Engineering
Resources
PM Tec Engineering, through its Industry 4.0 division, KERN IoP.
Cota, Cundinamarca · Colombia.
© 2026 PM Tec Servicios de Ingeniería SAS · Website updated in 2026.
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