Downtime tracking
Every stop recorded. Every reason named.
ThingConnect detects stops straight from the controller the moment they happen. Operators name the cause in two taps, and the loss Pareto updates live — so the improvement meeting starts from facts.
Where downtime hides today
- Stops under 10 minutes never make it to the logbook — and they are most of the loss.
- ‘Machine breakdown’ covers everything from a tool change to a blown spindle, so nothing is fixable.
- Downtime is compiled weekly, argued monthly, and improved never.
- The one person who knows why Line 2 stops every Tuesday retires next year.
How ThingConnect does it
Auto-detected, from the control
Every stop is captured with exact start, end, and duration — including micro-stops — with the controller alarm attached when there is one.
Two-tap classification
Category, then reason, on a shop-floor tablet with big targets. Reason trees are configured to your plant’s vocabulary, seeded with sensible CNC defaults.
A Pareto that’s always current
Top losses by minutes, updating as the shift runs — plus ‘downtime to justify’ so unclassified stops are visible and get named.
Common questions
How are stops detected?
From the controller’s run state — not from current sensors or operator entry. The stop is timestamped the second the machine stops, with the alarm code attached when the control reports one.
What if operators don’t classify a stop?
It shows up as ‘downtime to justify’ — a visible counter on the dashboard and reports. Unnamed downtime stays loud until someone names it, which is how classification discipline actually builds.
Can we edit the reason list?
Yes. Two-level reason trees (category → reason) are fully editable by your admin, and we seed them with CNC-appropriate defaults during deployment so day one works.
Does it track planned downtime separately?
Yes — planned maintenance, changeovers, and breaks are classified separately from unplanned stops, per your plant’s OEE rules.
See it on machines like yours
A 30-minute demo, then a pilot on your own floor if it fits.