Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
OEE is ProBeya's equipment performance monitoring module. It implements the industry-standard OEE metric -- the gold standard for measuring manufacturing productivity -- with time-series tracking, target management, component breakdown analysis, and automated alerting.
OEE is calculated as the product of three components: Availability, Performance, and Quality. A 100% OEE score means the equipment is producing only good parts, as fast as possible, with no downtime. In practice, world-class OEE is around 85%.
Overview
Manufacturing teams need to know whether their equipment is running at peak efficiency. Without OEE tracking, problems hide behind aggregate output numbers. A machine might be running at full speed (high Performance) but suffering from frequent breakdowns (low Availability), or producing at capacity with too many defects (low Quality). OEE separates these three dimensions so teams can diagnose root causes and target improvements.
ProBeya's OEE module solves this by providing:
- Centralized OEE data collection from manual entry, CSV import, or MES connector sync.
- Equipment overview dashboard showing the latest OEE for every tracked piece of equipment.
- Component breakdown charts revealing whether Availability, Performance, or Quality is dragging down overall OEE.
- Target management with time-bound targets per equipment for goal tracking.
- Automated alerts when equipment falls below its configured OEE target.
Getting Started
- Navigate to the OEE section from your project dashboard.
- Record your first OEE data point:
- Select or enter the Equipment ID and Equipment Name.
- Enter the Date and optional Shift identifier.
- Input the three component percentages: Availability (%), Performance (%), and Quality (%).
- Optionally provide supporting data: planned time, downtime, total units produced, good units produced.
- The OEE value is auto-computed:
OEE = (A / 100) x (P / 100) x (Q / 100) x 100. - Set a Target for the equipment to enable alert monitoring.
- Use the Overview dashboard to see all equipment at a glance, and drill into individual equipment for trend analysis.
Key Concepts
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Availability | The percentage of planned production time the equipment was actually running. Losses include breakdowns, setup/adjustment, and other unplanned stops. |
| Performance | The ratio of actual production speed to the ideal (nameplate) speed. Losses include slow cycles, small stops, and reduced speed. |
| Quality | The percentage of produced units that meet quality specifications. Losses include defects, rework, and scrap. |
| OEE | The combined metric: Availability x Performance x Quality. A single number that captures the overall effectiveness of the equipment. |
| Shift | An optional identifier (e.g., "Morning", "Night", "A-Shift") to track OEE per shift for the same equipment on the same day. |
| Target | A goal OEE percentage (and optional per-component targets) set for each equipment. Used for alert generation and gap analysis. |
| Source | How the data was entered: manual (operator input), connector (MES sync), or import (CSV batch). |
How It Works
OEE Formula
The OEE computation is always performed server-side to ensure consistency:
OEE = (Availability / 100) x (Performance / 100) x (Quality / 100) x 100
For example: Availability 90% x Performance 95% x Quality 99% = 84.6% OEE.
The computed OEE value is stored rounded to one decimal place.
Data Collection
OEE data enters the system through three channels:
- Manual entry: Operators record measurements through the web UI. The
sourcefield is set tomanualand theenteredByfield tracks the operator. - Batch import: CSV files or MES connector syncs can upload multiple records at once using the batch API (up to 500 records per call).
- Connector sync: MES connectors push OEE data automatically. The
connectorIdfield links each record to its source connector.
All data entry uses an upsert pattern: if a record already exists for the same (equipment, date, shift) combination, it is updated rather than duplicated. This is essential for MES re-syncs and manual corrections.
Equipment Overview Dashboard
The overview dashboard shows the latest OEE record for each equipment in the organization. For each equipment card, you see:
- The current OEE gauge with the computed percentage.
- The Availability, Performance, and Quality breakdown.
- A target comparison showing whether the equipment is above or below target.
- A visual indicator (green/red) based on target compliance.
Only equipment with records in the last 90 days appears on the overview. Equipment not measured recently is not considered "actively tracked."
Component Breakdown Analysis
The component breakdown view shows time-series trends for Availability, Performance, and Quality individually. This helps identify which component is responsible for OEE declines:
- If Availability is dropping, focus on reducing unplanned downtime (TPM, preventive maintenance).
- If Performance is declining, investigate slow cycles, minor stops, and speed losses.
- If Quality is falling, look at process capability, material quality, and operator training.
The breakdown chart includes target reference lines when a target is configured for the equipment.
Target Management
OEE targets are set per equipment with an effective date range:
- Each target includes the overall OEE target plus individual targets for Availability, Performance, and Quality.
- Targets have an
effectiveFromdate and an optionaleffectiveTodate. - When a new target is set, the previous open-ended target is automatically closed (its
effectiveTois set to the day before the new target'seffectiveFrom). - This ensures a continuous timeline of targets without gaps or overlaps.
Alert Generation
The alerting system scans all actively tracked equipment and flags those where the latest OEE measurement falls below the configured target. Alert criteria:
- Equipment must have at least one OEE record in the last 30 days.
- Equipment must have a current target (one with no
effectiveTo). - The latest OEE value must be below the target OEE value.
Alerts are sorted by gap size (largest gap first), ensuring the worst-performing equipment surfaces at the top of the alert banner.
Configuration
| Setting | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment ID | String | Unique identifier for the equipment (e.g., machine serial number or asset tag). |
| Equipment Name | String | Human-readable name displayed in the UI. |
| Shift | String (optional) | Shift identifier for per-shift tracking. |
| Target OEE | Percentage | The goal OEE value for the equipment. |
| Target Availability | Percentage | Component-level Availability target. |
| Target Performance | Percentage | Component-level Performance target. |
| Target Quality | Percentage | Component-level Quality target. |
| Effective From | Date | When this target becomes active. |
| Effective To | Date (optional) | When this target expires. Null means "until further notice." |
Permissions
- Team Leaders and OpEx Coordinators can record OEE data, set targets, and view all dashboards.
- Operators with manual entry access can record OEE data for their assigned equipment.
- Workspace Admins have full access to all OEE data and configuration within the workspace.
- All data is scoped to the organization via
organizationId-- equipment and records are never visible across tenants.
Tips & Best Practices
Recording per-shift data reveals patterns that daily aggregates hide. Morning shifts may have higher Availability (fewer breakdowns after overnight maintenance) while night shifts may have lower Quality (reduced supervision).
An overall OEE target of 85% tells you the goal but not how to get there. Setting individual targets for Availability (90%), Performance (95%), and Quality (99.5%) makes the improvement path actionable.
When first deploying OEE tracking, use the batch import (up to 500 records per call) to load historical data from spreadsheets or MES exports. This gives you an immediate trend baseline.
The OEE alert banner surfaces equipment that has fallen below target. Reviewing it daily during tier meetings ensures underperforming equipment gets management attention before losses compound.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate OEE records | Multiple entries for the same equipment/date/shift. | The system uses upsert logic -- the latest entry overwrites the previous one. No manual deduplication needed. |
| Equipment not appearing on overview | No records in the last 90 days. | Record a current measurement. Equipment with only older data is excluded from the active overview. |
| Alert not triggering | Missing target or target has an effectiveTo date in the past. | Ensure the equipment has a current target (effectiveTo is null). |
| OEE value seems wrong | Misunderstanding the formula. | OEE is multiplicative, not additive. 90% x 90% x 90% = 72.9%, not 90%. |
| Batch import failing | More than 500 records in a single call. | Split large imports into batches of 500 or fewer. |
Related Features
- KPI Boards -- Display OEE metrics on visual management boards alongside other KPIs.
- Routines -- Include OEE review in daily SQCDP tier meetings.
- Analytics -- Analyze OEE trends across equipment, lines, and time periods.
- Asset Pulse -- Combine OEE with broader asset health monitoring.