KPI Boards
KPI Boards are the performance tracking layer of ProBeya. They bring the SQCDP (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, People) framework to life, letting teams define measurable indicators, record values over time, and instantly see whether performance is on track through a red/amber/green traffic-light system.
KPI boards are a core component of the Obeya room: during TIER meetings, the team reviews KPI status at a glance and takes action on any indicator that has turned red.
SQCDP Categories
Every KPI is assigned to one of the standard operational excellence categories:
| Code | Category | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| S | Safety | Lost-time injury rate, near-miss count, safety training completion |
| Q | Quality | OEE, defect rate (ppm), right-first-time percentage, yield |
| C | Cost | Budget variance, scrap cost, overtime hours |
| D | Delivery | On-time delivery rate, lead time, order fill rate |
| P | People | Absenteeism, training hours per employee, engagement score |
| custom | Custom | Any metric that falls outside the standard SQCDP framework |
The SQCDP grouping is reflected in the board layout: KPIs are visually organized into category swim lanes so the team can scan each domain during the daily review.
KPI Definitions
A KPI definition describes what you are measuring, how often, and what good looks like. Definitions are created once per board and then have values recorded against them over time.
Creating a KPI
- Open a board and navigate to the KPIs tab.
- Click + Add KPI.
- Fill in the definition fields:
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Human-readable label (e.g., "OEE", "Defect Rate") | Yes |
| Unit | Measurement unit (e.g., %, ppm, hours, count, EUR) | Yes |
| Category | SQCDP category code (S, Q, C, D, P, custom) | Yes |
| Frequency | How often a value is expected: daily, weekly, or monthly | Yes |
| Direction | Whether higher values are better or lower values are better | Yes |
| Target Value | The baseline target (e.g., 85 for 85% OEE) | No |
| Thresholds | Red/amber/green boundary values for traffic-light alerting | No |
| Data Source | How data enters the system: manual, import, or api | Yes |
| Owner | The user responsible for this KPI's accuracy and follow-up | No |
- Click Save. The KPI card appears in the appropriate SQCDP category lane.
Direction and Thresholds
The direction field determines how threshold boundaries are evaluated:
Higher is better (e.g., OEE, yield):
value >= green --> GREEN (on target)
value >= amber --> AMBER (warning)
value < amber --> RED (critical)
Lower is better (e.g., defect rate, scrap cost):
value <= green --> GREEN (on target)
value <= amber --> AMBER (warning)
value > amber --> RED (critical)
For an OEE KPI with direction = higher_is_better:
- Green threshold:
85 - Amber threshold:
75 - Red threshold:
60
A value of 82 falls between amber and green, so the traffic light shows amber.
KPI Hierarchy (KPI Tree)
KPIs can be organized in a parent-child hierarchy. A parent KPI can aggregate values from its children using one of these methods:
- Sum — Parent value = sum of all child values
- Average — Parent value = average of all child values
- Weighted Average — Each child has a weight factor; parent = weighted mean
- Min / Max — Parent value = minimum or maximum of child values
This is useful for site-level KPIs that roll up from production line KPIs.
Computed KPIs (Formulas)
Instead of manual entry, a KPI can derive its value from other KPIs using a formula:
{KPI:Good Units} / {KPI:Total Units} * 100
Supported operations: +, -, *, /, parentheses, numeric literals, and aggregate functions (SUM(), AVG(), MIN(), MAX(), COUNT()).
When a formula is defined, the KPI value is automatically recalculated whenever a referenced KPI receives a new value. Manual data entry is disabled for computed KPIs.
KPI Value Entry
Single Value Entry
- Click on a KPI card to open its detail panel.
- In the Values section, click + Add Value.
- Select the date, enter the value, and optionally add a comment.
- Click Save. The traffic-light status updates immediately.
The comment field is important for explaining anomalies:
"Machine 3 was down for maintenance — OEE artificially low this shift."
Batch / Daily Entry
For teams that enter multiple KPI values at the start of each day:
- Click Batch Entry in the KPI board toolbar.
- A grid appears with one row per KPI and columns for the selected date(s).
- Tab through cells to enter values quickly.
- Click Save All to commit the entire batch in one operation.
Batch entry supports entering values for multiple dates at once. Use the date range picker to select a week or month, then fill in the grid.
Period-Specific Targets
While each KPI has a baseline target value, targets often change over time. For example, a factory might target 80% OEE in Q1 but raise it to 85% in Q2 after a Kaizen event.
- Open the KPI detail panel.
- Navigate to the Targets tab.
- Click + Add Target Period.
- Set the start date, end date, target value, and an optional reason.
When viewing KPI performance, the system automatically uses the target that is active for the displayed date range. If no period-specific target exists, the baseline target from the KPI definition is used.
Traffic-Light Status
Each KPI card displays a prominent traffic-light indicator:
- Green — Performance meets or exceeds the target. No action required.
- Amber — Performance is below target but above the critical threshold. Monitor closely.
- Red — Performance has breached the critical threshold. Immediate action required.
- Grey — No value recorded for the current period, or thresholds are not configured.
The traffic-light system provides instant visual scanning during TIER meetings: the team can see at a glance which KPIs need attention without reading individual numbers.
KPIs without configured thresholds always display a grey status. To enable traffic-light alerting, set at least the green and amber threshold values in the KPI definition.
HSE Safety Cross
The Safety Cross is a calendar-based visualization specifically for HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) KPIs. It displays a month view where each day is colored based on the safety status:
- Green day — No incidents reported
- Red day — One or more incidents recorded
- Amber day — Near-miss reported but no injury
- Grey day — No data entered yet
The Safety Cross is automatically available for any KPI in the Safety (S) category with daily frequency. It appears as an additional visualization option alongside the standard trend chart.
Using the Safety Cross
- Open a Safety-category KPI (e.g., "Incidents Today").
- Click the Safety Cross tab in the detail panel.
- The current month displays as a grid of colored day cells.
- Use the month navigation arrows to view historical months.
- Click any day cell to view or edit the value and associated comments.
KPI Trend Charts
Every KPI has a built-in trend chart that plots measured values over time against the target line and threshold bands:
- Solid line — Actual measured values
- Dashed line — Target value (or period-specific target)
- Green band — Values in the green threshold zone
- Amber band — Values in the amber threshold zone
- Red band — Values below the amber threshold (or above, for lower-is-better KPIs)
Chart Controls
- Date range — Select from preset ranges (last 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, YTD) or pick custom dates.
- Aggregation — For daily KPIs viewed over a long range, aggregate to weekly or monthly averages.
- Annotations — Comments attached to individual values appear as markers on the chart.
CSV Import of KPI Data
For teams that collect KPI data in spreadsheets before entering it into ProBeya, the CSV import feature allows bulk uploading of historical or current values.
Import Steps
- Navigate to the KPI board toolbar and click Import CSV.
- Upload your CSV file (
.csvor.tsv). - Map columns — Match your CSV columns to KPI fields:
KPI NameorKPI ID— identifies which KPI definition to write toDate— the measurement date (ISO 8601 format recommended:YYYY-MM-DD)Value— the measured valueComment— optional note for this measurement
- Preview — Review the parsed data with validation results. Rows with errors are highlighted.
- Execute — Click Import to write the values. A summary shows success/error counts.
Imported values are tagged with source = "import" in the audit trail, distinguishing them from manually entered or API-pushed values.
Supported Formats
| Format | Delimiter | Extension |
|---|---|---|
| Comma-separated values | , | .csv |
| Tab-separated values | \t | .tsv |
| Semicolon-separated values | ; | .csv |
The import wizard auto-detects the delimiter. UTF-8 encoding is recommended; UTF-8 BOM is also supported.
All imported cell values are sanitized to prevent CSV injection attacks. Values starting with =, +, -, or @ are prefixed with a single quote to neutralize any formula interpretation by downstream tools.
Permissions
| Action | Required Role |
|---|---|
| View KPIs | Any board member |
| Create/edit KPI definitions | Board admin or workspace admin |
| Enter KPI values | Any board member with write access |
| Import CSV data | Board admin or workspace admin |
| Delete KPI definitions | Board admin or workspace admin |
| Manage period-specific targets | Board admin or KPI owner |
Related Features
- Action Log — Create actions directly from red KPIs
- Escalation Engine — Escalate KPI-related issues through TIER hierarchy
- TIER Meeting Mode — Review KPIs in full-screen shopfloor display
- Templates — Save KPI board configurations as reusable templates