Downtime Reasons
Downtime reasons let operators enter a reason for machine stops (for example a breakdown, waiting for material, planned maintenance) and show how the stop time is distributed over the reasons. Stops are calculated from the run/stop log of the machine; the operator enters the reason by clicking the stop in the Downtime timeline widget, and the Downtime reason Pareto widget adds up the stop times by reason.
This page describes the setup. Entering and revoking reasons, the lock and how to read the Pareto are described on the Entering Downtime Reasons page.
Setup order:
- Turn on downtime reasons in the log definition of the machine (Turning it on for a machine).
- Prepare the reason catalog on the Settings > Downtime Reasons screen (Reason catalog).
- Add a Downtime timeline to a page and turn on its Downtime reasons setting; add a Downtime reason Pareto for the stop distribution (Use on a page).
- Give the required roles to the user groups (Roles).
License
Downtime reasons are available in the Standard and Professional packages; they are not in the Starter package. In custom packages they come with the machine drill-down right of the Runtime Analysis screen (see License).
If the license does not include this right:
- The Settings > Downtime Reasons menu item and the Downtime reasons and Micro-stop threshold (s) fields of the log definition are not shown.
- The timeline shows no reason strip and no reason entry; the Pareto widget shows the message The downtime reason Pareto is not included in the current edition. and the Downtime reason entry widget shows Downtime reason entry is not included in this installation.
- Reasons entered earlier are not deleted. When the right is added again, the entries within the retention period are visible again.
Turning it on for a machine
Downtime reasons are turned on separately for each machine. A machine is a log definition that keeps a run/stop record (see Log (Archive) Definitions).
- Open the log definition window and go to the Consumption & Run/Stop step.
- Select Changed state bit or Sampled state bit as the Run/Stop Data Basis. With either of these two options, two new fields appear.
- Check the Downtime reasons box.
- If needed, enter a Micro-stop threshold (s) and save.
Downtime reasons: When on, operators can enter reasons for the stops of this machine. Turning it off does not delete entered reasons; they stay visible and are still counted in the Pareto, but no new reason can be entered and existing reasons cannot be revoked.
Micro-stop threshold (s): Stops without a reason that are shorter than this time are shown separately as Micro-stop in the Pareto. It must be between 0 and 3600 seconds. If it is left empty, 120 seconds is used; use the × button to empty the field (deleting the text sets it to 0). 0 turns the micro-stop separation off. The threshold is applied each time the Pareto is opened; when it is changed, the Pareto of past ranges is also calculated with the new threshold.
- Counter sources (Cumulative run counter, Cumulative stop counter) do not produce individual stops, so downtime reasons cannot be turned on for these options.
- If the Run/Stop Data Basis is changed to an option other than a state bit, downtime reasons are turned off automatically and the threshold is cleared. Switching between Changed state bit and Sampled state bit keeps the settings.
- Both fields are also shown as columns in the log definition table; an empty threshold shows as 120 in the table.
- Editing a log definition needs the log definition right (Editor or LogManagement).
Reason catalog
The reasons the operator can select are defined on the Settings > Downtime Reasons screen. When the license right is present, the menu item is shown to users with the Editor and ReportManagement roles and to the SystemAdmin account.
Each reason has these fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Category | Planned, Breakdown, Material, Quality or Other. The color of the reason strip in the timeline comes from the category; the Pareto can also be grouped by category. |
| Code | Optional short code (at most 32 characters). |
| Name | The name the operator sees (1–100 characters). It must be unique among the global reasons and among the local reasons of the same task center. |
| Comment required | If checked, the operator cannot save this reason without a comment. Always checked for reasons in the Other category. |
| Order | Display order in the list (0–9999). The reason list is sorted by category, then by order, then by name. |
| Active | A reason that is unchecked becomes Inactive and cannot be selected for new entries. |
Reasons are not deleted; set a reason that is no longer used to inactive. This way old entries can still be read with their reasons. When the name or category of a reason is changed, old entries are also shown with the new name and category. A reason that is no longer in the catalog (for example after an older backup of the catalog was restored) is shown with the name it had when it was entered and the note not in catalog.
If two users edit the same reason at the same time, the second save is refused with the message The reason was changed by someone else; reload.; reload the screen and make the change again.
Global reasons
The reasons on the Global reasons tab apply to every machine. Global reasons are added and changed by users with the Editor role and by the SystemAdmin account (New reason); the ReportManagement role sees the list read-only. At most 200 global reasons can be defined.
Task center settings
Which reasons a machine offers depends on the task center of the device that the tag of the log definition belongs to. On the Task center settings tab, for each task center:
- A global reason that is unchecked in the Global reasons in this task center list cannot be selected on the machines of this task center. The change is saved with Save settings.
- Local reasons appear only on the machines of this task center (New local reason). At most 100 local reasons can be defined per task center.
The reason list of a machine is the active global reasons, without those turned off in this task center, plus the active local reasons of the task center. Machines whose device is not linked to a task center offer only the global reasons.
The ReportManagement role sees and manages only the task centers within its process group rights; the Editor role and the SystemAdmin account manage all task centers.
Orphaned records
The settings and local reasons of a deleted task center are listed on the Orphaned records tab for information only; they are not used on any machine.
Use on a page
- Downtime timeline: With the Downtime reasons setting on, the entered reasons are shown below the stops as a strip in the color of their category, and authorized users enter reasons by clicking a stop. With the setting off, the widget shows only the run/stop states, as before.
- Downtime reason Pareto: Adds up the stop times of the selected machines (at most 20) by reason or by category and sorts them from largest to smallest. For the meaning of the bars, see Pareto.
- Downtime reason entry: For touch operator panels: lists the stops of 1–4 selected machines that have no reason yet; the operator taps a row and picks the reason from large buttons. For its use, see Operator panel.
All three widgets are previewed with sample data in the page editor; data is read only while the page is viewed. The time range of the timeline and the Pareto comes from the widget's own settings or from the Page time picker widget; Downtime reason entry always looks back the last Window (hours) up to now.
Roles
All actions are possible only on machines within the user's process group rights.
| Action | Who |
|---|---|
| Seeing entered reasons and the Pareto | Every user allowed to see the machine (Monitor included) |
| Entering a reason | Operate, ReportManagement, Editor, SystemAdmin |
| Revoking one's own reason | Operate |
| Revoking any reason | ReportManagement, Editor, SystemAdmin |
| Reopening a locked interval | ReportManagement, Editor, SystemAdmin |
| Managing global reasons | Editor, SystemAdmin |
| Task center settings and local reasons | ReportManagement (task centers within its rights), Editor, SystemAdmin |
| Turning on downtime reasons for a machine | Log definition right (Editor, LogManagement) |
Retention and backup
Entered reasons are kept in the archive database next to the run/stop data they explain, for the Data Retention [Months] set in the log definition of the machine. Reasons older than this are no longer shown and are deleted from the archive database automatically; once the run/stop data of a stop is deleted, its reason has no meaning either.
The reason catalog (global reasons, task center settings and local reasons) is included in the configuration backup with the Downtime reasons module (see Backup). The Downtime reasons and Micro-stop threshold (s) settings of log definitions travel with the Log Definitions module; when an older backup without these settings is restored, downtime reasons are off and the threshold is empty. Entered reasons are not part of the configuration backup and do not change on restore.