Downtime is any period when production equipment, a manufacturing line, or a supporting system is not performing its intended work and is unable to produce output. In an operational context, downtime is measured as elapsed time during which a resource is unavailable for planned production or processing.
Downtime can include:
- Unplanned downtime: unexpected stops caused by failures, breakdowns, errors, or other unanticipated events.
- Planned downtime: scheduled stops such as preventive maintenance, changeovers, inspections, or setup activities.
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) typically track downtime events with timestamps, duration, affected assets, and coded reasons so that teams can identify patterns, analyze root causes, and adjust operations or maintenance plans. Downtime data is often used in performance metrics such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).