ISO 22400 is a series of international standards that defines key performance indicators (KPIs), terminology, and basic concepts for monitoring and evaluating manufacturing operations. It is focused on operations management functions typically implemented in Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and related production IT/OT systems.
The standard series specifies how to describe and calculate performance indicators such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), availability, performance, quality rates, and other manufacturing-oriented KPIs in a consistent and comparable way. It also defines a common vocabulary for production states, equipment utilization, and information exchange about production performance.
Scope and use in manufacturing environments
ISO 22400 commonly applies in:
- Design and configuration of MES and operations dashboards
- Integration between shop-floor systems (OT) and enterprise systems (e.g., ERP)
- Definition of standard KPIs across plants, lines, or sites
- Data modeling for production performance analysis and reporting
In regulated or highly controlled environments, ISO 22400 is often used as a reference when defining how operational data is captured, aggregated, and reported, helping align terminology across engineering, quality, and IT/OT teams.
Relationship to other standards and concepts
ISO 22400 is closely related to:
- Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), where many of the defined KPIs are implemented and visualized
- Standards that describe manufacturing operations and integration models (for example, those that define levels of manufacturing systems and information flows)
- Operational performance metrics such as OEE, NPT, and various loss and utilization metrics
The standard does not prescribe specific technologies, vendors, or system architectures. Instead, it provides a neutral framework for defining and exchanging performance-related information in manufacturing operations.
Common confusion
ISO 22400 is sometimes confused with:
- General quality management standards, which focus more on management systems and less on detailed operational KPIs
- Equipment-level standards, which may define machine safety or hardware requirements but not the performance indicators used to evaluate production
ISO 22400 specifically concerns the definitions, structures, and calculation approaches for manufacturing operations KPIs and related terminology, rather than prescribing management processes or equipment design.