What is Downtime in Manufacturing and How to Reduce Downtime?

 

Downtime in manufacturing is one of the biggest challenges a facility faces today. Reducing downtime is a major concern of facility managers. Downtime may occur for various reasons, and, to some extent, it is impossible to avoid. But through careful planning with the help of CMMS software, we can control downtime.

What is Downtime in Manufacturing?

Process or equipment problems account for the vast majority of manufacturing downtime. Unplanned downtime caused by unforeseen reasons accounts for 80% of industrial downtime. Manufacturing downtime refers to any length of time when facilities output is paused, including both scheduled asset maintenance downtime and unscheduled downtime caused by equipment failure and other incidents.

Manufacturing downtime results in a drop in earnings. In the short term, halted manufacturing means no money generation. Furthermore, when the flow of input and output is disturbed during industrial downtime, relationships and contracts with other organizations might become strained.

According to studies, workplace accidents rise twelvefold during production startup and shutdowns, emphasizing the need to avoid industrial downtime.

The average plant loses 5% to 20% of its productivity every year due to industrial downtime. During downtime, workers may also be exposed to new operating situations, dramatically raising safety issues.

Reasons for Downtime in Manufacturing

Some sources of downtime are known and therefore avoidable, whilst others appear seemingly out of nowhere. In this section, we examine the reasons for downtime in manufacturing. Learn more