How You Monitor and Manage Your Production Lines

Use the Production Line Monitoring tab to monitor the production line performance in real time and manage the flow schedules for the production line workstations.

To monitor flow manufacturing production lines and their associated workstations, select Production Supervision from the Actions list in the Work Execution work area. Switch to the Production Line Monitoring tab.

You can see the name and status of the production line at the top of the page. The production line shows as Running when all workstations are in use. The line shows as Idle, when at least one of the workstations belonging to the production line is idle. The production line shows as Down if at least one workstation is down.

You can monitor key production line metrics, such as Completed Quantities, Availability, Performance, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). You can view the workstations associated with the production line and assign operators for executing flow schedules. You can also view and manage the flow schedules for the workstations. For example, you can resequence or reschedule flow schedules.

The following sections expand on the tasks you can complete from the Production Line Monitoring tab.

Monitor Metrics for the Production Line

The key shift-level production line metrics appear near the top of the page. Metrics showing percentages also show the deviations from the benchmark targets defined under the Smart Operations Configurations task.

You can monitor the following metrics:

Line Capacity: Line Capacity represents the total number of units a production line can produce within the current shift. It reflects the planned throughput under ideal circumstances without interruptions or slowdowns. Line capacity is determined by the flow rate specified during the production line configuration. The calculation uses the plant-level calendar, which defines working and non-working days, including holidays and shutdowns, for all production lines within the plant. This ensures consistency in how capacity is planned and reported across shifts.
Completed Quantity: Completed quantity refers to the number of units successfully produced and completed on a production line or workstation for the current shift. This metric helps track actual output against planned quantities and is essential for evaluating efficiency, order fulfillment progress, and production goal attainment in real time.
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE): OEE measures how effectively a workstation or production line is utilized, combining Availability, Performance, and Quality into a single metric. It reflects the percentage of scheduled production time that is truly productive, helping identify loss areas and drive manufacturing efficiency improvements, for the current shift.
Availability: Availability indicates the proportion of scheduled time a production line is actually running in the current shift. It accounts for unplanned and planned downtime events and reflects equipment readiness. High availability ensures minimal interruptions and supports consistent flow in production schedules.
Performance: Performance measures how fast a production line operates compared to its maximum potential speed in the current shift. It considers minor stops and reduced operating speeds. Monitoring performance helps identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies that prevent equipment from running at optimal throughput levels.
Quality: Quality reflects the percentage of good units produced without defects on a production line for the current shift. It excludes any units that fail inspection. Maintaining high quality ensures product consistency, reduces waste, and supports customer satisfaction and compliance.
Downtime: Downtime refers to periods when a workstation is not operational, including both scheduled maintenance and unplanned interruptions. Downtime directly affects Availability and OEE and must be tracked using reason codes to identify root causes and reduce productivity losses.
Scrapped Quantity: Scrapped Quantity refers to the number of units discarded during production at a workstation or production line due to defects or non-conformance for the current shift. Tracking scrap helps identify quality issues, reduce material waste, and improve overall production efficiency and cost control.
Open Exceptions: Open Exceptions are unresolved issues or deviations detected during production at the workstation or line level, such as quality failures, resource conflicts, or schedule variances. Monitoring open exceptions enables faster corrective actions and prevents disruptions from impacting throughput or delivery timelines.

Line Capacity versus Completed Quantity Table:

The Line Capacity vs Completed table provides a detailed, time-based view of how a production line performs through a shift. By dividing the shift into regular intervals, you can monitor progress, identify issues early, and take corrective actions to ensure that the production goals are met. In addition to the quantities completed, you can also track scrap levels. The following fields are available:

Time: Represents one-hour intervals within the shift, dividing the shift into manageable periods for tracking production metrics and performance.
Line Capacity: The maximum number of units that can be produced in an hourly time interval.
Completed: The actual number of units produced within a specific time interval, tracked based on operation completions recorded in the system.
Scrapped: The number of defective or unusable units identified at the workstation level during production.
Cumulative Line Capacity: The total available production capacity from the start of the shift up to the current time. It is calculated as the sum of line capacity values for each completed time interval within the shift.
Cumulative Completed: The total number of units successfully produced so far, starting from the beginning of the shift. This helps in tracking overall production progress, as compared to the expected capacity.
Cumulative Scrapped: The total number of scrapped units recorded from the start of the shift.

The Line Capacity vs Completed table rounds off quantity values to display whole number values for each hourly interval.

Manage Workstations on the Production Line

Workstations are assigned to individual line operation sequences for a production line. Click View Workstations to view the workstations associated with the production line.

The Workstations page shows the workstations mapped to each line operation sequence. You can see the operators assigned to the workstations and the current workstation statuses. Click View Details from the Actions menu for a workstation to see more details, such as the active flow schedule, operational time, any open exceptions, and equipment details.

Manage Operator Assignments

You can assign operators to the workstations associated with your production line. On the Production Line Monitoring page, click the Actions menu next to View Workstations, and select Manage Operator Assignments. Select the workstation, select the shift, and then select the operators to assign to the workstation.

Manage Exceptions

The Open exceptions section lists any open exceptions on the Production Line Monitoring page. Click the View icon against an exception to see its details, or click All open exceptions to see all exceptions. Once addressed, you can click Close Exception to remove an exception from the list.

Manage Flow Schedules

The Flow schedules section lists the flow schedules for the production line. Click All flow schedules to open up the Flow Schedules page.

You can resequence flow schedules to prioritize production execution based on production needs or resource availability. To resequence flow schedules, click Resequence. You can drag and drop individual flow schedules higher or lower in the list to resequence.

You can also reschedule flow schedules. To reschedule a flow schedule, select the flow schedule and click Reschedule. Update the flow schedule completion date as required.