Utilization Concepts

An entity’s utilization is tracked when an associated Utilization Capability Object (UCO) or production operator enters events, such as when the entity is running a job or when the entity is down for repairs or maintenance.

At all times, an entity will have a reason assigned to it. The reason can be assigned by an operator manually or determined directly from a UCO by input/output (I/O) automatically. The reason will assign a utilization state. Based on the configuration of the utilization state, the event as classified by the reason will contribute to either the Performance or Availability component of OEE, or the time will be excluded from the OEE calculation entirely.

It is important to understand that "event" does not refer to an isolated occurrence of something at the entity. All utilization events for an entity form a contiguous series from the time the entity was configured as being capable of capturing utilization to the present. In other words, one sort of event or another is always occurring at the entity.

An operator adds an event by selecting a utilization reason for the entity. The utilization reason specifies:

• The state of the entity

• A reason for that state

Operators might have to make adjustments to events that have already been entered so that they represent actual entity activity. These adjustments include:

• Reclassifying an event by selecting a different utilization reason

• Splitting an event into two events

• Merging two adjacent events

• Modifying an event’s start or end time

• Modifying the comment entered about an event

The UCO's role is to determine the correct current state of the entity and to log state changes through events in real time. The UCO has no mechanism for making adjustments to events that have already been entered. Any necessary adjustments can be made through the MES Utilization .NET control, the MES Web Portal, or the MES API.