Adding breaks to shifts within your machine schedules

Overview

Breaks allow you to define company-wide non-production days where downtime can be automatically categorized as planned downtime so metrics like OEE and availability reflect only expected production time.

Prerequisite

• Enable Exclude Planned Downtime from Scheduled Time in Settings > Downtimes

Without this setting enabled:

• Downtime will still be categorized with the selected reason.
• Scheduled Time and related production metrics will not be adjusted.

How It Works

Breaks are configured at the shift level within an individual Machine Schedule.

• Apply only to machines assigned to that schedule
• Must fall entirely within shift hours
• Automatically categorize downtime using the selected downtime reason

ℹ️ NOTE: Existing automatic downtime categorization rules covering the same time periods are no longer required.

Configuration / Setup

1. Navigate to Settings > Machine Schedules
2. Select the schedule to edit
3. Click Edit on the shift
4. Scroll to Planned Breaks
5. Click + Add

Configure:

• Name — Enter a unique name for the break
• Start — Select the time you would like this break to start
• End — Select the time you would like this break to end
• Categorize as — Select the downtime category used to classify any idle time that occurs during this period

6. Click Save

Rules and Constraints

• Break start and end times must fall within shift boundaries
• Multiple breaks may be added to a shift
• Breaks do not carry across shifts

Impact on Metrics

Execution (uptime vs. downtime) is not affected.

Example

Shift: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM 
Break: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

If a machine is idle for the entire break, downtime during the break is classified as planned and excluded from Scheduled Time. Availability and OEE calculations then use a 7-hour expected production window.

FAQ

Do breaks affect historical data? 
No. Breaks apply from the date they are created forward.

What if a machine runs during a break? 
Production activity is recorded normally. Only downtime is automatically categorized.

Do breaks carry over across shifts? 
No. Breaks apply only within the shift where they are configured.