Your operators are present 8 hours a day, but how many of those hours are actually spent manufacturing your products? The gap between attendance time and productive time is the ultimate playground for hidden costs.
For this second installment of our "1 Month, 1 KPI" series, we are zooming in on KPI n°2: Productive Hours. This is where the true efficiency of your shop floor is decided. It is the metric that answers the tough question: "Are we working, or are we just here?"
The Challenge: The Hunt for "Dead Time"
In a world of skilled labor shortages, every minute of an expert operator's time is precious. If an expert welder spends 15% of their time searching for tools or waiting for a forklift to bring parts, 15% of your production capacity evaporates, while the salary remains exactly the same.
The goal isn't to "police" staff, but to identify organizational dysfunctions (faulty internal logistics, frequent breakdowns, long changeovers) that prevent your teams from producing.
What do we mean by "Productive Hours" ?
The Goal is to define what is a productive hours:
Unlike Logged Hours (clock-in/clock-out), Productive Hours only count the time explicitly assigned to a Manufacturing Order (MO) or a Work Order (WO).
- What Counts : Time spent assembling, machining, or packaging.
- What doesn't Count : Cleaning, team meetings, breaks, waiting for materials, or first-level maintenance (unless specifically coded).
- Formula : Sum of (Recorded durations) / (Work Orders) (Start/Stop at workstation)
🏭 Case Study : How Teconex optimizes its Workstation Tracking?
Contexte :
Teconex is the producer of the famous "Teco" (an essential Belgian reference for electrical connections since 1932), is also synonymous with quality and innovation in lighting and EV charging stations.
Problem
Without a tracking system at the workstation, it was impossible to objectively measure the time actually dedicated to assembly operations. Ancillary tasks (replenishment, handling, waste removal) were lumped in with productive time. Furthermore, forgotten clock-outs created "ghost hours" that artificially inflated productivity data and skewed performance analysis.
Idealis' Solution
Using Odoo kiosks at every station, operators record the start and end of each operation linked to a work order. Smart Analytics cross-references this data with Logged Hours and applies an automatic capping rule: if an operator forgets to close a task, the time is limited to their actual or contractual exit time. This double validation ensures data integrity.
Result
Teconex now has factual visibility into the "Productive Time / Attendance Time" ratio, free from entry errors. This objective traceability identified significant gaps, revealing opportunities for logistical reorganization (line-side flow optimization) and allowing improvements to be driven by auditable data rather than estimates.
📊 Visualization : What Should Your Dashboard Look Like?
To manage this KPI, you need a view that separates the "wheat" (productive time) from the "chaff" (unproductive time).
With Smart Analytics, we recommend these visualizations:
- The Area Chart: "The Efficiency Gap"
- One curve represents Total Logged Hours (paid capacity).
- A second curve, just below, represents Total Productive Hours.
- The space between the two curves is highlighted in light red. The thicker this zone, the greater your financial loss.
- The "Loss Pareto":
- A bar chart detailing downtime codes (if entered by operators): Waiting for Material, Breakdown, Setup, Other. This tells you immediately why the hour wasn't productive.
Note: This is an example of what we have co-built with clients. Every dashboard is tailored to the specific needs and processes of your organization.
Your Action Plan in 3 steps
How Idealis helps you eliminate "ghost hours" to reveal your true production capacity?
Idealis deploys real-time data capture tools and intelligent analytics to identify downtime and transform organizational dysfunctions into growth opportunities.
Next in the series: Now that we know how much time we spend, is it the right amount of time? Find out with KPI n°3: Standard Hours. Les Heures Théoriques.
Are your operators spending more time looking for parts than producing? Identify your bottlenecks with a precise data diagnostic.
Book Your Rapid Production Audit Below!👇