Productivity Alarms

WHAT THIS IS

• A speed alarm is a productivity monitoring feature that tracks whether a production line is operating at its expected speed. The alarm compares the current production speed against the validated speed of the line and triggers a notification if performance falls below a configured percentage for a defined period of time.
   
• The purpose of the alarm is to detect situations where equipment is still running, but not efficiently. This helps teams identify performance loss that may otherwise go unnoticed because the line has not fully stopped.
   

WHY IT MATTERS

• Production lines can lose efficiency without entering downtime. Operators may unintentionally run a line slower than expected, or a machine may underperform while still technically operating.
   
• Speed alarms make these hidden losses visible by continuously evaluating production speed against the line’s validated speed.
   
• This helps teams:
  • Detect reduced performance earlier
  • Respond to productivity loss in real time
  • Maintain consistent line efficiency
  • Reduce lost production caused by slow-running equipment
  • Monitor lines that run different products at different target speeds
     

WHEN YOU WOULD USE THIS

• Use this when:
  • You want to detect production lines running below expected speed
  • Operators switch between products with different production rates
  • You want visibility into hidden speed loss
  • You need automatic notifications when performance drops
  • A line continues running but produces less output than expected
     

HOW IT WORKS

• A speed alarm evaluates production speed over a rolling time window.
   
• The alarm rule is based on:
  • A percentage threshold of the validated speed
  • An evaluation window used to calculate average speed
     
• The validated speed represents the expected maximum operating speed for the line. The configured threshold defines how far below that speed the line can run before triggering an alarm.
   
• For example, if a line has a validated speed of 60 pieces per minute and the alarm threshold is set to 50%, the system checks whether the average speed drops below 30 pieces per minute.
   
• The evaluation window determines how long the reduced speed must persist before the alarm activates. If the evaluation window is set to 300 seconds, the system continuously evaluates the average speed across the most recent 5 minutes of production data.
   
• The alarm only evaluates uninterrupted production data. If the period contains downtime or a change to the validated speed configuration, the alarm is not triggered.
   
• When the alarm condition is met, notifications are sent to configured subscribers through email or SMS.
  
  
  

KEY TERMS / COMPONENTS

• Validated Speed:
  • The expected maximum operating speed for a production line or sensor.
     
• Threshold Percentage:
  • The percentage of validated speed used as the minimum acceptable operating speed before an alarm is triggered.
     
• Evaluation Window:
  • The period of time over which average production speed is calculated.
     
• Average Speed:
  • The calculated production speed across the evaluation window.
     
• Subscriber:
  • A user who receives alarm notifications through email or SMS.
     
• Speed Loss:
  • Reduced production performance while the line is still operating.

COMMON MISUNDERSTANDINGS

• A speed alarm does not detect downtime.
  • The line can still be running while the alarm identifies reduced efficiency.
• A speed alarm is not based on instantaneous speed.
  • The system evaluates average speed over a configured time window.
• The validated speed is not the current operating speed.
  • It represents the expected or target maximum speed for the line.
• Downtime periods do not contribute to speed alarm evaluation.
  • Interrupted production data prevents the alarm from triggering during that window.

Related Articles

• How to create a speed alarm
• Stop alarms