Mastering

Manufacturing
Metrics
The ultimate guide to establishing,
measuring, & reporting KPIs for
peak plant performance

360.944.3725
[email protected]
dataparc.com
 Table Of Contents

Part I: Establishing Manufacturing KPIs 3

Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs 9

Part III: Building KPI Dashboards & Reports 18

Part IV: Preparing for Operational Reviews 26

Part I

Establishing
Manufacturing KPIs
KPIs are a powerful tool for manufacturers to drive
continuous improvement and promote process
efficiency.

We’ll explain what KPIs are, how they are used in

manufacturing and tie into continuous improvement.
Feel confident in selecting and developing KPIs with a
step-by-step outline.
Part I: Establishing Manufacturing KPIs What are KPIs?

What are KPIs?

KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators. These are metrics that
Specific
a company deems necessary to monitor performance, analyze

Measurable
and improve the process. These variables are measured by each
department and reviewed on a regular basis.

It is not enough to measure KPIs, they also need a target. More

specifically, the target should be SMART –

Achievable
• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Realistic

• Time-bound
Realistic
KPIs and their targets are often tracked with a simple chart. The

Time-bound
target line provides a clear and visual marker of performance. KPIs
with SMART targets point to areas that are under performing and
could use a focused project to get back on track.

dataparc.com 4
Part I: Establishing Manufacturing KPIs How are KPIs used?

How are KPIs used in

manufacturing?
KPIs are used across industries, from banking and retail to
manufacturing and travel. In manufacturing, KPIs are used to drive
process improvements and reduce costs. Manufacturing KPIs often
start from the top with the company goals and are broken down to
department level KPIs.

Even though departments are working toward the same overall goal,
they could have varying ways to achieve it, thus having different KPIs.

Since KPIs roll up to an organizational level, they can be used to keep

the teams and departments on track, moving towards the companies’
goals. By breaking down the company goal into departments, it turns
a single lofty target into actionable and manageable ones.

Manufacturers regularly use KPI trends or dashboards for everyone

can see and understand their current performance. PARCview multi-trend used to view downtime and other alarms
during regular production.
These KPI dashboards are reviewed on a daily or weekly basis. When
daily operations are on track, then monthly and yearly goals will be
met. By reviewing KPIs on a regular basis, operations can quickly
identify drops in performance as they happen, rather than after the
fact.

dataparc.com 5
Part I: Establishing Manufacturing KPIs Manufacturing KPIs

Manufacturing KPIs and

Continuous Improvement
KPIs go hand in hand with continuous improvement. To improve, we
need to measure the current performance and have a target for the
future. Continuous improvement initiatives are focused around KPIs,
even if that is not how it is proposed.

KPIs naturally drive continuous improvement. When people see a

value drop, it is intuitive to want to get it back up. Clear measures
with targets reviewed on a regular basis help get the team on the
same page. From upper management to operators, everyone knows
what the goal is and the current performance.
Simple KPI bar chart with target to clearly identify when the
target is not reached.
KPIs promote data driven decisions. If a KPI is struggling, it will
point operations to make an adjustment sooner because the data is
showing something is off. Finally, KPIs hold the team accountable for the goals that were
made at the beginning of the year. It gives them something to strive
KPIs provide that evidence a change is needed, rather than going toward. If a target was not achieved, the owner of the KPI will have
off someone “having a feeling” that something is wrong. When a to answer to it and discuss the reasons. This could lead to more
KPI chart drops, engineers and operators can investigate the issue or better tracking of (downtime) reasons, or causes. Meaning the
right away and be confident in their course of action. The evidence is team has even more data. Which in turn will give the team better
there. information to improve the process and hit the KPI next time.

dataparc.com 6
Part I: Establishing Manufacturing KPIs Manufacturing KPIs

Selecting and Developing Manufacturing KPIs

With so many variables, departments, and industries out there, it can seem overwhelming to determine which KPIs should be tracked and how
to get started. It is important to start small and not try to rack tens or hundreds of KPIs right off bat. The type of manufacturing will dictate
which KPIs need to be measured, although there are some common KPIs that span industries. Here are a few steps on how to get started:

1. Create a list of possible KPIs to track. 2. Narrow it down

Use categories of Value to Customer, Value to Company and Value When you’re first starting out, select the top 1 or 2 from each
to Employee to help develop the list. category and try to have a combination of both leading and lagging
indicators.
Example of Value to Customer – On time delivery, throughput, quality.
To help identify top KPIs, make sure they are clear and easy for
Examples of Value to Company – Waste (Material, Time, or Money), everyone to understand. If a KPI is too complex to measure or wrap
OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency), Downtime, First Pass Yield. your head around, it is likely not to be tracked regularly and is not
value added.
Examples of Value to Employee – Safe work environment, automated

systems, ergonomic conditions.

Voice of Customer Voice of Company Voice of Employee
When creating these lists also consider leading vs. lagging
• On time delivery • Reduce Broke • Safe work conditions
indicators of performance. A lagging measure reflects past
performance. A leading measure will reflect the status on process • Quality product • Improve OEE • PPE accessible

and practices. Leading indicators are anticipative in nature and • Reduce downtime • Required overtime
can be used to drive future performance.
• Yield

dataparc.com 7
Part I: Establishing Manufacturing KPIs Manufacturing KPIs

3. Determine how to measure each KPI 5. Establish reviewing and reporting

Next, determine how these variables can be measured and Determine how the KPIs will be reviewed. This can be done using
where the data is coming from. Process data, lab entry and dashboards connected to real-time data like PARCview, with
environmental are going to have different data collection spreadsheets and charts, or other reporting tools.
methods. Variables that can be measured automatically,
and often (per minute, per hour) are more likely to be Don’t feel that these KPIs are set, KPIs should be checked
updated and can lead to faster improvement. periodically to ensure they are still bringing value to the company.
You can always add more KPIs as your site gets more comfortable
If something is challenging to measure, it is probably not the reviewing and improving the process. Start small and focus on the
right KPI to start with. We will explore measures KPIs in the KPIs that will have the greatest impact.
following section.

4. Choose Targets

Create a SMART goal and target for each manufacturing

KPI. A SMART goal is one that is Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Instead of “Reduce
Downtime” a SMART goal would be “Reduce downtime on
Machine 7 by 5% by January”.

Sample of a PARCview KPI dashboard for a paper mill. It shows all the ma-
chines OEE with buttons leading to important pages for each machine.

dataparc.com 8
Part II

Measuring
Manufacturing KPIs:
There are numerous KPIs options for
tracking production and manufacturing.

In this section, we will dive into different

types of data used for manufacturing KPIs
and share examples and formulas for 10
important manufacturing KPIs.
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Collecting Data

Collecting Data for

Manufacturing KPIs
Data is necessary for measuring manufacturing KPIs. There are three
main types of manufacturing data used: Process, Environmental and
Lab/Manual Data.

The type of manufacturing KPI will influence where the data

should be coming from, however each data type has their own
considerations to be aware of.

Process Data

Process data is any data in line or in-stream of production such Such high frequency data is great for operators and many
as speed, temperatures, pressures, rate, etc. manufacturing KPIs such as throughput, changeover, OEE, and
capacity utilization.
This data updates frequently. The frequency can range from
many points a minute to sub-second data points. High frequency A limiting factor to process data is the physical sensors and their
data gives the flexibility to have a more focused measure and can location on the machine. It could take a lot of effort to add a new
show production values in real-time. sensor to the machine if there is an additional manufacturing KPI is
request.

dataparc.com 10
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Collecting Data

Environmental Data Some considerations when using Lab/Manual data for

manufacturing KPIs. They can be infrequent and will not give a real-
time value like process data. There is also more room for human
Environmental data is helpful for ensuring the plant stays in
error. This can be mitigated by adding dropdowns and selections
compliance with emissions excursions, water usage, energy
rather than typing in a value; limiting value ranges in certain entries
consumption, and waste management.
and including automations whenever possible.
This type of data could need extra calibration or even require a
third party company to inspect and certify the measurement.

State, or other regulations could require environmental data and

reporting. The data here needs to be reliable and automated.
The consequences of inaccurate data could be very costly for a
company.

Environmental manufacturing KPI’s could require special reporting

such as submitting monthly values to a government website.

This is a PARCview lab entry screen (MDE). MDEs record numeric, text and
date/time manual data. Dropdowns, calculations and restricted cells enhance
Lab Data the accuracy of data entry. Data accuracy is critical for manufacturing KPIs.

Lab/Manual data is a necessary data collection category for

quality and customer satisfaction data. Manual data can be used
temporarily when trying to establish a new KPI. Manually record
values to determine if the data from an in-line sensor
is worth the effort.

dataparc.com 11
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Top 10 Examples and Formulas

Top 10 Examples 1. Throughput

and Formulas for Throughput is simply the amount of product that was produced in a given

Manufacturing KPIs period of time. This is a standard manufacturing KPI, but the units will
differ depending on industry, they could be in tons, gallons, items, etc.

While some KPIs are averaged as they are rolled up to different

Manufacturing KPIs will vary from product to product, however manufacturing levels, days or months; throughput is added. So, a site
there are some common ones that span the industries. would have their goal of units per shift, rolled into units per day, into units
per week, per month and per year.
When trying to determine which manufacturing KPIs to track,
be sure to start small. Ask, what variables provide value to the
customer, to the company and to the employee?
Production Units
Throughput =
KPIs should also have a mixture of leading vs. lagging indicators. Time
A lagging measure reflects past performance, while leading
measures are beneficial for gauging future performance.

As outlined in the previous section, there are a few different ways

to collect data for manufacturing KPIs. In many cases, it is not
enough to review this raw value. A formula or aggregation can be
applied to come up with a meaningful measure.

Here are ten of the top manufacturing KPI examples and the KPI
formulas often used for calculation:

dataparc.com 12
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Top 10 Examples and Formulas

2. On time delivery 3. Yield

On time delivery as a manufacturing KPI speaks to value to the Yield is a manufacturing measure on how much sellable product was
customer. Product delivered on time makes happy customers, and produced compared to the total amount of product produced. It breaks
happy customers are returning customers. down further into two measurements, First Pass Yield and Overall Yield.

This is a lagging measure. Is delivery on time? This won’t be known First Pass Yield is the best type of product, because no further work
until after delivery is completed. A more leading measure would be if needs to be completed on that product. Final Yield gives credit for those
the items are shipped on time. On time delivery or on time shipment units that were able to be reworked in some way to be sold.
reducing could point to an issue up stream in the process.
It is expected that the first pass yield will be lower than the final yield.
First pass yield should not include products that were downgraded and
sold as something else, this is still considered a failure and would be
# of units captured in the final yield.
On time Delivery = ( delivered on time
number of units
) * 100 By measuring both First Pass and Final Yield a site can see how much
extra work is being used to sell all the productions. If final yield is 95%
but first pass yield is 50% there is a lot of work that needs to be done.
One measure on its own can be misleading.

parts passed w/no failures

First Pass Yield =
total parts produced

Total parts passed

Final Yield =
Total parts produced

dataparc.com 13
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Top 10 Examples and Formulas

4. Maintenance Cost 5. Overtime Rate

Maintenance cost is the overall cost to maintain a machine or The overtime rate is the amount of overtime vs. regular time hours
process. This includes labor, parts, and other invoices. This KPI falls worked by employees. This metric is both value to the employee and
under value to the company, the lower the costs the higher the profit. value to the company.

This manufacturing KPI can be valuable when trying to determine if Employees will not have to take their off days to work, and the
a machine is worth running. The total maintenance cost is divided by company will not have to pay an overtime rate. The overtime rate can
the number of hours the machine ran. also help determine if there are any issues with scheduling or staffing.

For a more robust maintenance cost, energy consumption, water and The point of manufacturing KPIs is to have data and an actual number
other costs can be included to the formula. to look at. Some can feel that there is too much overtime, but without
the numbers it is just a feeling, numbers don’t lie.
If maintenance costs is a critical KPI for the site, it can be broken
down to individual parts. Hour of labor vs. hours of operator, annual
parts cost, etc. overtime hours
Overtime rate = * 100
regular hours

Maintenance labor + Parts

Maintenance Cost =
Hours running

dataparc.com 14
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Top 10 Examples and Formulas

6. Safety Incident Rate 7. Changeover time

Safety incident rate is an important one and brings value to everybody. Changeover time tracks the time it takes to move from one product or
task to another. The less time it takes to transition between products,
It takes time to train new employees. With high incident rate a more product can be made.
company could have people missing work or high turnover. New
employees go through training, which could reduce production and This includes the time it takes to get good quality product, changeover
even lower quality for a duration. time does not end until good quality product is being made.

This is one that every company should pay attention to, from This measure can be tracked on a grade or product basis to help
manufacturing and transportation jobs to office work. identity when products are challenging to move to. Although this is
a fairly simple metric, it can have great impact on the process, and
opens the door to dive into the ins and outs of product changeover.
Number of incidents
Incident Rate = A fairly important manufacturing KPI, especially if the site is starting
Hours worked by all employees
out in the continuous improvement process. Typically, there are some
big wins that will not cost much to implement.

Changeover Time = Available times – production time

dataparc.com 15
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Top 10 Examples and Formulas

8. Waste 9. Customer Product Returns

By tracking material or scrape waste and reducing it at a site will Customer complaints and product returns can help ensure internal
increase their yield and reducing cost. Reduced waste means more quality standards are matching up with customer expectations.
production/units out of the same amount of material. Saving material
and money. This metric tracks the cost of customer complaints/returns
compared to total sales (customers do not always return product,
Another bonus of reducing scrap is the site reduces how much waste if you are a supplier they may send a bill from their manufacturing
they have to dispose of, also saving money. for production cost lost due to underperforming product).

This manufacturing KPI provides value to both the customer

overtime hours and the company. The customer gets on quality product, and the
Overtime rate = * 100 company is not pay out return claims.
regular hours

Number of incidents
Incident Rate =
Hours worked by all employees

dataparc.com 16
Part II: Measuring Manufacturing KPIs Top 10 Examples and Formulas

10. OEE Availability

The availability refers to how long the machine was running. Any downtime
Some of the manufacturing KPIs from above are part of the OEE formula. that was already scheduled can be removed from the calculation.

Together they create OEE, Overall Equipment Efficiency. The OEE

Minutes Up
equations calculates Availability (includes changeover time and other Availability =
Available Time
downtime), Quality (final yield) and Efficiency (throughput or speed loss).
Our Oee Guide takes a deeper dive into the OEE calculation. The broken down formula to shown scheduled and unscheduled
downtime is as follows:

Total Time – Scheduled Downtime – Unscheduled Downtime

Availability =
Total Time – Scheduled Downtime

Quality
The quality calculation looks at the total parts produced and
subtracts out the bad parts produced.
This diagram represents the
manufacturing losses used Total Parts Produced – Bad Parts
Quality =
to calculate OEE, a common Total Parts Produced
manufacturing KPI.

Efficiency
Efficiency compares the target machine rate to the actual machine rate. The
number of parts produced in a given time compared to the goal production.
The actual machine rate is a calculation as well.

Actual Production Rate

Efficiency =
Target Production Rate

Manufacturing KPIs are only as good as the data. Make sure you know The OEE calculation is the multiplication of Availability, Quality and Efficiency.
where the data is coming from, and that equations and conversions
are accurate when calculating KPIs. OEE = (Availability * Quality * Efficiency) * 100

dataparc.com 17
Part III

Building Effective
Dashboards and
Reporting
Graphical dashboards are a great way to
display information to a wide audience.
By building manufacturing production
KPI dashboards, you can keep employees
informed at every level.

In this section, we will explore how to build

manufacturing KPI dashboards focused on
a targeted audience.

At the end, we will cover some tips for

building KPI dashboards and reports that
are clear and easy to read.
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Determine the Right Information for Your Audience

Determine the Right

Information for Your
Audience
Manufacturing KPIs often start at an organizational level
and roll down to different process levels. Since KPIs can
cross department and management levels, it is not surprising
that a variety of manufacturing KPI dashboards and reports
are needed to provide the necessary information to each level.

When building KPI dashboards or reports that are targeted to

a specific job or department, ask the following questions:

• Who is the target audience?

• What KPIs do they want to see?

• When do the KPIs need to be updated?

• Where and how will they be accessing the information?

Outlined below are three typical manufacturing levels and how

they may approach looking at KPI metrics.

dataparc.com 19
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Operators and Supervisors

Operators and Supervisors Since this group needs to see data as close to real-time as
possible, manufacturing production KPI dashboards and trends
are going to be the best way to communicate KPI information.
For many operators and supervisors, their focus is to produce
Furthermore, these KPI dashboards and trends should be
quality product during a shift. They cannot worry about yearly,
integrated with the visualization of process data.
monthly, or even weekly goals. They need to focus on what is
happening in production right now.
Programs like dataPARC’s PARCview allow for such integration
and prevent wasting time jumping from one program to another
For this reason, they want to see KPIs on a per shift or per
to see their operational data and KPI metrics.
day basis. More importantly, real-time data is valuable to
keep production on track during the shift.
• Who is the target audience?
Operators and Supervisors.

• What KPIs do they want to see?

Process driven KPIs.

• When do the KPIs need to be updated?

By day, by shift, real-time.

• Where and how will they be accessing the information?

Data visualization software via KPI dashboards.

This is a Centerline display from dataPARC’s PARCview. It is a powerful

tool that can be used as a manufacturing KPI dashboard. Centerlines
allow operators to see aggregated process data in real-time and
compare it to past runs of the same product.

dataparc.com 20
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Process Engineers and Superintendents

Process Engineers and Superintendents If a shift is experiencing increased changeover, a supervisor

might not see it as an issue that effects other shifts. They could
think it was a slow day, only effected their shift. By being able to
Engineers and Superintendents are working daily to help
see the daily and weekly values, the gradual trend of increasing
drive production and continuous improvement. Although they
changeover time will be caught much faster. Allowing for a
need access to real-time, shift, and daily data, they also look
deeper dive into the process data to see what was causing
at longer process trends — data that focuses on weekly and
everyone to increase their changeover time.
monthly information.

KPI reporting via email can fill the gap. This puts information
They are responsible for helping production achieve
directly in front of engineers and superintendents. Events can
their numbers, but also move the needle for continuous
trigger KPI reports, when users receive such a report, they know
improvement. By looking at the monthly and weekly KPI
something is wrong, and they need to look into the information
metrics supervisors and process engineers can focus their
right away.
attention on certain areas.

• Who is the target audience?

Engineers and Superintendents.

• What KPIs do they want to see?

Process driven KPIs and Continuous improvement KPIs

• When do the KPIs need to be updated?

By month, By week, by day, real-time.

• Where and how will they be accessing the information?

KPI Dashboards via Data visualization software,
Automated Reporting via Emails/Reporting software.
This overview KPI dashboard is a good resource for engineers and
superintendents. It shows KPIs at a high level for each machine, with the
ability to dive into certain process areas as needed.

dataparc.com 21
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Management / Upper Management

Management / Upper Management • Who is the target audience?

Upper Management.
Often, KPIs start with upper management and roll down.
• What KPIs do they want to see?
Upper management wants to see everything, but not in as
much detail as operations or engineers. Process driven KPIs, Continuous Improvement KPIs,
Employee and Customer KPIs
They want to see the process driven and continuous
improvement KPIs aggregated to a monthly or yearly basis. • When do the KPIs need to be updated?
Management has interest in employee and customer KPIs By month, by year
such as overtime rate or customer product returns. These
types of KPIs also affect the bottom line and are important • Where and how will they be accessing the information?
for management to keep track of. Automated Reporting via Emails/Reporting software,
PowerPoints via manually created displays for meetings.
Since management does not tend to dive into the raw data
frequently, manufacturing KPI dashboards are often not as
necessary as KPI reports or even presentations for meetings.
2:30

KPI reports can be created with data visualization software, Email

although reports are often emailed rather than saved in the

program for faster access.

For consistency in KPI reporting, some manual data

manipulation could be necessary, depending on how exactly
the group chooses to view the data.

ReplyR eply All ForwardD eleteT hread

dataparc.com 22
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Design Manufacturing KPI Dashboards

Design Manufacturing There are websites where you can upload an image and gives
a score on the legibility of the text contrast. There are websites

KPI Dashboards for that show how images are perceived by those with different
colorblindness. Before finalizing a KPI dashboard or KPI report,
Maximum Impact upload an image to these sites and confirm it is legible to all.

The creation of manufacturing KPI dashboards and KPI

reports are often left up to engineers or other process
employees, sometimes having little design training. Here are
a few tips when building KPI Dashboards and KPI reports.

Visual Accessibility

Visual accessibility through color and font size can make The first two dials have green and red text to indicate the values are ok or not.
However, someone who can only see in a monochromatic view would not be
or break a manufacturing production KPI dashboard or
able to tell the difference between the green and red shades. Alternatively,
report. Colorblindness is common, and by using colors that when building manufacturing KPI dashboards use a line or other indication to
many cannot differ between could make your dashboard show when something is ok, or needs attention.
ineffective. Try using symbols instead of or in addition to
colors to make your point.
In terms of font size, consider the location of the dashboard
Even those without colorblindness can have difficulty display. Most programs allow users to zoom in on displays.
reading text on a low contrast background. This affects However, if a manufacturing production KPI dashboard is on a TV
both KPI dashboards and KPI reports. screen on the plant floor, users may not be able to interact with
the display. Then, they might not be able to see the important
information and metrics.

dataparc.com 23
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Design Manufacturing KPI Dashboards

Information Layout KPI Dashboard Navigation

When creating a manufacturing KPI dashboard for an Manufacturing KPI dashboards are often open during each
operator workstation, the layout can impact if the operator shift to make sure daily production is on track.
notices certain information.
By including buttons to navigate to different dashboards and
For dashboards and reports, people tend to read from top trends, users have a jumping off point for troubleshooting
to bottom and left to right. The most important information when something goes awry in production.
should be in the upper right corner of a display with the least
critical values in the bottom right. When using navigation buttons, make sure they are clearly
labeled and in the same location on each dashboard.
However, the location of the dashboard on the screen should
also be taken into consideration, not just the dashboard itself.

If an operator workstation has multiple monitors, consider

where the KPI dashboard is going to sit on the screen. If a
KPI dashboard is going to be off to the upper right, out of the
immediate line of site of the operator, the most important
information should then be in the bottom left corner. Moving
to the bottom right, then top left and right as you move down
the list of importance.

Some programs allow start up displays to be configured

and their location, this can help put screens where they are
designed to be.

dataparc.com 24
Part III: Building Effective Dashboards and Reporting Design Manufacturing KPI Dashboards

Layout Consistency

Come up with a standard layout for KPI dashboards and KPI

reports. Creating a consistent layout for buttons, data, key
production information, etc. on KPI dashboards and reports
will allow users to find answers more quickly.

This will also make it easy for someone coming from another
machine or department to quickly find the information they
are looking for.

Manufacturing production KPI dashboards and reports

can be a powerful tool for companies to see where they
are in comparison to their targets. When building new Choose zones that can be consistent from dashboard to dashboard, such as
manufacturing KPI dashboards and reports, make sure to buttons, title, time and past data aggregates.

identify the audience, pay attention to color and font size and
keep a consistent layout.

dataparc.com 25
Placeholder Part IV

Preparing for
Operational
Reviews:
Reviewing operational data and KPIs
are important for daily operation and
communication up to management. By
conducting routine operational reviews,
you will know what goals are met and what
areas need more focus.
Part IV: Mastering Operational Reviews Types of Operational Reviews

Types of Operational Daily Operational Reviews

Reviews Daily operational reviews, also known as DORs, occur daily, often
each morning, and will focus on a single process area.

When preparing for operational reviews it is important to know Since DORs focus on a single process area, attendees are those
the frequency of the review, who your audience should be, how to focused on the process area daily such as maintenance personal,
communicate and record actions as well as what information is shift supervisors, engineers, superintendents, and some operators
valuable to them. to relay information.

Someone in management is going to be more interested in overall During these meetings, it is important to keep the group focused on
plant performance rather than hourly rate on a single machine. the process area and the daily operation. What happened yesterday,
what is the plan for today, are there any actions to be taken, etc.
Operational reviews are often categorized by their duration, Daily Ensure KPIs are focused on the process area, not variables up or
operational review (DOR), Weekly (WOR), and Monthly (MOR). down stream outside the area’s control.

Since DORs are completed each morning, it is helpful to set up

a system to quickly and easily update KPIs. Even using real-time
displays or trends. You don’t want to spend an hour every morning
calculating KPIs to only discuss them for 1 minute.

Daily operational reviews are going to be the shortest of all the

meeting types. They generally last between 15 and 30 minutes.

dataparc.com 27
Part IV: Mastering Operational Reviews Types of Operational Reviews

Due to the swiftness of these meetings, there is no time to dig down Weekly Operational Reviews
and go into troubleshooting mode. Issues that affect the operation
should be brought up to make others aware of the problem. If a
A Weekly operational review or WOR can be conducted instead of
topic needs further investigation, an action will need to be created
DORs in some manufacturing plants, depending on their needs.
to pick it up after the meeting is over.
WORs are completed with a similar group as DORs. Supervisors
When preparing for a DOR, come ready to discuss recent operation,
and operators are not as critical for this meeting, as they may only
not big sweeping changes, or long-term goals. This is a focused
work a few shifts that week.
meeting designed to make current production successful.
Weekly operational reviews can be used to look at the upcoming
schedule, check with maintenance and ensure everything is ready
for the following week.

KPIs do need to be reviewed in WORs as patterns can begin to

appear that can be caught before the end of the month. WORs
provide a great opportunity to interrupt a cycle.

When preparing for a WOR, comp prepared with any highs or lows
that happened that week that could affect the numbers.

WOR meets tend to be a bit longer, 30 minutes to an hour. As you

can look at data and dig into some patterns you are seeing. WORs
This is an example of a real-time production monitoring dashboard allow for more wiggle room and time can go to troubleshooting or
perfect for displaying KPIs for daily operational reviews. coming up with a plan.

dataparc.com 28
Part IV: Mastering Operational Reviews Types of Operational Reviews

Monthly Operational Reviews

The most common operational review is a Monthly operational

review (MOR). Monthly operational reviews are perfect for
management or upper management to get an idea of how the
organization is functioning.

This is no longer area specific; they are combined into one

meeting. Since each department is there, the area managers
and upper management attend this meeting. Reviewing
with different areas provides the opportunity to for other
perspectives, which can lead to suggests and help from
outside departments.

Monthly operational review KPIs are more broad than past

meetings. This means multiple process areas could roll up into
one KPI value. If you are an owner of a multi-department KPI, Simple bar charts or line charts work well to clearly identify
be sure to send communication early to those you need values when KPIs are meeting target or not.
from to track the metric.

Since this is a more zoomed out overview, these charts may The primary focus in monthly operational review is to ensure the
take a bit more time to update, which is alright since they are organization is on track to meet their yearly goals. If negative
only being updated once a month. When preparing for a MOR, trends appear in monthly KPIs, this is a clear sign they need to be
give yourself extra time to pull together the data. looked at closer.

MORs generally range from 60 to 90 minutes. Mostly, because Scheduling a GSTD (Go-See-Think-Do) can help drill down to the
there are more KPIs, and more departments involved. root cause of the problem.

dataparc.com 29
Part IV: Mastering Operational Reviews Leading Operational reviews

Leading Operational As the lead, it might also be good to set up an email reminder for
people to update their KPIs and even what role they will be taking

Reviews in the next meeting. This is not as necessary for daily or weekly
operational reviews, but monthly ones are infrequent enough, an
email reminder wouldn’t hurt.

Operational reviews can have a lot of moving parts, data must be

reviewed, actions recorded, and the group needs to stay on track.
Data Collector / KPI results
Because of this, it can be beneficial to delegate some roles to
members of the meeting.
With many KPIs, people will be responsible to update KPIs.
It should not be one person’s responsibility to update 15+
Roles and Responsibilities KPIs, this should be spread throughout the group.

The Lead should provide a template for everyone to follow

By allowing members of the meeting to rotate roles and
in tracking their KPI.
responsibilities, they can become more familiar with the
meeting and be more likely to stay on task.
Consistent KPI displays will make reviewing the metrics
quick, and you can identify what is on track, and what
might need some help.
Lead

Although there are several roles that can be delegated

out, it is the responsibility of the lead of the operational
review to ensure each person has the tools they need for
their jobs. This includes scheduling the meeting invites,
providing feedback and assistance when it comes to
putting together KPIs that are consistent.

dataparc.com 30
Part IV: Mastering Operational Reviews Leading Operational reviews

Facilitator Timekeeper

The facilitator is the person walking through the agenda. The responsibility of the timekeeper is to ensure the group
They make sure all the topics are covered, they run the stays on track and will be able to cover all the topics in the
board, mouse, etc. time allotted for the meeting.

Facilitating operational reviews can be challenging. It is It is okay to get sidetracked at times, but focusing too
important to keep people focused on the task at hand and much time on one subject means other topics will be
try not to get into problem-solving mode. missed. The timekeeper should speak up when too much
time is being taken on a subject. An action can be taken,
On the other hand, you don’t want to be too inflexible that and the group can move on.
people are not getting anything out of the meeting. This
can be a challenging line to navigate. Look to the lead if
you need assistance facilitating.

Action Taker

The responsibility of the action taker is to record any

actions that pop up during the meeting. The action taker
should record the action, the owner and the due date.

Actions should be tracked in the same location each

meeting. A good location for a daily meeting is a white
board, while weekly or monthly actions can be stored in
Teams, or another program.

dataparc.com 31
Part IV: Mastering Operational Reviews Sample Agenda

Sample Agenda – KPI Review – 15 minutes

WOR 30 minutes Walk through each KPI and look at the results. Comments and
actions can be taken based on the results.

This is a sample agenda of a weekly operational review that takes

about 30 minutes to complete. Round Table – 5 minutes
Check in with the attendees to see if they have any items that
need to be brought up to the group.
Safety Moment – 3 minutes
Get people settled and take a safety moment. The facilitator
can bring up a safety topic or open it up to the group. Escalation Topics – 5 minutes
Determine if any items need to be escalated out of the weekly
operational review meeting, up to a management or other
Review of Responsibilities – 2 minutes department meeting.

Before going too far, review the roles and responsibilities

of the meeting. Make sure the timekeeper and action taker
know their roles and what is expected.
Daily and Monthly operational reviews will follow this same
structure with more time given to action items, KPI review
and Round Table. Operational Review meetings allow the
Action Items – 5 minutes
organization to get on the same page.
Review any action items from last week. Were they
completed? If not, why? Any comments on them?

dataparc.com 32
 360.944.3725
[email protected]
www.dataparc.com

Learn more at dataPARC.com | INTUITIVE. POWERFUL. CONNECTED.