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Glossary

Quick reference for terms and acronyms used in OpSee and manufacturing operations. Each entry links to the relevant documentation page when one exists.

A​

AI Assistant OpSee's built-in chatbot powered by Claude (Anthropic) that lets you query production data in natural language. See AI Assistant.

Area A logical section of a site that groups related process cells. Level 3 in the ISA-95 equipment hierarchy. Example: "Packaging Hall" contains three bottling lines.

Audit Trail A chronological record of every data change in OpSee: who changed what, when, and what the old and new values were. See Administration → Audit Trail.

Availability The first OEE factor. Measures the percentage of planned production time the equipment was actually running. Formula: Availability = Run Time / Planned Production Time. See OEE Fundamentals.

B​

Batch A defined quantity of material produced in a single production run, processed as a single unit through all phases. In ISA-88, a batch is the result of executing a batch recipe.

Batch Procedure The top-level procedure in the ISA-88 model. Defines the complete sequence of unit procedures needed to produce a batch. See Batch Model.

Benchmark (OEE) A reference value used to evaluate OEE performance. Key benchmarks: 85% = world-class, 60% = typical, 40% = common in plants without systematic tracking. See OEE Benchmarks.

C​

Changeover The process of switching equipment from producing one product to another. Includes cleaning, setup, and warmup. Changeover time is tracked as planned downtime (Loss 2 in the Six Big Losses).

Changeover Rule A rule that defines the expected duration and requirements when switching between two specific recipes on a given equipment type. See Recipes.

Cockpit OpSee's customizable dashboard system with drag-and-drop widgets for real-time monitoring. See Cockpit.

Control Module The lowest level in the ISA-88 equipment hierarchy (Level 7). Represents an individual sensor or actuator (a temperature probe, a valve, a motor drive). See Equipment Model.

Crew A group of operators that work together, typically assigned to a shift. See Personnel → Crews.

Cycle Time The time required to complete one production cycle, from the start of one unit to the start of the next. Cycle time equals 1 / throughput rate. Compare to Takt Time which is demand-driven.

D​

Data Tag A named data point linked to a sensor or PLC register. Tags have values that change over time and are stored in TimescaleDB. See Administration → Data Tags.

Dead Band A threshold applied to sensor data to suppress trivial changes. A tag with a dead band of 0.5°C will not record a new value unless the temperature changes by more than 0.5°C.

Downtime Any period when equipment is not producing during planned production time. Two categories:

  • Unplanned downtime: caused by unexpected failures (Loss 1: Equipment Failure)
  • Planned downtime: expected stops such as changeovers, maintenance, and breaks (Loss 2: Setup & Adjustments)

See Six Big Losses.

E​

Equipment Any physical asset in the factory, from an entire site down to an individual sensor. Organized in a 7-level tree hierarchy combining ISA-95 (Levels 1–3) and ISA-88 (Levels 4–7) standards. See Equipment Model.

Equipment Class A category of similar equipment (e.g., "CNC Machines", "Packaging Lines"). Used for grouping and filtering in recipes and OEE configuration.

Equipment Capability A specific function an equipment can perform (e.g., "Welding", "Filling") with an optional capacity and unit of measure. Used to match recipes to available equipment.

Equipment Module Level 6 in the ISA-88 equipment hierarchy. A functional group within a unit, for example a filler head within a filling station. See Equipment Model.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Business software that manages finance, procurement, inventory, and production planning. An ERP operates at Level 4 of the automation pyramid: it tells the MES what to produce; the MES reports back what actually happened.

F​

Formula The bill of materials for a recipe: which materials are needed and in what quantities to produce a batch. See Batch Model.

G​

Good Pieces Products that meet all quality specifications and do not require rework or scrap. Used as the numerator in the OEE Quality calculation: Quality = Good Pieces / Total Pieces.

H​

Hypertable A TimescaleDB-specific table structure that partitions time-series data by time intervals for efficient storage and query. OpSee uses hypertables for tag values, availability records, and production counts. See Data Flow.

I​

Ideal Cycle Time The theoretical minimum time to produce one unit at full speed, with no losses. Used in the Performance OEE calculation: Performance = (Ideal Cycle Time × Total Pieces) / Run Time.

ISA-88 International standard (IEC 61512) for batch control. Defines the procedure model (Batch Procedure → Unit Procedure → Operation → Phase), the recipe model (formula, equipment requirements, parameters), and execution management. See Batch Model.

ISA-95 International standard (IEC 62264) for enterprise-control system integration. Defines the five-level automation pyramid and the equipment hierarchy used by MES systems. See Equipment Model.

ISA-95 LevelNameExamples
4EnterpriseERP, business planning
3Site / MESOpSee, production scheduling
2Area / SCADAHMI, supervisory control
1Process / PLCProgrammable logic controllers
0FieldSensors, actuators, motors

K​

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a target is being achieved. OpSee's primary KPI is OEE, with supporting metrics including Availability, Performance, Quality, MTTR, MTBF, and Validation Rate.

L​

Loss Category A high-level grouping for loss types (e.g., "Availability Losses", "Performance Losses", "Quality Losses"). Corresponds to one of the three OEE factors. See OEE Configuration.

Loss Type A specific classification for a downtime or efficiency loss event. Each loss type belongs to a loss category and maps to one of the Six Big Losses. Examples: "Equipment Failure", "Changeover", "Speed Loss", "Startup Rejects".

M​

MES (Manufacturing Execution System) Software that connects, monitors, and controls manufacturing operations on the factory floor in real time. A MES bridges the gap between business systems (ERP) and the factory floor (PLCs, sensors). OpSee is a MES focused on OEE, downtime tracking, and production management. See What is a MES?.

Minor Stop A short unplanned interruption (typically under 5 minutes) that an operator can clear without maintenance. Counted as Loss 3 in the Six Big Losses.

MQTT A lightweight publish/subscribe messaging protocol for IoT and industrial communication. OpSee uses Mosquitto as its MQTT broker to receive machine state signals from PLCs and sensors. See Data Flow.

MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) Average operating time between unplanned failures. Higher is better. Formula: MTBF = Total Run Time / Number of Failures. See MTTR and MTBF.

MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) Average time to restore equipment after a failure. Lower is better. Formula: MTTR = Total Repair Time / Number of Failures. See MTTR and MTBF.

N​

Net Run Time Planned Production Time minus Availability losses, minus Performance losses. Represents the time during which the machine ran at full speed. Good Production Time is Net Run Time minus Quality losses.

O​

OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) The gold standard metric for manufacturing productivity. Measures how effectively planned production time is used. Formula: OEE = Availability × Performance × Quality. See OEE Fundamentals and OEE Benchmarks.

OPC-UA An industrial communication protocol (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) for secure, reliable data exchange between industrial devices and MES/SCADA systems. An alternative to MQTT in OpSee. See Data Flow.

Operation A step within a unit procedure in the ISA-88 model. Contains one or more phases. Examples: "Mixing", "Heating", "Transfer". See Batch Model.

P​

Performance The second OEE factor. Measures whether equipment ran at its ideal speed. Formula: Performance = (Ideal Cycle Time × Total Pieces) / Run Time. Losses come from Loss 3 (Minor Stops) and Loss 4 (Reduced Speed). See OEE Fundamentals.

Phase The smallest controllable element in the ISA-88 procedure model. A single, atomic action with configurable parameters (e.g., "Heat to 85°C", "Add 200g of ingredient X"). See Batch Model.

Planned Production Time The total time equipment is scheduled to run during a shift, minus approved planned non-production time (breaks, no-order periods). This is the denominator for Availability. Also called "Planned Operating Time."

PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) An industrial computer that controls manufacturing equipment. PLCs operate at ISA-95 Level 1 and send state signals (running/stopped, counts, sensor readings) to the MES via MQTT or OPC-UA.

Process Cell Level 4 in the ISA-88 equipment hierarchy. A coordinated set of units that performs a complete manufacturing process, typically a production line. See Equipment Model.

Production Order An instruction to produce a specific quantity of a product using a specific recipe on specific equipment. See Production.

Q​

Quality The third OEE factor. Measures the percentage of produced pieces that meet quality standards. Formula: Quality = Good Pieces / Total Pieces. Losses come from Loss 5 (Process Defects) and Loss 6 (Startup Rejects). See OEE Fundamentals.

R​

Reason A specific cause for a downtime event (e.g., "Belt broken", "Material shortage", "Operator break"). Reasons are organized in a hierarchical reason tree and assigned to availability records by operators. See OEE Configuration → Reason Trees.

Reason Tree A hierarchical structure of reasons organized under loss types and loss categories. Operators navigate the tree to classify downtime events. Different equipment types can have different reason trees. See OEE Configuration → Reason Trees.

Recipe A complete specification for producing a product. Includes the procedure to follow, formula (materials), parameters (setpoints), and equipment requirements. Recipes are versioned (Draft → Review → Approved → Obsolete). See Batch Model.

Run Time Planned Production Time minus unplanned downtime (availability losses). Used to calculate Availability.

S​

Schedule A calendar-based assignment of shifts, crews, and operators to specific equipment. See Personnel → Schedules.

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) Software that supervises industrial processes at ISA-95 Level 2. SCADA provides real-time visualization and control at the machine level. The MES (OpSee) operates above SCADA, aggregating data across the entire plant.

Shift A defined working period (e.g., "Morning 06:00–14:00", "Night 22:00–06:00"). Shifts are assigned to schedules and operators. See Personnel → Shifts.

Six Big Losses The six most common causes of manufacturing inefficiency, grouped by OEE factor: Equipment Failure and Setup (Availability), Minor Stops and Reduced Speed (Performance), Process Defects and Startup Rejects (Quality). See Six Big Losses.

Speed Loss Loss 4 in the Six Big Losses. Equipment running below its ideal cycle time during production. Speed losses reduce OEE Performance. See Six Big Losses.

T​

Tag See Data Tag.

Tag Transformation A mathematical operation applied to raw tag values before storage. For example, converting a 4–20 mA signal to a temperature in °C, scaling a pulse counter to units per minute, or applying a dead band. Configured in the Data Tags module.

Takt Time The maximum time per unit allowed to meet customer demand. Formula: Takt Time = Available Production Time / Customer Demand. Takt Time is demand-driven; Ideal Cycle Time is supply-driven. If Ideal Cycle Time > Takt Time, the process cannot meet demand even at 100% OEE.

TimescaleDB A PostgreSQL extension optimized for time-series data. OpSee uses it for high-frequency tag values (sensor readings), availability records, and production counts. Provides automatic data compression and configurable retention policies. See Data Flow.

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) A manufacturing methodology that focuses on maximizing equipment effectiveness through proactive and preventive maintenance, operator involvement, and systematic loss elimination. The Six Big Losses framework comes from TPM.

U​

Unit Level 5 in the ISA-88 equipment hierarchy. A single machine or workstation where a specific processing operation occurs (e.g., "Filling Station", "Welding Robot A"). See Equipment Model.

Unit Procedure A procedure that runs on a single equipment unit in the ISA-88 model. Part of a batch procedure. Multiple unit procedures can run in parallel on different units. See Batch Model.

Unplanned Downtime Equipment stops caused by unexpected failures, breakdowns, or emergencies, as opposed to planned stops (changeovers, maintenance windows). Unplanned downtime is Loss 1 in the Six Big Losses.

UOM (Unit of Measure) Standard measurement units used throughout OpSee (e.g., kg, L, pcs, °C, rpm). Configurable per plant in Administration → Localization → Units of Measure.

V​

Validation Rate The percentage of downtime events that have been reviewed and classified with a reason by an operator or supervisor. Formula: Validation Rate = Validated Events / Total Events. A high validation rate indicates good downtime tracking discipline.

W​

Widget A configurable visual component in the Cockpit. Can be a KPI card, chart, data table, timeline, or other visual. 24 widget types are available. See Cockpit → Widgets.

Work Center A location in the factory where a specific operation is performed. Equivalent to a Unit in ISA-88 terminology.

Worker A background process in OpSee that continuously ingests data from MQTT or OPC-UA sources. Workers run in Docker containers and can be scaled independently. See Data Flow.

World-Class OEE An OEE of 85% or higher, considered the gold standard for discrete manufacturing. Requires approximately Availability ≥ 90%, Performance ≥ 95%, Quality ≥ 99%. See OEE Benchmarks.