A modern production environment is data-intensive. Rightly so, because only those who know where things go wrong can improve. With the right KPIs, production companies get control over their processes: from raw material to finished product. In this article, you can read which KPIs make the difference in production — from yield to quality — and how to visually monitor them in BI dashboards.
Productivity KPIs (OEE, Occupancy Rate)
Measuring efficiency is the basis of every production analysis. The right KPIs make it clear whether you are using your resources properly and where capacity is being lost.
1. OEE — Overall Equipment Effectiveness
What? Combines availability, performance, and quality into one measure
Formula: OEE = availability × performance × quality
Use: Benchmark by machine or line
Action: Locate bottlenecks such as long-term switches or microstops
2. Occupancy rate
What? How much of the available production capacity is being used effectively?
Formula: effective production time ÷ available time × 100
Why? Helps to visualize downtime or inefficiency
3. Output per hour or shift
What? Number of units produced per unit of time
Use: To compare teams, teams or installations
Hint: Combine with quality percentage for a complete picture
Quality Control KPIs (Error Rate)
Product quality determines customer satisfaction, return costs and failure costs. Quality control KPIs help detect errors before they accumulate.
4. Scrap rate
What? Percentage of products that do not comply with the standard and are rejected
Formula: number of rejected products ÷ total produced × 100
Use: Per production line or per shift
Action: Expose the cause: raw materials, settings, operator errors?
5. Rework rate
What? Share of products that require additional processing to comply
Why? Often covers up quality issues that seem solved at first glance
6. First Pass Yield (FPY)
What? Percentage of products that were well produced in one go
Use: Important in automated or serial work environments
Hint: FPY above 95% = best-in-class
7. Complaints ratio
What? Number of external complaints compared to the number of products delivered
Action: Link complaints to internal causes, not just solving but preventing
KPIs for delivery times and capacity
Good production planning is about keeping promises: delivering what you promise, when you promise. These KPIs keep your planning sharp.
8. Production time per batch
What? Time between start and end of a production order
Usage: Benchmarking by batch size or type
Action: Shortened by better preparation, planning or tooling
9. Order lead time
What? Total number of days from order acceptance to delivery
Use: KPI for sales, production and logistics
Hint: Divide into segments: waiting, production, storage, shipping
10. Capacity utilization
What? Ratio between planned and available capacity
Formula: planned production hours ÷ available hours × 100
Why? Poor utilization = inefficiency, overload = risk of errors
11. Orders delivered late
What? Number or percentage of orders that fall outside the agreed delivery period
Use: Combine with cause coding: production, logistics, customer input...
Machine performance KPIs
Machines are the heart of your production. But they are also major costs. Measurement is essential to get a return on investments.
12. Downtime
What? Total unplanned downtime per machine
Use: Link stoppages to causes: failure, maintenance, waiting time, operator
Visualization: Pareto analysis shows the biggest time-wasters
13. MTBF — Mean Time Between Failures
What? Average time between defects
Use: Measure machine reliability
Action: Use as a preventative maintenance trigger
14. MTTR — Mean Time To Repair
What? Average time needed to repair defects
Why? Too long MTTR indicates insufficient support or parts management
15. Unit energy consumption
What? Energy consumption per unit produced (kWh/piece)
Use: Important in energy-intensive sectors
Hint: Combine with cost analysis and CO₂ emissions
How BI dashboards help in production environments
Production generates lots of data — but it's useless without an overview. Business Intelligence dashboards bring your KPIs together, visually and in real time.
What a good production dashboard includes
- OEE per line or machine
- Error rate by team or product type
- Output per day/week compared to planning
- Downtime causes with Pareto analysis
- Capacity vs. utilization per shift or installation
Visualization tips
- Gauge charts for occupancy or OEE
- Pareto charts for rejection or downtime analysis
- Line charts with output or FPY over time
- KPI scorecards with color indication per department
Common mistakes in production KPIs
- Only report without follow-up
- KPIs without a goal or standard
- Data gets stuck in Excel lists
- No connection between KPIs and improvement actions
Work with deviation thresholds and alerting
Automate data collection from production equipment
Use KPIs in daily starts and weekly meetings
Combine financial and operational KPIs in your reporting
Summary: Which KPIs are essential in production?
Every production environment is different, but these KPIs are universally relevant:
- OEE and utilization rate for efficiency
- Rejection and FPY for quality
- Order lead time and late deliveries for planning
- MTBF and MTTR for machine performance
Read more
KPI dashboards make production data clear and usable, view some inspiring dashboard examples here.