Sensor-based machine monitoring
IoT-sensor production monitoring that tracks uptime, OEE and downtime reasons with ERP links; now sold by ECI Software Solutions.
- OEE
- Downtime Tracking
- Scheduling
- Pricing
- Price on request
- Deployment
- Cloud
OEE software: choosing an OEE monitoring systemSee every machine, every loss, every shift.
OEE software measures overall equipment effectiveness by recording when each machine runs, how fast it runs and how many good parts it makes. Most OEE monitoring systems combine machine signals with quick operator input, so every stop gets a reason the team can act on during the shift.
Showing 4 of 4 tools
1 2 Cloud OEE monitoring
Cloud OEE tool that pairs a small IIoT sensor with operator tablets to log stops, reasons and shift performance in real time.
- OEE
- Six Big Losses
- Downtime Tracking
- Visual management
- Andon
- Pricing
- Published pricing
- Deployment
- Cloud
3 Lightweight cloud OEE
Simple cloud OEE tracker with web dashboards and phone apps for logging equipment output and stops.
- OEE
- Downtime Tracking
- Pricing
- Free plan + paid
- Deployment
- Cloud, Mobile
4 OEE appliance & scoreboard
Self-contained production monitoring appliance with a large operator scoreboard that tracks OEE, downtime and TEEP without servers.
- OEE
- TEEP
- Six Big Losses
- Visual management
- Andon
- Pricing
- Published pricing
- Deployment
- On-prem hardware
The basics
What is oee software?
OEE software measures how much of planned production time is productive. It records stops, speed and quality, often from machine signals, and shows where the time goes.
OEE multiplies availability, performance and quality. The Lean Enterprise Institute links it to six major losses: failures, adjustments, minor stoppages, reduced speed, scrap and rework.
The figure matters less than the losses behind it. Use the OEE calculator to see how each factor moves the result.
Paper, spreadsheet or software?
A tally sheet at the machine, filled in each hour, is enough to learn the main losses on one line. The OEE getting-started guide explains how.
Software helps when you need minor stops and speed losses, which people rarely record by hand, or when you track many machines. It also feeds live screens for the team.
The routine it supports
- 1Machine or operator logs a stop
- 2Select a reason code
- 3Show status on the line screen
- 4Review the loss Pareto at the huddle
- 5Run a TPM or SMED countermeasure
- 6Trend against your own baseline
How the listed tools are priced
- Published pricing: 2
- Price on request: 1
- Free plan + paid: 1
How does an OEE monitoring system work?
The system needs three kinds of data: when the machine is running or stopped, how many parts it makes, and how many of those are good. Run and count signals usually come from the machine control, an add-on sensor or a button the operator presses. Reasons for stops and scrap usually come from the operator, picked from a short list on a tablet at the line.
From that data the software works out availability, performance and quality against planned production time and the ideal cycle time you set for each product. The OEE calculator shows the same arithmetic with your own numbers.
The output is a line-side status screen, a shift report and a ranking of losses by minutes lost. Grouping those losses into the six big losses shows whether breakdowns, setups, minor stops, slow running or defects need attention first.
OEE software vs MES: which do you need?
A manufacturing execution system (MES) runs production orders: routings, material tracking, genealogy, paperless records and often an OEE module. Dedicated OEE software is narrower. It measures equipment losses and helps teams reduce them, and it is usually quicker to set up on a single line.
If the main question is where capacity is lost, start with OEE. If you also need part traceability, electronic batch records or order dispatch to the floor, an MES may be the better fit, and you can check whether its OEE features match what a dedicated tool offers.
Many plants run both. In that case, decide which system owns downtime reasons and ideal cycle times, so the two do not report different numbers for the same line.
OEE and downtime tracking for small manufacturers
A small plant does not need to connect every machine. Start with the bottleneck, where an hour lost is an hour lost for the whole plant, and track stops and reasons there first. The getting started with OEE guide walks through a manual first step.
Free options such as spreadsheet templates and open-source dashboards can cover one machine while you learn which losses matter. Paid systems earn their place when you need automatic stop detection, minor stops and speed losses, or many machines on one screen.
Whatever you choose, agree on definitions before you install anything: what counts as planned downtime, what the ideal cycle time is, and which reason codes operators will use.
Buying guide
How to choose OEE Software
Who it's for: Manufacturers who want to understand and reduce equipment losses, from a single bottleneck machine to entire plants.
What to look for
Accurate data capture
Machine signals, sensors or quick operator input, with clear rules for planned and unplanned stops.
Downtime reason codes
A short, well-designed reason list operators can use in seconds, with a Pareto of losses.
Real-time visibility
Line-side screens and andon alerts so teams react during the shift, not the next day.
Shift and product context
OEE that can be sliced by shift, product, line and operator to find patterns.
Common mistakes
- Chasing a benchmark OEE number instead of attacking the biggest losses behind it.
- Long reason-code lists that operators cannot use, which makes the data unreliable.
- Instrumenting every machine at once instead of starting with the constraint.
Before you choose
Questions to ask vendors
- 1How do you connect to our machines, and what hardware is required?
- 2Can operators add context such as reason codes from the line?
- 3How do you define planned downtime and ideal cycle time?
- 4What does a single-line pilot cost and how long does it take?
FAQ
OEE Software: common questions
How is OEE calculated?
OEE is availability times performance times quality. Use our OEE calculator to try it with your own numbers.
What is a good OEE?
It depends heavily on the industry and how losses are defined. Comparing a line with itself over time is more useful than comparing it with a benchmark.
Do I need sensors to measure OEE?
No. You can start with manual tallies on the bottleneck machine, then automate once you know which losses matter.
Is OEE a lean tool?
OEE is a measure used in lean and TPM programs. It points to losses that lean tools such as TPM, SMED and andon then address.
How do OEE, SMED and TPM fit together?
OEE shows which losses are largest. SMED attacks setup and adjustment losses. TPM attacks failures, minor stops and speed losses.
What is the difference between OEE and TEEP?
OEE measures performance against planned production time. TEEP measures it against all calendar time, so it also shows the capacity left in unscheduled shifts.
Can OEE software connect to older machines?
Often, yes. Add-on sensors can detect a cycle, power draw or a stack light signal without changes to the machine control.
Is OEE software the same as downtime tracking software?
Not quite. Downtime tracking records stops and their reasons, which covers availability. OEE software also measures speed and quality losses.
Sources
- Lean Enterprise Institute: overall equipment effectiveness ↗
- Lean Enterprise Institute: total productive maintenance ↗
Written by the lean-stack editors following our methodology. Updated October 3, 2026.
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