---
title: Downtime categories
slug: factryos/concepts/downtime-categories
createdAt: 2026-06-28T16:27:28.966Z
---

**What are downtime categories?**

A downtime category is the top-level classification of a production stop. Every downtime event must belong to a category. Categories determine how a stop is counted in OEE calculations and how it is displayed across dashboards and reports.

In general, downtime categories typically fall into a few standard buckets used across most manufacturing operations:

**Unplanned downtime** — stops that weren't scheduled and disrupt production: equipment failure/breakdown, jam or blockage, power outage, missing operator, quality hold.

**Planned downtime** — stops scheduled in advance, often excluded from availability loss: changeover/setup between products, scheduled maintenance, shift breaks, planned cleaning (CIP/SIP), no production scheduled.

**Performance loss (not a full stop, but related)** — equipment running but underperforming: reduced speed, minor stops/microstops, startup/warm-up time.

**Why does it matter?**

OEE availability is calculated differently depending on whether a stop was planned, unplanned, or part of a change-over. Without categories, all stops look the same and your OEE figures are meaningless. Categories are the foundation that makes the distinction possible.

**How does it fit in the system?**

Categories sit at the top of the classification hierarchy. Every downtime reason belongs to exactly one category. Every state transition row maps to a category. When a downtime event is created, either automatically or manually, it inherits a category from the reason or transition that triggered it. That category then flows into OEE calculations and Grafana dashboards.

**Example**

A line stops unexpectedly for 6 minutes. The state transition fires and assigns the category Unplanned Downtime (2000). This stop is counted as unplanned downtime in the availability calculation. Later in the shift, the line stops for a scheduled cleaning. That stop maps to Planned downtime (1000) and is excluded from unplanned downtime figures. Same physical stop duration, different OEE impact, because of the category.

![Downtime categories](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SMPo4IS9FkillUAMsur2c/_XQnwmpjtSPCPS-L3Lmqu_downtime-categories.png)