AiVibeIndustry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations
Six Big Losses
The six big losses are the categories of equipment-related productivity loss used in total productive maintenance: equipment failures, setup and adjustments, idling and minor stops, reduced speed, process defects and reduced yield.
The six big losses framework, associated with Seiichi Nakajima's work on total productive maintenance, classifies why equipment does not reach its full potential during planned production time. Equipment failures and setup and adjustments reduce availability. Idling and minor stops, together with reduced speed, reduce performance. Process defects and reduced yield, meaning rejects during steady running and rejects during start-up, reduce quality. Many OEE programmes use plainer names such as unplanned stops, planned stops, small stops, slow cycles, production rejects and startup rejects.
The framework links OEE to concrete improvement actions. Breakdowns are addressed through maintenance and reliability work, setup losses through SMED, minor stops through root cause analysis of jams and sensor problems, speed losses through restoring equipment condition, and defects through process control. Because each loss has a characteristic remedy, classifying downtime and rejects consistently helps teams choose the right tool.
Accurate classification needs reason codes that operators can apply quickly and unambiguously, or automatic detection from machine signals. A minimum stop duration usually separates minor stops from failures. Some organisations use extended TPM loss structures that add categories such as planned maintenance, labour and management losses beyond the equipment itself.
Key points
- Availability losses: equipment failures, and setup and adjustments.
- Performance losses: idling and minor stops, and reduced speed.
- Quality losses: process defects, and reduced yield at start-up.
- Each loss category points to a characteristic improvement method.
Where AiVibe comes in
AiVibe designs and manufactures the AiAmbA AI Factory as the OEM: edge devices plus AI agents that let people talk to PLC, CNC and robot controllers in plain language. Existing lines are retrofitted with edge devices, and a trained operator confirms every change an agent proposes.
Explore AiVibe’s work in Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations →
Related terms
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations
- Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations
- OEE AvailabilityIndustry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations
- OEE PerformanceIndustry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations
- OEE QualityIndustry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations
- Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing Operations