TL;DR. Boards do not need more downtime data. They need to know what was lost, what was saved, who vouches for the saving and what is still open. Use one page, label every figure by tier, and take ROI from finance-confirmed money only. A template follows.
Why do downtime pages disappoint boards?
They mix too many things. A chart of OEE by month, a table of top ten stops, a savings claim, and a hopeful forecast, all on one page with no indication of how much weight each can bear.
A director who asks “is that number real?” and gets an uncertain answer discounts the whole page. The next request for budget is then harder.
The fix is not more detail. It is clear labelling and a fixed structure.
What are the four blocks?
Use the same four blocks every quarter. Repetition builds trust.
- What was lost. Observed minutes and units, by line, for the period.
- What it probably cost. Estimated money, as a range, with the rate stated.
- What was saved. Confirmed money only, signed by the finance controller.
- What is open. The ranked list of the next losses, with owners and dates.
Everything else belongs in an appendix.
What does block one say?
Facts only. Illustrative example: “Filler 2 lost 1,400 minutes in the quarter, down from 1,900 in the previous quarter on a broadly similar schedule.”
Avoid adjectives. Avoid OEE as the lead, because a percentage hides which loss moved. Name the largest losses by line and say whether they recurred.
If the comparison period was different in product mix or run count, say so in one line.
What does block two say?
Estimated money, with the assumption visible. Illustrative example: “At an assumed $30 per minute of contribution, the loss is estimated at $42,000, with a range of $35,000 to $49,000.”
State who supplied the rate. State that it is an estimate. Do not annualise unless you label that as a further estimate.
Our post on three tiers of money explains why the label matters more than the precision.
What does block three say?
Only what finance has signed. Illustrative example: “Finance confirmed $31,000 of savings against the Filler 2 action, verified on comparable runs.”
Name the action and its owner. Say how it was checked. If nothing is confirmed yet, write that plainly: “No savings confirmed this quarter. Two are in review.”
This is the only figure used in any ROI statement. Say so on the page: only finance-confirmed money counts for ROI.
What does block four say?
The next three losses, ranked, with a named owner and due date each. Illustrative example: “Next: labeller jams, $6,500, owner: packaging lead, due end of month.”
Boards often like this block best. It shows the process continues, not that it peaked. It also tells them what to expect next quarter.
What should never appear?
A short list of things that cost credibility.
- Annualised run-rate presented as achieved saving.
- A savings number with no owner or action behind it.
- A before-and-after on calendar months with no note on product mix.
- Percentages of OEE gain without the dollars attached.
- A forecast formatted like a result.
How do finance and operations prepare it together?
Operations writes blocks one and four. Finance writes block three and approves the rates in block two. Both read the whole page before it goes.
Agree the template at the start of the year, not the week before the board. Disagreements are cheaper when they are about the format.
What to do on Monday
- Rewrite last quarter’s downtime page into the four blocks.
- Label every figure with its tier.
- Ask finance which of your savings it would sign today.
- Remove any annualised figure that is not marked as an estimate.
- Agree the template for next quarter with your finance partner.