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Reason Codes

Reason Codes are the list of downtime reasons operators choose from when they end a stoppage. They're what turns lost hours into something you can act on.

Setting these up is an engineer's job; operators only pick from the list.


How a reason is structured

Each reason has three levels, from broad to specific:

Level Example
Category Unplanned
Subcategory Equipment Failure
Reason Conveyor jam

The Dashboard's downtime breakdown groups by these, so the structure decides how useful your downtime reporting is. Categories that are too broad ("Stoppage") tell you nothing; too narrow, and every stoppage is its own category and nothing stands out.

A common starting structure is Planned versus Unplanned at category level, with subcategories for the handful of things that actually stop your machines — changeover, material shortage, equipment failure, quality hold, no operator.


Adding a reason

Click New Reason Code and give it a category, subcategory and reason.

Machine-specific or organisation-wide: leave the machine blank and the reason is offered on every machine. Set a machine and it's offered only there — useful for a failure mode that only one machine has, without cluttering the list everywhere else.


Editing a reason

Edit lets you correct the category, subcategory or wording. Renaming does not rewrite history — past stoppages keep pointing at the same reason, so a report for last quarter simply shows the new wording for the same cause.

Retiring a reason

Retire takes a reason off the list operators choose from, while leaving it on every stoppage already recorded against it. This is what to use for a reason that's no longer relevant — a machine that's gone, a failure mode that's been designed out. Retired reasons show as Inactive and can be brought back with Restore.

Retiring is almost always what you want instead of deleting.

Deleting a reason

A reason that has never been used can be deleted outright with the bin icon.

A reason that has already been used on a stoppage cannot be deleted — Enture will tell you it's still referenced. That protects your history: removing it would leave past stoppages pointing at a reason that no longer exists. Retire it instead.

Tip

Fewer, clearer reasons beat a long list. Operators pick from this list many times a day, often under pressure; if it's long they'll pick the first plausible entry, and the reporting is worth exactly as much as their care in choosing.