Reduce Machine Downtime with Automated Monitoring Software
If your main objective is to reduce machine downtime, everything starts with knowing exactly when and why it happens. Automated monitoring software gives manufacturers the visibility they need to detect unplanned stops, track performance, and take action before minor issues turn into significant losses. Monitor your machines in real time with Pulsar and replace downtime logs with automatic, accurate, and actionable insights, empowering your team to boost uptime, optimize resources, and keep production running at full capacity. Learn how.
Track downtime with an automated system
Automated monitor of machine stops, downtime, OEE, speed, production, and more.
Set up SMS and email alerts and notify the right people, so you can react with agility.
Gain clarity on how to identify root causes and reduce downtime.
Automated Downtime Tracking
With automated downtime monitoring systems like Pulsar, manufacturers can visualize manufacturing KPIs through intuitive dashboards, spot performance trends, and respond instantly to machine stops or issues. Gain a live view of your metrics right from the shop floor and spend less time building reports, and more time improving production.
Downtime Tracking Software: How Does It Work?
Monitoring machine downtime is essential for maintaining efficient production and preventing costly interruptions. There are several ways manufacturers detect downtime, depending on the level of automation and technology in their plants. The most basic methods rely on manual input, where operators record when a machine stops and for how long. While simple, this approach is time-consuming and prone to errors, often leading to incomplete or inaccurate data that limits visibility into the root causes of downtime.
More advanced systems use machine-integrated signals, such as PLC outputs or digital counters, to detect when equipment stops automatically. These solutions provide greater accuracy and timeliness but often require invasive integration or specific machine compatibility. This can be a challenge in plants that operate mixed equipment from different brands, ages, or technologies. As a result, many manufacturers seek solutions that deliver the precision of automated monitoring without the complexity of deep system integration.
That’s where Pulsar stands out. Pulsar’s Downtime Tracking Software uses industrial sensors powered by Machine Learning to automatically detect machine activity and identify downtime, with no PLC connection required. By collecting data directly from the machine through both analog and digital signals, Pulsar determines whether a machine is running or stopped in real time. The machine data is then sent to a centralized platform that provides clear visibility of production status across all manufacturing processes. This non-invasive approach provides manufacturers with accurate, real-time insights into performance and downtime, helping them respond faster, identify root causes, and keep their operations running smoothly.
Reduce Equipment Downtime: Why Planned Downtime is as Important as Unplanned Downtime
If you are looking to reduce equipment downtime on the shop floor, you shouldn’t just focus on avoiding unexpected stops: you should also consider managing the downtime you can plan for. While unplanned downtime often draws the most attention due to its immediate impact on production and delivery, planned downtime is just as crucial for maintaining efficiency. How you schedule maintenance, inspections, setups, and preparations directly affects how effectively you use every minute of a shift.
A good example of this is production changeovers. This type of planned downtime is among the most common and is also a frequent target of continuous improvement methodologies. Every minute spent switching tools, materials, or setups directly affects output, which makes optimizing this process crucial. By monitoring changeover times, manufacturers can set a baseline for the process, pinpoint inefficiencies, standardize best practices, and track improvements over time.
Balancing both types of downtime is the key to sustainable operations. Automated solutions like Pulsar help manufacturers track and analyze all downtime events—planned or unplanned—so they can see the complete picture of machinery and equipment performance. Designing simple yet effective processes for the shop floor is key to reducing equipment downtime and supporting greater long-term productivity.
Reducing Machine Downtime: Key Steps
Improve your data on what's happening
You can’t fix what you can’t see. The first step to reducing downtime is gathering accurate, real-time data on machine performance, stops, and production speed. Automated monitoring solutions like Pulsar capture this information directly from your equipment, helping you identify issues the moment they occur.
React with agility to machine stops
When a machine stops, every second matters: delays quickly add up to lost productivity. Real-time visibility and instant alerts allow your team to spot issues the moment they happen, coordinate a fast response, and get production running again. The result is a more agile operation that keeps downtime to a minimum and output consistent.
Analyze and find opportunities to improve
Once downtime data is collected, the next step is understanding the “why” behind it. Using charts, reports, and the 80/20 rule helps uncover root causes such as setup inefficiencies, operator delays, or recurring mechanical failures. Over time, this insight enables continuous improvement, ensuring your operations become more stable, predictable, and efficient.
Downtime and utilization in real-time
Doypack, case packers, canning machines, baggers, and more.
Liquid fillers for food, chemicals, and beverages.
Injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming, extrusion, recycling, and more.
Presses, benders, welders, punch presses, laser cutters, and more.
Welders, shears, benders, presses, aluminum injectors, and more.
Assembly, glass, electronics, textiles, printing, and more.
How we benefit our clients
Results achieved by our clients using our downtime tracking software.
Digitize your operations and drive growth with Pulsar
Enable real-time monitoring for any machine—regardless of type, model, or age, without interfering PLCs.
We collect data automatically and make it accessible to your team from a single, intuitive platform.
Our platform can be installed in a single visit, requires minimal setup, and includes technical support.
Request a custom demo
Discover how our monitoring platform can help you to optimize your manufacturing processes.
