How close to its rated speed the machine actually runs.
Performance rate is the OEE factor that catches the losses nobody is paying attention to. Availability captures the big stops everyone notices. Quality captures the parts that fail inspection at the end. Performance captures the slow grind in between: the 90 second jam every 20 minutes, the operator running 80 percent feed rate because the program is jumpy, the chronic minor stops that nobody bothers to log. Those losses add up to a bigger number than most shops expect, often the largest of the three OEE drag factors.
"The 90 second stop nobody bothers to log eats more capacity than the four hour breakdown everybody remembers."
The calculation has two inputs: actual output and theoretical output. Actual output is the count of parts the machine produced during the time it was running. Theoretical output is what it should have produced at its ideal cycle time over the same run time. The ratio of actual to theoretical, expressed as a percentage, is the performance rate.
The ideal cycle time is the make or break input. Set it as the manufacturer's spec sheet number and the rate may be permanently low because real world cycle times include normal handling and inspection. Set it as the slowest cycle time the operator can comfortably hit and the rate will look great while hiding real loss. The right answer is usually the best demonstrated cycle time the machine has actually achieved on a typical product, with a small adjustment for unavoidable handling. The number gets refined as the team learns the machine.
Two loss types live inside performance rate. Minor stops are stops under a threshold (often five or ten minutes) that the shop typically does not log: jams cleared in seconds, brief operator interventions, sensor false alarms. Reduced speed is running below the ideal cycle for any reason: conservative feeds, worn tooling, inconsistent material, operator caution. Both losses are part of the six big losses framework and both feed straight into performance rate. The fix for each is different. Minor stops usually come down through root cause work on the recurring causes. Reduced speed comes down through tooling, programming, or training.
Picture a 20 person stamping shop with two presses running automotive trim parts (not as a Toyota or OEM example, just generic retail aftermarket trim). Availability is 92 percent on the lead press, quality is 97 percent, and the owner is happy with both numbers. The OEE is 67 percent, which seems off. Performance rate tracking over three weeks reveals: 75 percent. The press is supposed to cycle every six seconds; it is actually cycling every eight. Two seconds of slow per cycle adds up.
The investigation finds two issues. One: the feeder is misaligned just enough that the operator has been manually nudging strip about every fifth cycle, costing a second or two each time. Two: the program for one part family was set conservatively years ago when the tooling was new; the tooling has been swapped twice since but the program never got updated. A half day of work on the feeder and an hour reviewing the program lifts performance to 88 percent. OEE moves to 79 percent. The shop got 12 points of OEE back without buying anything.
Performance rate is one of three factors in overall equipment effectiveness, multiplied against availability and quality rate. The two loss types it captures (minor stops and reduced speed) are two of the six big losses that TPM programs work to eliminate.
The questions we hear most about this term.
Long-form guides that pick up where this definition leaves off, written for manufacturers running Arda today.
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