In manufacturing, we often get caught up in complex metrics and elaborate dashboards. But after decades on the shop floor, I've discovered that one of the most powerful metrics is also one of the simplest: Run Uptime.

At Flex-Metrics, we've built our approach around helping customers understand and optimize this fundamental metric. Here's why it works so well, and how we use it to transform operations.

The Beauty of Simplicity

Prior to joining Flex, I was the Senior Director of Manufacturing at Spectrum Brands.  We implemented Flex across their entire 5-site manufacturing platform. What made the difference wasn't complicated analytics – it was giving everyone clear visibility into a simple question: is the machine running or not?

Run Uptime: The percentage of available run time (i.e. excluding changeovers and planned downtime) during which the

equipment is actually producing sellable product.

This simplicity makes it immediately clear to everyone – from operators to executives – what's happening on the floor. No PhD in data science required.

Finding Hidden Capacity

One of the most universal pieces of low-hanging fruit we find is shift ramp-up and ramp-down. When we show people their run time data, they quickly see that the first and last hour of every shift are consistently the lowest two hours. This is easy to fix – it's purely behavioral.

Another common discovery: how much time is lost simply waiting for something – materials, quality approvals, or other departments. It's not a mechanical problem or a process problem. They're just waiting. Again, low-hanging fruit.

For companies early in their Flex journey, we start with these obvious, easy wins. The low-hanging fruit is, by definition, high impact and low effort – it doesn't cost anything to fix.

Run Uptime + Leadership = Boosted Performance

The data itself is only part of the equation. Through years of implementation, we've discovered that the "wild card" in Flex's success is leadership engagement. The customers that don't maximize the value of Flex almost always lack this component.

When you plug Flex into an organization that is well-led, the results are transformative. The leadership component – earning trust, setting expectations, celebrating wins, giving people visibility into how their work affects metrics, showing them they're part of something bigger – is what turns data into action.

We recently visited a plant running at just 20% run uptime when similar operations typically achieve 70-75%. The difference wasn't technology or equipment – it was leadership's willingness to engage with the data to drive improvement.

The Bottom Line

Run Uptime isn't just a metric – it's the foundation of manufacturing success. By making it visible, actionable, and engaging for everyone from operators to executives, we've helped companies transform their operations.

The beauty is in the balance: simple enough that everyone understands it, powerful enough to drive significant improvement, and flexible enough to grow with an organization's maturity.

After all, as we like to say at Flex-Metrics: "In manufacturing, data is everywhere—charts, graphs, reports, operator logs... and opinions. Lots of opinions." Our job is to cut through the noise and focus on what really matters – "getting it in run and keeping it in run...at target speed".