Pulse Documentation - How to

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Current states

You will find everything regarding the Current States module in this chapter.

Current States page

The first page you'll see is the Current States page. Here you get an overview and a live image of the factory's resources. Each card represents a resource and shows details about ERP data, machine state, and active downtime reasons.

Resource card

This card shows the resource's current state, uptime, and relevant ERP data, including information on currently running work orders. It also contains controls for reporting downtime, including the reason and resolution. Resources with active work orders will appear green.

Sidebar descriptions:

The page has a sidebar with filter options and factory summary.

1. Show/hide: Show/hide ERP order details.

2. Resource/Resource Groups: Select specific resources or groups you'd like to display (previously Machine/Machine Groups).

3. Grouped/Flat: Select if you'd like to display resources based on groups or not.

4. All/With order/Without order: Display resources according to the selected filter.

5. Machine states overview: Widget displaying the count of all current states registered in the shop.

6. Downtime overview: Two widgets displaying the top planned/unplanned downtime reasons.

Resource insights

Pulse now opens Resource insights in Workspace instead of the older standalone Machine Insights page.

In Pulse, this resource-specific flow is currently available through Current States. Open the triple-dot menu on a resource card and press Resource insights. The selected resource is then opened in the Default resource workspace.

When a user clicks Resource insights, Ignos does the following:

1. Identifies which resource was clicked.

2. Looks up that resource in Settings -> Pulse -> Default workspaces.

3. Opens the assigned workspace template in Workspace and applies the selected resource as widget context.

4. Shows an informative message if no default workspace template has been assigned to that resource.

Default resource workspace

The Default resource workspace is a resource-context-driven workspace tab. Widgets in this workspace use the currently selected resource, so the same workspace layout can be reused across many resources.

When you open Resource insights from Pulse, Ignos automatically loads the default workspace for that resource. If you switch to another resource, the displayed workspace updates to match the selected resource.

If no default workspace has been configured for the selected resource, Ignos shows an informative message instead of opening an empty page.

Admin setup for default workspaces

Admins can configure which template should be used as the default workspace for each resource in Settings -> Pulse -> Default workspaces.

Each resource can be assigned its own workspace template. When a template is updated, all linked default resource workspaces are updated as well.

Available widgets

A default resource workspace can use any of the widgets described in the chapter Pulse Widgets for Workspace.
Since the workspace is resource-context-driven, each widget automatically applies to the currently selected resource.

Workspace also supports widgets from our other applications, but this page only documents the Pulse-specific widgets. Below is a picture of how a default resource workspace can be set up.

Utilization Insights

You will find everything regarding the Utilization Insights module in this chapter.

Utilization Insights page

The Utilization Insights page offers an overview over the factory's utilization numbers.
Here you'll be able to see how the factory performs as a whole, by group or by asset and identify trends over time.

Descriptions:

1. Power-on or 24/7: Displays the data in Power-on or 24/7 utilization format.

2. Time range: Filter to show the data for the selected timespan.

3. Grouped/Flat: Select if you'd like to display resources based on groups or not.

4. Selection box: Displays the available groups or resources for viewing.

Utilization calculation methods

We currently provide four methods for displaying utilization data, with a fifth option under development and coming soon.
Below, these methods are explained in detail.

Power-on utilization

Explanation

Power-on utilization represents the percentage of time the resource was actively utilized during the hours it was powered on.

Formula

$\text{Power-On Utilization (\%)} = \left(\frac{\text{Uptime while powered on}}{\text{Total time powered on}}\right) \times 100$

Example calculation

$\text{Power-On Utilization} = \left(\frac{\text{3 hours uptime}}{\text{8 hours powered on}}\right) \times 100 = \text{37.5 \%}$

This metric reflects how efficiently the resource is used while operational, and does not account for periods when the resource was turned off or its overall capacity.

Example:
"Sample CNC Machine" has been operational for 8 hours a day between January and May. During this period, the Power-on utilization numbers are very good.

Here’s a figure illustrating the Power-on utilization:

However, when the same data is analyzed in a 24/7 context, the utilization numbers change significantly:

The following section provides more details about 24/7 utilization.

24/7 utilization

Explanation

24/7 utilization represents the percentage of time the resource was utilized relative to the full 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week.

Formula

$\text{24/7 Utilization (\%)} = \left(\frac{\text{Uptime}}{\text{24 Hours}}\right) \times 100$

Example calculation

$\text{24/7 Utilization} = \left(\frac{\text{3 hours uptime}}{\text{24 hours}}\right) \times 100 = \text{12.5 \%}$

This metric considers the entire day, including periods when the resource was powered off, providing a broader view of its overall usage. For example, as shown in the figure above, the 24/7 utilization numbers for Sample CNC Machine are lower, because the resource was only operational for 8 out of 24 hours each day.

Active-order utilization

This method is currently under development and will be available soon.

Explanation

Active-order utilization represents the percentage of time the resource was actively utilized while someone was clocked into an order in the ERP system.

Formula

$\text{Power-On Utilization (\%)} = \left(\frac{\text{Uptime while clocked in}}{\text{Time clocked into ERP}}\right) \times 100$

Example calculation

$\text{Power-On Utilization} = \left(\frac{\text{3 hours uptime}}{\text{6 hours in ERP}}\right) \times 100 = \text{50 \%}$

This metric focuses on the alignment between resource usage and active job assignments, providing a detailed view of operational efficiency linked to ERP-driven workflows. Unlike power-on utilization, which includes all powered-on time, active-order utilization specifically excludes periods when no one was clocked into an order, even if the resource was running or ready to operate.

Resource Capacity utilization (OEE)

Explanation

OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) represents how effectively a resource produces during the time it was scheduled to run, according to the resource's shift plan.

Formula

$\text{OEE (\%)} = \text{Availability} \times \text{Performance} \times \text{Quality}$

• Availability = Uptime ÷ Planned Production Time
• Performance = (Ideal Cycle Time × Total Pieces) ÷ Operating Time F
• Quality = Good Pieces ÷ Total Pieces

Example calculation

$\text{OEE} = 75\% \times 83.3\% \times 98\% = 61.3\%$

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⚠️ Note: In systems where Performance and Quality values are available, the OEE calculation will include them. When a calculated Performance value is not available, Pulse uses the factory's Default performance setting as fallback. When Quality is not provided, it is automatically set to 100%.

ℹ️ Availability here is based on the resource's Shift Settings.

💡 Important for admins:
Very low capacity values (e.g., 0.1 h) can cause extremely high utilization spikes in Resource Capacity charts if production occurs on those days.
To avoid distorted results, set non-production days (like weekends) to 0 h instead of small fractional values.

This metric shows how well a resource's production met the planned capacity time, filtering out time you intentionally didn’t plan to run.

Calendar Capacity utilization (OOE)

Explanation

OOE (Overall Operations Effectiveness) measures effectiveness against the entire scheduled calendar window (Factory calendar). It answers the question: “Out of all the time that was scheduled in the calendar, how much effective production did we achieve?”

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Formula

$\text{OOE (\%)} = \text{Availability} \times \text{Performance} \times \text{Quality}$

• Availability = Uptime ÷ Calendar Time
• Performance = (Ideal Cycle Time × Total Pieces) ÷ Operating Time
• Quality = Good Pieces ÷ Total Pieces

Example calculation

$\text{OOE} = 70.6\% \times 83.3\% \times 98\% = 57.6\%$

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⚠️ Note: In systems where Performance and Quality values are available, the OOE calculation will include them. When a calculated Performance value is not available, Pulse uses the factory's Default performance setting as fallback. When Quality is not provided, it is automatically set to 100%.

ℹ️ Availability here is based on the Factory Calendar settings.

This metric shows how well production utilized the entire factory calendar time, including periods you intentionally planned as downtime. As a result, OOE values are typically lower than OEE in environments with many scheduled stops.

Default Performance fallback

OEE and OOE are both calculated as Availability × Performance × Quality. When Pulse has a calculated Performance value, that value is used in the calculation. When calculated Performance is not available, Pulse uses the factory-level Default performance configured in Settings → KPI → Calendar.

This fallback affects the OEE and OOE values shown in utilization tables, Resource Capacity utilization and Calendar Utilization charts, and Company Overview cross-company utilization.

Where this value appears:

The highlighted Performance column in OEE and OOE tables uses Default performance when no calculated Performance value is available.

Resource Capacity utilization charts use the fallback in the Company total and trend values when the chart is based on OEE.

Calendar Utilization charts use the fallback in the Company total and trend values when the chart is based on OOE.

In Company Overview, Pulse first calculates each factory's OEE or OOE with that factory's own Default performance fallback when needed. The cross-company view then compares those calculated factory values.

Comparison of utilization methods

The figure below highlights how the three utilization methods - Power-on utilization, 24/7 utilization, and Active-order utilization, differ in focus and scope. Each provides unique insights into machine efficiency, from operational hours to full capacity usage and task-specific performance.

Resource Timelines page

The Resource Timelines page offers a comprehensive overview of the factory's resource machine state timelines.
You can view timelines by individual assets or grouped resources and gain detailed insights into their states, either live, or over a selected time period.

Descriptions:

1. Time range: Filter to show the data for the selected timespan.

2. Resources box: Search, and select individual resources or groups to be displayed (previously names Machines).

3. Grouped/Flat: Select if you'd like to display resources based on groups or not.

4. All/Active now/Stopped now: Display the filtered resources based on machine state.

5. Current machine states: Shows all the live machine states found in the list of timelines.

6. Downtime: Shows the top planned and unplanned downtime reasons found in the time range defined on point 1.

Downtime Report

Downtime refers to any period when a resource is unavailable or not operational, impacting productivity.
To track and analyze these interruptions, users can report downtime reasons in two ways, both shown in this chapter.

The Downtime Report gives deeper insights into the duration of all reported downtime reasons. It is built as a data grid, so you can sort and filter the list directly from the column headers.

The report includes the following columns: Start, Category, Reason, Duration, Order, Part, Resource, and Type.

Use the right-side filters to choose the period, resources, and groups you want to inspect. The search field below the resource selector has the placeholder Find order or part... and lets you search the report by order, part number, or part name.

Hover over the Resource cell to see more resource information, such as description and resource groups when available. The person icon shows who created or last updated the report. The comment icon shows the registered comment on hover, and is highlighted when a comment has been added. Use the pencil icon to edit an existing downtime reason.

Press Export CSV from the bottom of the right margin to export the report. The export respects the selected period, resources/groups, and order/part search. The downtime export includes category, order, part number, and part name information.

In the mentioned margin found on most pages in the Pulse app you will also have the Top planned and Top unplanned downtime reasons displayed:

Report through the Resource Activity Timeline widget

Select which machine state or work order you want to report a downtime reason for. In the dialog, you can adjust the start and end time, select an Order or No order, select a downtime reason, and add an additional comment.

When you select an order, the related part number and part name are stored together with the downtime reason. This makes it easier to analyze downtime by order and part later in the Downtime Report.

Report through Current States or the Resource Current State widget

Click "Report Downtime" at the bottom of relevant Resource card. Select an Order or No order, select a downtime reason, add an additional comment, and choose if it should follow the machine state if available.

If an active order is available for the selected resource and time, Pulse shows it in the Order selector. The selected order's part information follows the downtime reason and is shown in the report.

info

Resources with machine states will give you the opion "End downtime reporting when the machine state changes". If this is enabled, the reporting will end automatically when the machine state changes.

Resources that have active downtime reports will display a marker.

You can easily end or edit active downtime reporting by clicking the downtime report marker and pressing the stop button or checking/unchecking the "End downtime reporting when the machine state changes" option.

Report through the Downtime Reason widget in Workspace

The Downtime Reason widget in Workspace allows the user to very easily report downtime.

More info about this widget can be found in its own chapter.

How to report:

Downtime Reasons settings

Downtime reasons are configured under Settings → Downtime Reasons, reached from the bottom-left corner of Ignos.io. This option requires admin permissions for downtime reasons.

Descriptions:

1. Parent topics: Add parent topics as needed (see point 8). Select a Parent Topic by clicking on a parent topic card to view its associated Downtime topics. The selected card will be highlighted, and the Downtime topics list will update to the left.

2. Downtime topics: Add downtime topics linked to the selected parent topic as needed (see point 8). Select a Downtime Topic by clicking on a Downtime Topic card to view its associated Resource Groups. The selected card will be highlighted, and the Resource Groups list will update to the left.

3. Resource group: Link selected Downtime topics to a resource group. The downtime reasons will appear when reporting Downtime Reasons on resources that are linked to selected resource groups

4. Description: Provide additional context for the defined topic. This will appear as a tooltip when hovering over the topic while reporting:

5. Planned/Unplanned: Specify whether the Downtime Topic should be categorized as Planned or Unplanned.

6. Sorting: Click and hold the drag handle next to an item to sort the order of the topics via drag-and-drop.

7. Delete topic: Press the x icon inside the box to delete a topic.

8. Add more topics: Click the plus-button to add more topics.

Shift Settings

Shift Settings is the central place for defining how resources work over time. It replaces the older Capacity page and adds support for named shift plans, time-bounded periods, per-period targets, and copy/paste between resources.

Every period you define feeds directly into KPI and OEE calculations, so keeping this data accurate is important for reliable reporting.

Shift Settings is found under Settings → Shift Settings in the KPI menu.

Key concepts

Concept	What it means
Shift plan	A reusable template that describes how many hours a resource works each day of the week.
Period	An assignment of a shift plan to a resource, valid from a specific date onwards. A resource can have many periods.
Target utilization %	The planned utilization for a resource during a period. Defaults to 100 %.
Effective from	The date a period becomes active. The period stays active until the next period's start date.

The main table lists all your resources, grouped by department/resource group with its current period. Each resource row can be expanded to show its periods.

Period states

• Current period – highlighted row; this is the active period driving KPI data today.
• Expired period – shown in a faded style; up to 3 past periods are visible per resource by default.
• Show more – click this link below a resource to reveal all older expired periods.
• No periods defined – placeholder row for resources that have not been configured yet.

Managing shift plans

Before you can assign periods to resources you need at least one shift plan. Click the Shift Plans button in the top-right corner to open the shift plan manager.

Creating a shift plan

1. Click Shift Plans → Add shift plan.
2. Enter a name for the plan.
3. Fill in the working hours per day for each day of the week. Leave a day empty (or set it to 0) for non-working days. Decimal values (e.g. 7.5) are supported.
4. Click Create shift plan.

Editing a shift plan

Open Shift Plans, find the plan you want to change, and click Edit.

Important: Changes to a shift plan take effect immediately for all periods that use it. A warning is shown in the edit form as a reminder.

Deleting a shift plan

• If the plan is not in use by any period it is deleted permanently.
• If the plan is in use, it is automatically archived rather than deleted. Archived plans still appear on any existing period but cannot be selected for new ones.

You can view and restore archived plans from the Archived tab in the Shift Plans dialog.

Adding periods

To one resource

1. Expand the resource row in the data grid.
2. Click the Add period button that appears on the resource row (or use the ⋮ row menu → Add Period).
3. Fill in the form (see Period form fields).
4. Click Save.

To multiple resources at once

1. Check the checkbox on each resource group row you want to configure.
2. Click the Add period button in the page header.
3. The dialog shows how many resources will be affected.
4. Fill in the shared period details and click Save.

All selected resources receive an identical period.

Period form fields

Field	Required	Notes
Effective from	Yes	The date from which this period is active.
Shift plan	Yes	Choose from active shift plans. Hover over an option to preview the hour breakdown. Click New to create a plan on the spot without leaving this dialog.
Target utilization %	Yes	Defaults to 100. Represents planned utilization for KPI purposes.
Comment	No	Useful for documenting why a period was created (e.g., "Summer schedule", "After line upgrade").

Creating a shift plan from within the period form

If you realize the shift plan you need does not exist yet, click the New button next to the Shift Plan field. A mini-form opens inline, letting you define the plan and return to the period without losing your other inputs.

Editing a period

Click the ⋮ menu → Edit.

Your role determines what you can change:

Role	Can edit
Shift Settings	All fields: effective from, shift plan, target %, comment
Resource Target Write	Target % only

Copying and pasting periods

If you want to replicate a period's settings to another resource:

1. Click the ⋮ menu on the source period → Copy.
2. Navigate to the target resource and expand it.
3. Click the paste icon on the resource group row.

The copied data persists until you copy something else or leave the page.

Deleting periods

Single period

Use the ⋮ menu → Delete on the period row and confirm the dialog.

Bulk delete

1. Select the periods you want to delete using the row checkboxes.
2. Click the Delete button in the page header.
3. Confirm.

Warning: Deleting a period affects historical KPI and OEE data. The confirmation dialog reminds you of this. If you are unsure, consider editing the period instead.

Factory Calendar settings

Factory calendar settings are only available for Admins and can be accessed in the bottom-left corner if you have the Admin role.
The factory calendar defines the baseline working hours for the entire site, including normal weekly hours, holidays, and half-days. These settings serve as the foundation for OEE calculations.

Descriptions:

1. Calendar view: Shows configured hours per day for the selected month. Special days (half days, holidays) gets highlighted.

2. Normal work-week hours: Define the standard expected hours per weekday (e.g., Mon–Fri 10h, Sat/Sun 0h).

3. Special days: Configure exceptions such as half days or holidays. These override the normal weekly hours.

4. Overrides: Apply special rules directly in the calendar view (e.g., mark a specific date as a holiday).

Default performance

Each factory can define its own Default performance value in Settings → KPI → Calendar. This value is used as the factory-level Performance fallback for OEE and OOE when Pulse does not have a calculated Performance value.

Because OEE and OOE are calculated as Availability × Performance × Quality, changing Default performance updates utilization values wherever the fallback is used, including OEE and OOE tables, Resource Capacity utilization and Calendar Utilization charts, and Company Overview cross-company utilization.

See Default Performance fallback for examples of where this value is reflected.

Pulse Widgets for Workspace

You will find everything Pulse-related regarding the Workspace module in this chapter. These widgets can be used in regular workspaces, templates, and default resource workspaces.

Page navigation	Example workspace

Pulse Card widget

The Pulse Card widget shows a resource's name, current machine state, and optionally a utilization percentage for the selected time range. If no resource is set on the widget, it follows the standard resource-picker at the top of the workspace page.

Widget	Select from gallery

tip

Turn on Display utilization value in the widget settings to also show the utilization percentage.
Clicking the card opens the resource's Default workspace page.

Order data widget

The Order data widget shows the current ERP work order details for a resource as a table. If no active work order is found for the resource, the widget shows an informative message instead.

Like most Pulse widgets, it follows the page-level resource-picker if no resource is set directly on the widget.

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Resource Activity Timeline widget

The Resource Activity Timeline gives you a visual insight on machine states, workorder and programs for a resource between a selected timerange. It can be found trough Resource Insights or as a widget in Workspace.

Widget	Select from gallery

tip

Notice how you're also able to report a downtime reasons through this widget.

Resource alarms widget

The Resource alarms widget shows the current count of either Faults or Warnings for a resource, and highlights when there are active alarms. When the alarm count is above zero, the card becomes clickable and takes you directly to the alarm details for that resource.

Widget	Select from gallery

tip

Choose whether the widget should show Faults or Warnings in the widget-settings, and optionally set a resource. If no resource is set, it follows the standard resource-picker at the top of the workspace page.

Sustain widget

The Sustain widget shows a resource's power consumption as a chart over the selected time range, with the current power usage highlighted. Values are shown in W or kW depending on the magnitude. Hover over the chart to see the value at a specific point in time.

If no resource is set on the widget, it follows the standard resource-picker at the top of the workspace page. If no data is found, the widget shows an informative message instead.

Widget	Select from gallery

KPI widget

The KPI widget is very much inspired by modern fitness trackers! 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

This widget works very similar to a step-counter.
It counts only the uptime and has a daily target-uptime, based on the capacity defined in the Ignos.io settings. The user can deep-dive back in time, and display each day in either of three formats: 1d (1 day), 7d (1 week) or 4w (1 month).

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1d (1 day view)

7d (1 week view)

4w (1 month view)

How Shift Settings affect this widget

The daily target comes from Shift Settings, found under Settings → KPI → Shift Settings.
For each day, the target is calculated from the shift plan's hours for that weekday, multiplied by the period's Target %.

This makes it vital that Shift Settings are configured correctly for the resource. If no shift period covers a given date, the widget shows "No target set" for that day instead of a target.

Holidays and half-days from the Factory Calendar settings override the shift plan hours for those specific days, which lowers the daily target accordingly.

Report downtime widget

The Report downtime widget simplifies reporting of downtime reasons significantly by letting users select between downtime topics and start reporting.

Widget	Select from gallery

How to report a state:

• Make sure you have a resource selected in your workspace, or select a static resource for the widget in the top left corner.
• Select Order or No order from the drop-down menu (not present in this GIF). If an order is selected, the related part information is saved with the downtime reason.
• Select a downtime topic and optionally add a comment.
• If the resource records machine states, you can choose to mark Cancel on machine state change. This will automatically stop reporting when the machine state changes.
• Click report to start the reporting process.
• If Cancel on machine state change is not selected, the reporting will stop when you click the stop button.

How Downtime Reasons settings affect this widget

The topics you can choose from in this widget come from Downtime Reasons settings, found under Settings → Downtime Reasons.

Only downtime topics that are linked to a resource group the selected resource belongs to are shown. This means the same widget presents different topics depending on which resource is selected, so linking topics to the right resource groups is what makes the widget usable on the shop floor.

The admin configuration also controls:

• Parent topics appear as the tabs across the top, and Downtime topics as the selectable buttons below them.
• The sort order set by drag-and-drop in the settings decides the order tabs and topics appear in. Items with the same sort order fall back to alphabetical order.
• The Description given to a topic is shown as a tooltip when you hover over it while reporting.

If the selected resource is not linked to any resource group with downtime topics, the widget shows "No downtime reasons found" and reporting is not possible until an admin links topics to that resource's resource group.

Downtime Duration widget

The Downtime Duration widget gives a quick, at-a-glance view of reported downtime reasons and their total duration, based on your selected resource and time range.

Widget	Select from gallery

Machine State Distribution widget

The Machine State Distribution widget shows a chart of how a resource's machine states were distributed over the selected time range.

If no resource is set on the widget, it follows the standard resource-picker at the top of the workspace page.

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Resource Current State widget

The Resource Current State widget shows the same resource card you know from the Current States page.
State, uptime, ERP data, and any active downtime reason, as a standalone widget in Workspace.

Just like on the Current States page, you can report a downtime reason directly from the card.

Widget	Select from gallery

tip

You can add several of these widgets to the same workspace page, each configured to its own resource, or leave the resource unset so it follows the standard resource-picker at the top of the page.

Live Machine Data widget

The Live Machine Data widget shows the current, live value of one or more time series from a resource, updated automatically at a regular interval. Each series added can be given a display name and unit.

In the widget settings, you set the resource and add one or more groups, each containing one or more time series. For every time series, you'll need the exact Time series ID, entered as free text.

Unlike most other Pulse widgets, this widget does not fall back to the page-level resource-picker. A resource must be set directly on the widget itself.

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Widget	Widget settings

Note

This is a first version of the widget, made to test whether it delivers value for users!
The available time series IDs are not yet listed anywhere in the front-end, so you'll need to contact an in-house superuser or Ignos support to get the correct ID for the time series you want to show.
This is expected to improve in a later iteration.

Time Series Graph widget

The Time Series Graph widget plots one or more time series signals from a machine resource as a line chart over the selected time range. You can zoom in on the chart by selecting an area with your mouse.

In the widget settings, you set the resource, an optional chart heading, and the time series to plot. As with the Live Machine Data widget, each time series is added using its exact Time series ID as free text, together with a display name and unit.

Just like the Live Machine Data widget, this widget does not fall back to the page-level resource-picker. A resource must be set directly on the widget itself.

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Widget	Widget settings

Note

As with the Live Machine Data widget, this is a first version made to test whether it delivers value for users, and the available time series IDs are not yet listed anywhere in the front-end. Contact an in-house superuser or Ignos support to get the correct ID for the signal you want to plot.
This is expected to improve in a later iteration.