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Article · Metrics · 5 min read
MTBI: the 74-second pulse of production
Mean Time Between Interruptions is the simplest vital sign a line has: how long it produces, on average, before the flow of product breaks. Across 62 lines we measured a pulse of just 1 minute and 14 seconds. Here's why that number should worry you, and how to read it honestly.
Published
In short
- MTBI is the average production time between interruptions, a line's heartbeat.
- The portfolio-wide weighted average was a frantic 1m 14s.
- At that pulse, interruption time adds up fast, and each gap is too short to give a reason.
- The steadiest sites in the study averaged 3m 27s between interruptions.
A line has a heartbeat
Every production line produces, pauses and produces again. Measure the average length of those runs and you have its pulse: Mean Time Between Interruptions. It is the most honest one-number summary of how stable a line really is, and unlike a shift total it can't be flattered by a good hour.
An interruption is a gap in the count: the sensor misses at least three expected pulses, but the gap is shorter than the stop threshold. The machine may have halted, or run on with nothing to make.
Augos calls these gaps interruptions (what standard OEE calls minor stops or micro-stops), and MTBI counts every one of them.
The number that stops you
Across the 62 lines in our study, the weighted-average MTBI was 1 minute and 14 seconds. Seventy-four seconds of production, then a gap. Then seventy-four more. That is not a line producing with the occasional hiccup. It is a line trapped in a constant cycle of interruptions, each one too short to give a reason.
Why the pulse matters
Performance losses on a fragmented line don't come from a slow machine. They come from a machine that is never allowed to run. MTBI is the metric that makes that visible, where a shift total hides it.
The steadier benchmark
The steadiest sites in the study ran at an MTBI of about 3 minutes 27 seconds, nearly three times longer between interruptions. That is the benchmark worth chasing.
Reading MTBI honestly
One caution: a raw MTBI can mislead if you ignore the line's stop threshold, the delay before a pause is counted. A lenient threshold can make a chronically stuttering line look calm. That's why MTBI should always be read against the Threshold Exposure Index. Read together, they tell you both how fast the pulse is and whether you can trust the reading.
MTBI is one of the central metrics in the Interruption Whitepaper, and the raw material of the fragmentation gap.
Questions
This article, answered
What does MTBI measure?
Mean Time Between Interruptions is the average length of time a line produces before it is interrupted. A high MTBI means long, stable runs; a low MTBI means the line is constantly interrupted.
Why is a 1m 14s MTBI a problem?
At roughly seventy-four seconds between interruptions, the time lost to interruptions adds up fast, and each gap is too short to give a reason. In OEE that time sits inside performance, so the line looks slow even at its rated speed.
How is MTBI different from MTBF?
Mean Time Between Failures counts breakdowns, the longer stops that get a stop reason. MTBI counts interruptions, including the short, high-frequency ones that never get a reason but do the most cumulative damage.
Must MTBI be read with anything else?
Yes. A raw MTBI can be flattered or hidden by the line's stop threshold. Always read it alongside the Threshold Exposure Index so you know whether the number reflects reality.
Measure this on your own line.
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