Free CMMS and OEE Tracker for Chemical Manufacturing
Track the losses that actually eat a chemical plant's uptime (batch changeovers, CIP cycles, reactor trips, pump seal failures) free in your browser, no account needed. Bring in Fabrico when manual logging can no longer keep up.
The short answer
- Start free: log a shift in about two minutes and get instant OEE, a downtime Pareto, a work order board and a PM schedule, no account, with data kept in your browser.
- Chemical and process plants carry heavy legitimate planned time (CIP, batch changeovers, grade changes, charging and discharging) that hides how much real runtime the big single stops (reactor trips, pump seal failures, heat-exchanger fouling, utility loss) are quietly taking.
- The free OEE tracker splits that planned time from genuine loss and ranks your worst stop causes, so maintenance and process see the same numbers before any platform rollout.
- Fabrico is the honest upgrade when you need computer-vision true-cause on short stops with video evidence, a closed loop from each PLC-detected loss to a work order, and EU-built hosting with EU data residency (book a demo).
Chemical and process plants lose time differently from discrete factories. A big share of the clock is legitimately planned: clean-in-place (CIP) between grades, batch changeovers, charging and discharging a reactor, and utility swaps. That is necessary time, not loss. The trap is that once you subtract all of it, most plants still cannot say where the rest of the runtime went, because the losses that dominate a process line tend to be a handful of big single stops (a reactor interlock trip, a pump seal failure, a fouled heat exchanger, a lost steam or chilled-water header) plus long slow-running stretches where the unit never quite reaches nameplate rate.
The free OEE tracker and light CMMS gives a batch or continuous unit a fast, no-signup way to separate that planned time from genuine availability and rate loss. Log a shift, get availability, performance and quality broken out, and read a downtime Pareto that shows whether the biggest drain is CIP overrun, changeover time, a recurring pump trip, or a centrifuge or filter that keeps halting the run. Pair it with the cost of downtime guide to put a real figure on a recurring stop before you take it to a capital meeting.
Be clear about what this free layer is: a starting point, not a plant historian. It relies on manual shift logging rather than reading your DCS or PLCs, and you investigate the true cause of each stop yourself. That is genuinely useful for one unit getting its first honest numbers, and you can sanity-check stops against standard maintenance KPIs as you go. It is not built for a multi-unit site that needs automatic capture and a closed loop from a detected loss to an assigned work order, which is where Fabrico takes over.
What you get, free
Two-minute shift logging
Log a shift on a reactor train or filling line by hand in about two minutes: run time, big stops, rate and rejects. No account, and the data stays in your browser.
Instant OEE with the A / P / Q split
The moment you log a shift you see availability, performance and quality broken out, so you can tell whether a bad run was a big-stop problem, a slow-rate problem, or off-spec product.
Downtime Pareto for process losses
Every stop you log gets ranked, so CIP overruns, grade changeovers, pump trips and heat-exchanger cleaning sort themselves into a clear worst-first list for the next reliability meeting.
Work order board and PM schedule
Raise a work order the moment you catch a recurring seal or bearing fault, and keep preventive-maintenance intervals for pumps, agitators, compressors and relief valves.
Asset register with per-machine OEE
Register reactors, pumps, centrifuges, dryers and filling lines, then read OEE per asset to see which single unit is dragging the whole train.
Benchmark, roles and CSV/JSON export
Compare each shift to a world-class 85% OEE benchmark, assign people and roles on the device, and export your logs to CSV or JSON whenever maintenance or process needs them elsewhere.
Log one shift and the free tracker shows your OEE, your loss Pareto and how you compare to world-class. Add work orders and preventive-maintenance reminders in the same place.
Where free stops, and Fabrico begins
The free tracker is built for getting started fast and for one plant on one device. When a site gets serious about its losses, the manual steps start to cost more than they save. This is exactly where Fabrico takes over.
| Capability | Free OEE Lab tracker | Fabrico |
|---|---|---|
| Data capture | Log each shift by hand in about two minutes on a reactor train or filling line, data stays in your browser. | Reads OEE automatically off your DCS and line PLCs, with no manual entry during the run. |
| Micro-stop cause | You investigate short stops and rate dips on packing and filling lines yourself and note the reason. | Computer vision identifies the true cause of each micro-stop, with video evidence you can review. |
| Loss-to-fix loop | You spot a recurring seal or feed fault and raise the work order yourself on the board. | A detected loss becomes an auto-routed work order, assigned automatically to the right crew. |
| Big stops and rate loss | You log each big single stop and slow-running stretch by hand, then read them ranked in the downtime Pareto. | PLC-read OEE captures every big stop and rate deviation as it happens and feeds it into the closed work-order loop. |
| Scope and multi-site | One unit on one device and browser, best for a single batch or continuous line getting started. | Plant-wide and multi-site OEE from one central view across reactors, utilities and packing. |
| Integrations | Standalone, run it on its own and export the data when process or reliability needs it elsewhere. | Connects directly to your PLCs and DCS so each detected loss flows into an auto-routed work order. |
| Access and roles | Local device sign-in with people and roles on that one device. | Org SSO with roles across the site and a full audit trail. |
| Data residency | Data stays local in your browser, on the device you use on the unit. | EU-built with EU data residency, plus ISO 27001, 20000-1 and 9001 certification that supports audit-readiness. |
| Reporting | Instant OEE, availability, performance and quality, a downtime Pareto, and CSV or JSON export you run yourself. | Live site-wide dashboards plus scheduled reports delivered automatically. |
Frequently asked questions
Is this free CMMS actually free for a chemical plant, or is it a trial?
The OEE Lab tracker is free with no signup and no expiry. You open it, log a shift for your unit, and it keeps the data in your browser. There is no trial clock and no card required. If you are weighing that against paid platforms, the free vs paid CMMS comparison lays out where each model fits.
How do I separate CIP and changeover time from real downtime?
Log CIP, grade changeovers, and charging or discharging as their own planned downtime reasons, separate from unplanned stops like a pump trip or a fouled exchanger. The downtime Pareto then shows real unplanned loss sitting on top of that planned baseline, so a long CIP shows up distinctly from a centrifuge that keeps halting mid-run.
Does it work for both continuous and batch operations?
Yes. Log a continuous run or a single batch the same way, run time, stops, rate and rejects, and set each reactor, pump or line up as its own asset. The per-machine OEE breakdown then shows which single unit is dragging the train, whether you run around the clock or in campaigns.
Can I track reactor, pump and rotating-equipment preventive maintenance?
Yes. Build an asset register for pumps, agitators, compressors, centrifuges, relief valves and heat exchangers, set preventive-maintenance intervals, and raise work orders on the board. It is manual, you decide when a PM is due and who owns it, which is normal for a free-tier tool and a fine place to start.
When do I need more than the free tool?
The free tracker is manual entry on one device for one plant, with no DCS or PLC feed and no automatic loop from a detected loss to an assigned work order. That is fine for a single unit getting its first numbers. Once you are running multiple units and utilities, chasing big stops across shifts, or you need a defensible automatic record, that is where Fabrico takes over with PLC-read OEE, computer-vision true-cause, and closed-loop work orders. See how to choose OEE/CMMS software if you are scoping a platform.
How is this different from a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is the true zero-cost default most plants start on, and keeping one current means maintaining formulas and ranking losses by hand. The free tracker sits a step past that: instant OEE and a downtime Pareto with no formulas to maintain, plus a light work order board and PM schedule. The free CMMS vs spreadsheets breakdown covers the trade-offs in full.
When free is not enough, Fabrico is the upgrade
The free tracker gets a chemical unit honest numbers this week: real OEE, a downtime Pareto for CIP and changeovers, and a work order board, with no account and nothing to install. It stays best for one unit logging by hand, while a multi-unit site chasing reactor trips, pump failures and rate loss across shifts is where Fabrico earns its place. Fabrico reads OEE straight off your DCS and PLCs, uses computer vision to pin the true cause of each short stop with video evidence, and closes the loop by turning a detected loss into an auto-routed work order. It is EU-built with EU data residency and certified to ISO 27001, 20000-1 and 9001, so the record supports audit-readiness when a process safety or environmental audit comes around. Book a Fabrico demo to see automatic, plant-wide OEE running on your own units.
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Free OEE tracker and light CMMS · Free manufacturing software · Free CMMS · Free downtime tracking software · Free CMMS for pharmaceuticals · The cost of downtime