Free CMMS and OEE Tracker for Pharmaceuticals Plants
Track the losses specific to pharma lines, cleaning validation, line clearance and micro-stops, free in the browser, then let Fabrico automate the capture.
The short answer
- Start free: log a shift in about 2 minutes and get instant OEE, downtime Pareto, and a work orders board with no account needed.
- Pharma lines carry heavy validated planned time (cleaning, changeover, line clearance) that hides how much runtime is actually lost to reject ejections and micro-stops on blister packs, cartoners and fillers.
- The free OEE tracker separates that planned time from real loss, giving quality and ops a shared first view before any validated system rollout.
- When a plant needs automatic PLC capture, computer-vision true-cause on micro-stops, and an audit trail that supports GMP/Part 11 readiness, Fabrico is the upgrade path (book a demo).
Pharma packaging and process lines are unusual in how much of the clock is legitimately spoken for. Cleaning validation, line clearance between batches, and environmental holds on aseptic lines are all planned, necessary time, not loss. The problem is that once you subtract all of that, plants often still cannot see where the rest of the runtime went, because the reject ejections and short stops on blister packs, cartoners, fillers and tablet presses happen too fast and too often to log by hand during GMP operation.
The free OEE tracker gives a packaging or process line a fast, no-signup way to start separating validated planned downtime from genuine micro-stop and reject loss. Log a shift, get availability, performance and quality broken out, and see a downtime Pareto that tells you whether the biggest loss is changeover, feed jams, seal faults, or checkweigh rejects. Pair it with the downtime cost calculator to put a number on what a recurring stop pattern is actually costing before you ask for budget to fix it.
This free layer is a starting point, not a validated system. It focuses on fast manual logging rather than reading your line PLCs automatically, and it will not tell you the true cause of a micro-stop the way Fabrico's computer vision does with video evidence. But it is the fastest honest way to get quality and operations looking at the same numbers this week.
What you get, free
2-minute shift logging
Log each shift's run time, output and rejects by hand in about 2 minutes, no account required and data stays in your browser.
Instant OEE breakout
See availability, performance and quality split out immediately, so you can tell whether a slow week on the blister line is a changeover problem or a reject problem.
Downtime Pareto
Rank your stop reasons, feed jams, seal faults, checkweigh rejects, cleaning holds, so the next changeover meeting has real data instead of memory.
Work orders board and PM schedule
Raise a work order when you spot a recurring fault on a filler or cartoner, and keep a preventive maintenance schedule for tablet presses and coaters.
Asset register and 85% benchmark
Register your lines and machines, then compare shift performance to a world-class 85% OEE benchmark with a shareable scorecard for quality and ops.
CSV/JSON export, installable PWA
Export your logs whenever you need them elsewhere, and install the tracker as an app on a shop-floor tablet or PC, no IT ticket needed.
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 2 minutes on the blister line or filler, data stays in your browser. | Reads OEE automatically off your line PLCs, no manual entry during GMP operation. |
| Micro-stop cause | You investigate reject ejections and short stops yourself and note the reason. | Computer vision identifies the true cause of each micro-stop, with video evidence for deviation review. |
| Loss-to-fix loop | You spot a recurring feed or seal fault, then raise the work order yourself on the board. | A detected loss becomes an auto-routed work order, assigned automatically. |
| Scope and multi-site | One line on one device and browser, best for a single packaging or process line. | Plant-wide and multi-site from one central cloud view. |
| Integrations | Standalone, run it on its own, export data when quality or ops needs it elsewhere. | Integrates with PLCs, MES, and ERP so OEE flows with your existing stack. |
| Access and roles | Local device sign-in with people and roles on that one device. | Org SSO with roles across the plant and a full audit trail. |
| Data residency and audit posture | Data stays local in your browser, on the device you use on the line. | EU-built with EU data residency, plus an audit trail that supports audit-readiness (ISO 27001, 20000-1, 9001) for GMP inspections. |
| Reporting | Instant OEE, availability, performance, quality, a downtime Pareto, and CSV/JSON export you run yourself. | Live plant-wide dashboards plus scheduled reports delivered automatically. |
| Support and onboarding | Self-serve, start free with no account and no setup call. | Guided onboarding and ongoing support from the Fabrico team. |
Frequently asked questions
How do I separate validated cleaning and line-clearance time from real downtime on a pharma packaging line?
Log planned validated activities (cleaning, line clearance, changeover) as their own downtime reason in the free OEE tracker, separate from unplanned stops like feed jams or seal faults. The downtime Pareto then shows the real unplanned loss on top of the planned baseline, so a long changeover shows up distinctly from a filler that keeps jamming mid-run.
What does an OEE tool need to support GMP and Part 11 audit-readiness in pharma?
EU GMP (EudraLex Vol. 4), Annex 1 for sterile products, and 21 CFR Part 11 expectations call for reliable, traceable equipment and downtime records. The free tracker keeps a local log you export yourself. Fabrico adds automatic PLC-read OEE with an audit trail that supports audit-readiness, though no tool makes a plant compliant on its own, that depends on the full quality system.
Can the free tracker handle a blister pack line, cartoner, or vial filler?
Yes. Set up each machine as an asset, log shifts against it, and use the downtime Pareto to see whether the dominant loss is feed faults, seal faults, or reject ejections. It works the same way for tablet presses and coaters tracking weight, hardness or coating out-of-spec stops.
Do I need a validated computer system to start measuring OEE in pharma?
No. A browser-based tracker used for informal internal visibility is a reasonable first step before committing to a validated, GxP-managed platform. Use it to build the business case and baseline numbers, then evaluate a platform like Fabrico once you know where the real losses are.
How is this different from Evocon or a spreadsheet?
Evocon is OEE-specific software usually entered through a free trial, strongest for a first structured OEE measurement with visual dashboards. Spreadsheets are the true zero-cost default most plants start on. The free OEE Lab tracker sits between the two: instant OEE and Pareto with no signup, plus a light work orders board and PM schedule that go beyond a plain spreadsheet.
What is the honest limit of the free CMMS side for pharma maintenance?
It is a device-local work orders board and PM schedule that runs standalone, without PLC/MES/ERP integration or an automatic closed loop from a detected loss to an assigned work order. That is fine for one line getting started. A plant running multiple packaging lines with serialization and vision inspection typically graduates to Fabrico's automatic capture and closed-loop routing.
When free is not enough, Fabrico is the upgrade
The free tracker gets a pharma line honest numbers this week: real OEE, a downtime Pareto, and a work orders board, no account, no validated system rollout. It stays best for a single line getting started, while a serialization line running rejects on a checkweigh station every shift, or a plant that needs a defensible automatic record for a GMP inspection, is where Fabrico takes over: PLC-read OEE with no manual entry, computer-vision true-cause on every micro-stop with video evidence, a closed loop from detected loss to auto-routed work order, and EU data residency with an audit trail that supports audit-readiness. Book a Fabrico demo and see what plant-wide, automatic OEE looks like on your packaging and process lines.
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