Level 4: Proactive
A Level 4 plant scores between 600 and 799 on the Factory Excellence Index. It sees losses within the hour and solves problems at the level where they occur, and its improvements are checked with data and built into the standard.
A 30-minute floor walk in a Level 4 plant
The handover happens at the line, face to face, in front of the board. It takes about five minutes. Every open issue leaves with a name next to it.
The board runs hour by hour. The team writes actual against plan at each hour mark, with a reason next to every missed hour. Beside it are the line's open actions and a skills matrix showing which positions have two qualified people today. Operators see their shift's losses in the same categories the plant manager reviews.
Meetings run in tiers at fixed times: line first, then department, then plant, each under 15 minutes. An issue the line cannot solve is escalated the same morning. The plant meeting does not replay the night in detail; it deals with what the lower tiers could not.
When a machine on the bottleneck stops, a machine signal records the stop and the operator assigns a reason within the shift. The escalation matrix has time triggers, for example the technician after 10 minutes and the supervisor after 30, and people follow it. Operators handle basic cleaning and inspection, and maintenance and production review equipment losses together every week.
The weak points are subtler. Escalated issues sometimes go up without an answer coming back down. Unexplained stop time creeps up because nobody owns it. Parts of the routine still depend on a handful of strong team leaders.
How the six pillars typically look at Level 4
The table follows the fourth anchored answer on each question of the model. Compare it with the pillar indices in your assessment report.
| Pillar | Typical practice at this level |
|---|---|
| Performance visibility | Machine signals capture every stop; operators assign a reason within the shift. The line knows within the hour when it is behind. One definition, split into availability, performance and quality losses and reconciled with good-part counts. Data quality checked on a routine. Operators see live status in management's terms. |
| Daily management and shift routines | Tiered meetings at fixed times, each under 15 minutes, with same-day escalation. Face-to-face handover at the line with every open issue assigned. Hour-by-hour boards filled in by the team. An escalation matrix with time triggers, used in practice. Leader standard work with layered process audits. |
| Loss and downtime problem-solving | A weekly Pareto per line, losses converted into hours and money, top losses owned by named people. A3, 8D or 5 Whys with clear triggers, reviewed by a manager. Actions closed only when loss data confirms the effect. Joint equipment-loss reviews and operator basic care. |
| Improvement engine | A project portfolio ranked by loss value, reviewed monthly and resourced. The action list reviewed weekly, closure rate measured. Version-controlled standards; improvements become the new standard. Finance validates gains after closure. The key measure is monitored, with a trigger to reopen. |
| People and frontline ownership | The skills matrix drives planning, with two qualified people per position. Operators join daily problem-solving and make small improvements themselves. A development path with coaching for team leaders. Visible recognition tied to improvements. Floor walks and skip-level conversations with tracked actions. |
| Data and connectivity foundations | Most critical machines connected through a standard interface (OPC UA, MQTT or simple I/O). Reference data with an owner and a change process. Integration with the ERP or MES for orders and counts. Role-based access and documented definitions. An OT security policy following IEC 62443 principles. |
Each pillar's page sets out the step from its Level 4 anchor to Level 5, for example daily management and people.
What keeps plants at Level 4
- Escalation that only goes up. A tiered cascade looks complete on paper. If the team that raised an issue never hears the answer, it stops raising issues.
- Automatic data nobody curates. Automatic capture brings its own loss: stops without a reason. If nobody owns unexplained stop time, it grows quietly until 'unknown' is the biggest bar on the Pareto.
- Audits used as control. Layered audits and adherence checks used to catch people out produce compliance on audit day. Used for coaching, they produce better team leaders.
- A system resting on a few people. When routines depend on a handful of strong team leaders, one resignation can move a line back a level. Without named successors the plant cannot hold what it has built.
- Gains finance does not see. If the savings reported by projects never show up in the budget, leadership stops believing them.
Five moves that take a plant to Level 5
These take the fourth 'next move' on the relevant questions of the model. They take months rather than weeks.
- Close the escalation loopTrack every escalated issue until an answer goes back to the team that raised it, and review the response time weekly. Where the stop data allows, trigger escalations automatically from a threshold (two missed hours in a row, or a stop longer than your escalation limit) with a written response time.
- Give data quality an ownerAdd speed-loss and short-stop capture, and publish the share of unexplained stop time per shift with a named owner for bringing it down. Then use the data openly in one investment or staffing decision, so everyone sees that the figures carry weight.
- Start leader standard work at the topHave the plant manager follow and publish their own standard work, and use adherence reviews for coaching rather than control. Observe a sample of handovers every week and log each gap found as a problem to solve.
- Hand ownership to the teamsGive each team ownership of its line measures and its weekly improvement review. Set multi-skilling targets per person, certify experienced operators as trainers, and train a successor for every team-leader position.
- Make gains last and travelReconcile improvement gains with the budget each quarter and check each major gain again at 3 and 12 months. Add sustainment to layered audits and run a root-cause analysis on every regression. When a fix is verified, update the standard and list the similar machines or lines where it applies.
Take the assessment again at the end of each 90-day cycle to see which answers have moved.
What Level 4 means for recognition
Level 4 plants can request verification and be considered for Factory Excellence Recognition at Level 4. Evidence should show routines working over time: dated photos of hour-by-hour boards, an escalation log with raised and answered times, the action list with its closure rate, a skills matrix showing cover per position.
Verified status is dated and valid for 12 months. Twice a year, each league jury reviews verified plants; the first cycle runs in the France and Western Europe and Americas leagues, with a cut-off of 31 March 2027. The recognition page has the detail.
To be shown at Level 4, every pillar must be at Level 3 or above. A plant with strong routines and a Data pillar at Level 2 is shown at Level 3 whatever its score. The profile pattern 'Strong routines, blind data' describes that situation.
Questions
Our score is above 600 but we are shown at Level 3. Why?
One of your pillars is at Level 2, and the overall level cannot be more than one level above the weakest pillar. Your report shows each pillar index; lifting the lowest one to 400 or more is what moves the overall level.
Does Level 4 require a particular monitoring system?
No. Several Level 4 answers assume stops are detected from machine signals, but a single run/stop signal on each critical machine meets that description. The Index scores the practice, not the product, and no question asks which vendor you use. For monitoring set-ups, see factorymetrics.org.
Can a Level 4 plant be considered for Most Improved?
Most Improved needs two verified assessments at least six months apart, so a plant verified at Level 3 that later verifies at Level 4 can be considered. How progress between the two is judged will be published on the rules page.