Schedule adherence
How much of what you planned to make you actually made, in the order you planned it.
01 What it is
Why anyone looks at this number
How much of what you planned to make you actually made, in the order you planned it.
Every deviation ripples: a missed batch becomes a stockout, an expedited changeover, or overtime. It is the link between planning quality and service.
02 The formula
How it is worked out
Schedule adherence = units_produced_as_scheduled ÷ units_scheduled grain : day × line unit : percentage source : Planning system compared with production confirmations
Compare against the frozen schedule, not the version updated during the shift. A schedule that follows reality always shows perfect adherence.
03 Worked example
The same number, with real inputs
| Scheduled | 84 batches |
| Produced as scheduled | 71 batches |
| Calculation | 71 ÷ 84 |
| Result | 84.5% |
One batch in six moved. Look at the reasons before adding capacity — if most are rush orders, the fix is in order management, not the factory.
04 What moves it
Four things that actually change this number
Breakdowns
The obvious cause, and usually not the biggest.
Material shortages
Upstream supply failures landing on the line.
Rush orders
Sales commitments that jump the queue.
Plan realism
A schedule the line was never able to run.
05 Where the number lives
The system, the record and the fields
| System of record | Key record | Fields you need |
|---|---|---|
| Planning system compared with production confirmations | Planned order compared with Work order confirmation | planned_qty, produced_qty, planned_date, actual_date, sequence |
Compare against the frozen schedule, not the version updated during the shift. A schedule that follows reality always shows perfect adherence.
06 How it goes wrong
Three ways this metric misleads people
Rescheduling to match reality
Adherence looks perfect and the metric measures nothing.
Fix: Freeze the schedule at the start of the period and score against it.Counting quantity but not sequence
Making the right total in the wrong order still causes stockouts.
Fix: Score sequence adherence as well as volume.Blaming the line by default
Most misses originate upstream in materials or in order promising.
Fix: Capture the reason at the point of deviation.08 Questions
Frequently asked
How is this different from OEE?
OEE asks whether the line ran well. Schedule adherence asks whether it ran the right things. A line can score highly on one and badly on the other.
What is a realistic target?
High nineties in a stable process; mid eighties is common where rush orders are frequent. The reason mix matters more than the number.
One definition, everywhere it is used
SCIKIQ stores this metric once and serves it to every dashboard, board pack and agent that asks.