Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) dashboards are critical for tracking machine performance, downtime, and production efficiency. The best OEE dashboard tools connect directly to existing databases, visualize live shop floor data, and scale from small workshops to enterprise factories.

1. Grafana

Overview: Grafana is an open-source visualization platform widely used in industrial IoT. It integrates with InfluxDB, SQL, and hundreds of connectors to build real-time OEE dashboards.

Pros:

• Highly flexible with customizable dashboards
• Supports live streaming data from MES, SCADA, and historians
• Large open-source community and industrial adoption

Cons:

• Requires technical setup and data modeling
• No native OEE module (custom dashboards needed)

2. Evocon OEE Dashboard

Overview: Evocon offers a plug-and-play OEE solution with prebuilt dashboards tailored for manufacturers. Focused on usability, not heavy customization.

Pros:

• Ready-made OEE visualizations
• Cloud-based and quick deployment
• User-friendly for operators and managers

Cons:

• Less flexible than open platforms like Grafana
• Pricing may not suit very small shops

3. Factry Historian + Grafana

Overview: Factry Historian provides industrial data storage optimized for real-time logging. Combined with Grafana dashboards, it creates powerful OEE monitoring setups.

Pros:

• Combines historian + visualization in one stack
• Handles high-frequency machine signals
• Industrial-grade reliability

Cons:

• Requires Grafana knowledge for dashboard design
• More technical than turnkey SaaS tools

4. SCW.AI OEE Dashboard

Overview: SCW.AI delivers cloud-based manufacturing dashboards with built-in OEE modules, machine tracking, and downtime analytics.

Pros:

• Focused on OEE and factory KPIs
• Cloud-native and scalable
• No-code dashboard interface

Cons:

• Less flexible than open-source options
• Works best in cloud environments, not air-gapped sites

5. Node-RED + FlowFuse OEE Blueprint

Overview: Node-RED is a low-code automation tool that, with FlowFuse blueprints, enables building live OEE dashboards linked to machine signals and databases.

Pros:

• Open-source and lightweight
• Customizable flows for data processing
• Great for prototyping

Cons:

• Requires development knowledge
• Not a turnkey OEE solution

6. HiveMQ Unified Namespace (UNS)

Overview: HiveMQ enables a Unified Namespace (UNS) architecture, streaming live machine and MES data into dashboards like Grafana or Power BI.

Pros:

• Real-time, scalable MQTT broker
• Supports enterprise-level architectures
• Ideal for multi-plant data integration

Cons:

• Needs pairing with a visualization tool
• Complex setup for small manufacturers

7. Power BI

Overview: Microsoft Power BI offers interactive dashboards with strong integration to SQL, cloud databases, and APIs. Widely used in manufacturing IT.

Pros:

• Easy integration with Microsoft ecosystem
• Rich visualization and reporting
• Large user base and support

Cons:

• Limited in handling very high-frequency OT data
• Requires licensing for full features

8. Tableau

Overview: Tableau is a powerful BI platform, supporting real-time connections to industrial databases for building OEE dashboards.

Pros:

• Strong visual storytelling and drill-downs
• Works with SQL, cloud, and historian data sources
• Enterprise scalability

Cons:

• Higher cost than some alternatives
• More business-focused, less OT-native

9. ENLYZE with Grafana

Overview: ENLYZE bundles Grafana with managed industrial data connectors, making it easier to deploy OEE dashboards without custom setup.

Pros:

• Simplifies Grafana adoption for OEE
• Pre-configured dashboards available
• Designed for manufacturing use

Cons:

• Vendor lock-in risk vs pure open-source Grafana
• Limited outside ENLYZE ecosystem

10. Grafana OEE Templates (Community Dashboards)

Overview: The Grafana community provides prebuilt OEE dashboards such as “PDMA – OEE Equipamento,” which can be adapted for production monitoring.

Pros:

• Free, community-driven dashboards
• Quick start for OEE visualization
• Strong base for customization

Cons:

• Quality varies by template
• Requires tweaking for real production use

TL;DR - Key Takeaways

• Best for flexibility & open-source: Grafana, Node-RED, HiveMQ UNS
• Best plug-and-play OEE tools: Evocon, SCW.AI, ENLYZE
• Best enterprise BI integration: Power BI, Tableau

Manufacturers should select an OEE dashboard solution based on data complexity, IT/OT environment, and scalability needs.

About MDCplus

Our key features are real-time machine monitoring for swift issue resolution, power consumption tracking to promote sustainability, computerized maintenance management to reduce downtime, and vibration diagnostics for predictive maintenance. MDCplus's solutions are tailored for diverse industries, including aerospace, automotive, precision machining, and heavy industry. By delivering actionable insights and fostering seamless integration, we empower manufacturers to boost Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), reduce operational costs, and achieve sustainable growth along with future planning.