MES, MOM & Shop-Floor Data Systems worked example

Production Data Quality Score with severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions of 3.5 1-10: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions to 3.5 1-10, then walk the calculation through step by step. Score the risk of poor production data quality using an FMEA-style approach: severity of impact on decisions, frequency of bad data occurrence, and difficulty of detection.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions: 3.5 1-10 (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 7)
  • How often this data defect occurs: 5 1-10 (held at the documented default)
  • How hard the defect is to detect before it propagates: 6 1-10 (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Data quality risk score = severity x occurrence x detection.
  • Data quality risk priority number works out to 4.65 score at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Severity rating works out to 3.5 score at these inputs.
  • Occurrence rating works out to 5 score at these inputs.
  • Detection difficulty rating works out to 6 score at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions sits at 7 1-10 and the headline result is 6.05 score, this scenario comes in 23.14% below the baseline at 4.65 score.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. The score is ordinal, not absolute — a 200 is not literally twice as risky as a 100, and ratings depend on consistent team calibration, so compare scores only within the same rating rubric.

Results at a glance

  • Data quality risk priority number: 4.65 score (headline result)
  • Severity rating: 3.5 score
  • Occurrence rating: 5 score
  • Detection difficulty rating: 6 score

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Production Data Quality Score calculator, set severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.