How do you calculate average andon response time?

Divide total response time by the number of andon calls. With 180 minutes across 24 calls, the average is 180 ÷ 24 = 7.5 minutes per call.

What is a good andon response time?

Lean lines typically target under 2-3 minutes for a team lead to arrive, with seconds for the initial acknowledgment. The example's 7.5-minute average is slow and suggests under-staffed response coverage.

Why does andon response time matter?

Slow responses erode trust in the stop-the-line principle. If help takes 7.5 minutes, operators learn to keep running rather than wait, and defects flow downstream — exactly what andon is meant to prevent.

How many andon calls per hour is normal?

It depends on line maturity, but the example works out to 8 calls per hour on the given basis. A high call rate isn't inherently bad if responses stay fast — it means problems are surfacing rather than hiding.

Should response time include the acknowledgment or the resolution?

This metric measures arrival/response time, not full resolution. Separate the acknowledge-to-arrive time from the time to actually fix the issue so you can staff and improve each independently.

How do I improve andon response time?

Add or reposition responders, clarify escalation tiers, and attack the top recurring call reasons so total call volume drops. Cutting either the response time or the call count moves the average down.

OEE & Factory Performance calculator

Andon Response Time Calculator

Andon response time measures how quickly support actually reaches an operator after they pull the cord or hit the button to flag a problem. It is the heartbeat of a lean line: a fast, reliable response tells operators that stopping for quality is safe and respected, while slow responses train them to keep running over defects. Production supervisors and lean coordinators track the average minutes per call to size their water-spider and team-lead coverage. A creeping average usually means too few responders, unclear escalation, or a line so noisy with calls that help can't keep up.

What this calculator does

Calculate average andon response time for OEE & Factory Performance from total response time and the number of calls.
Use it to track how fast support responds to line stops in OEE & Factory Performance.
It computes the average response time per andon call by dividing total response minutes by the number of calls, and shows the call rate on a per-hour basis.

Formula used

Average andon response time = total response time ÷ number of calls

Inputs explained

Total response time: Sum of response times across all andon calls in the period.
Number of andon calls: Count of andon calls raised in the same period.

How to use the result

Use it during shift reviews or kaizen events to judge whether your andon support model is fast enough to keep operators confident in stopping the line.
An average hides outliers — a few very slow responses can be masked by many fast ones, so review the distribution and worst cases alongside this mean.

Current U.S. benchmarks

U.S. manufacturing runs at 75.6% of capacity (Federal Reserve, May 2026). New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate average andon response time? Divide total response time by the number of andon calls. With 180 minutes across 24 calls, the average is 180 ÷ 24 = 7.5 minutes per call.
What is a good andon response time? Lean lines typically target under 2-3 minutes for a team lead to arrive, with seconds for the initial acknowledgment. The example's 7.5-minute average is slow and suggests under-staffed response coverage.
Why does andon response time matter? Slow responses erode trust in the stop-the-line principle. If help takes 7.5 minutes, operators learn to keep running rather than wait, and defects flow downstream — exactly what andon is meant to prevent.
How many andon calls per hour is normal? It depends on line maturity, but the example works out to 8 calls per hour on the given basis. A high call rate isn't inherently bad if responses stay fast — it means problems are surfacing rather than hiding.
Should response time include the acknowledgment or the resolution? This metric measures arrival/response time, not full resolution. Separate the acknowledge-to-arrive time from the time to actually fix the issue so you can staff and improve each independently.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.