n8n Workflow: OEE & Downtime Analysis with Sheets, AI, WhatsApp

Get OEE, downtime insights, and WhatsApp RCA—automatically—using n8n + Google Sheets + AI

This n8n workflow collects per-shift machine production and downtime (via n8n Form or authenticated webhook), calculates OEE and Six Big Losses from Google Sheets, generates an OpenAI-powered root-cause analysis (RCA), and delivers a WhatsApp report with a Pareto chart—plus maintenance updates.

What this workflow does

• Ingests shift data from an n8n Form and/or an authenticated webhook (e.g., an IoT/PLC gateway), then normalizes and validates the payload.
• Upserts into Google Sheets by writing shift production and downtime entries to the Shift Log tab.
• Runs after each shift (scheduled 15 minutes after shift end) to load the completed shift and pull data from Machine Master and Shift Log.
• Calculates KPIs: Availability, Performance, Quality, and OEE; then breaks downtime into TPM Six Big Losses. Critical machines and anomalies are flagged against a rolling 7-day baseline.
• Handles missing logs: if no shift data is found, it sends a WhatsApp alert to the plant head listing missing machine logs.
• Generates structured RCA with OpenAI: if shift data exists, an OpenAI-powered agent queries Google Sheets tabs like OEE History and Maintenance Tickets to produce an actionable, structured RCA.
• Sends a WhatsApp report including a Pareto chart (via a QuickChart image URL) and appends per-machine KPI rows to OEE History. For each critical machine, it also looks up open tickets in Google Sheets and updates maintenance work orders.

Use cases

• Manufacturing teams wanting automated OEE & downtime analysis per shift.
• Automation engineers integrating PLC/IoT gateway events via an authenticated webhook.
• SaaS operators packaging KPI reporting with WhatsApp visibility and AI-driven RCA.

Technical details

• n8n nodes/workflow logic: if, code, webhook, whats app, sticky note, form trigger.
• Integrations: Google Sheets (Shift Log, Machine Master, OEE History, Maintenance Tickets) and OpenAI for structured RCA.
• Reporting: WhatsApp + QuickChart Pareto image URL.