# Planned and unplanned stops (https://docs.pulsarml.com/guides/settings/planned-and-unplanned-stops)

Mark specific causes as planned stops, set how long each planned stop should last, and see when one runs over.



For an accurate productivity analysis, you need to separate **planned** stops from **unplanned** ones. You do it by marking specific causes in your stop labels as planned, and optionally setting how long each one should last.

<Callout title="Video">
  [Watch how to do it](https://app.trupeer.ai/view/RvevP0ItA/managing-stop-labels-and-catalogs)

  , step by step.
</Callout>

## Mark a cause as a planned stop [#mark-a-cause-as-a-planned-stop]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Go to **Settings** > **Stops** and open the **Stop Labels** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Under **Specific Stop Causes**, find the cause you want to treat as a planned stop. The &#x2A;*Search...** box at the top right helps in a long list.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Click the three dots (⋮) in its **Action** column and choose **Set Planned Downtime**.

    <Screenshot id="planned-and-unplanned-stops-set-planned" alt="Settings > Stops, Stop Labels tab, scrolled to the Specific Stop Causes table with its Specific Cause, Status and Action columns. The three-dot menu of a specific cause is open, showing Edit Label, Set Planned Downtime and Delete." width="1440" height="900" />
  </Step>

  <Step>
    In the **Configure Planned Downtime** window, turn on **Set as Planned Downtime**. In &#x2A;*Planned Downtime (minutes)**, enter how many minutes that planned stop should take. If you don't know, leave it at 0. Then click **Set Planned Downtime**.

    <Screenshot id="planned-and-unplanned-stops-configure-dialog" alt="The Configure Planned Downtime window, with the Set as Planned Downtime toggle switched on, the note that future stops logged under the cause will be reclassified as Planned rather than Unplanned, the Planned Downtime (minutes) field, and the Cancel and Set Planned Downtime buttons." width="696" height="298" />
  </Step>
</Steps>

The cause's **Status** column now shows **Planned** instead of **Unplanned**. The change applies to future stops logged under that cause: they are classified as planned rather than unplanned. To change the planned time later, open **Set Planned Downtime** again.

<Screenshot id="planned-and-unplanned-stops-status" alt="The Specific Stop Causes table with its Status column, where most causes show a grey Unplanned badge and two causes, Checklist and 5S, show an orange Planned badge." width="1146" height="260" />

Planned stops **are not counted as losses** in the **net** indicators in Analytics: they are not part of the shift time. If you use this setting, we recommend basing your analysis on those indicators.

## See when a planned stop runs over [#see-when-a-planned-stop-runs-over]

Go to **Analytics** and open the **Planned Downtime** dashboard. The **Programmed stops** page compares, for each cause, the planned time with the time it ran over, in the **Exceeded planned downtime** chart (&#x2A;*Exceeded downtime (minutes)** and &#x2A;*Planned downtime (minutes)**) and the **Average planned downtime** chart. Filter it by **Date Range**, **Machines** and **Specific Causes**.

<Screenshot id="planned-and-unplanned-stops-exceeded" alt="Analytics, Programmed stops page, with the Date Range, Machines and Specific Causes filters and the Exceeded planned downtime bar chart, which shows the planned and exceeded minutes for each general and specific cause, above the start of the Average planned downtime chart." width="1440" height="900" />

<Callout>
  This only shows the excess time of a planned stop. When you classify stops, you still have to [split the stop](/guides/desktop-app/stops#split-a-stop) manually.
</Callout>

If you have trouble setting up planned stops or need help, contact your Customer Success representative or [raise a support ticket](/guides/getting-started/support-ticket) from the app.