Skip to content
EDWartens UK

Free course · Data and analytics

Power BI for Manufacturing: OEE and Production Dashboards

The no-code way out of the weekly Excel production report. Twelve modules take an engineer from opening Power BI Desktop for the first time to a shift-wise OEE dashboard: Power Query on downtime and production exports, a star schema a plant model can live in, the DAX behind availability, performance and quality, a downtime Pareto that ranks by lost minutes, reject rate by machine and shift, plan against actual, and the refresh, publishing and handover that keep it running after you.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Beginner
Modules
13
Video
12 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Load plant data from Excel, CSV and SQL with Power Query and write cleaning steps that rerun on next month's file; split a flat production sheet into a fact table and its dimensions and set the relationships correctly; write measures with SUM, DISTINCTCOUNT, DIVIDE and CALCULATE; calculate availability, performance, quality and OEE in DAX and defend the definitions you used; build a downtime Pareto, a reject-rate view and a machine-utilisation page; lay the report out so a plant head can read it on a phone; and set up refresh, publishing and a handover note so the dashboard survives your transfer.

  • Clean a downtime or production export in Power Query with steps that rerun on next month's file
  • Split a flat shift sheet into a star schema and set cardinality and filter direction correctly
  • Write production measures in DAX with SUM, DISTINCTCOUNT, DIVIDE and CALCULATE
  • Calculate availability, performance, quality and OEE, and say which loss each one hides
  • Build a downtime Pareto ranked by lost minutes and a reject rate sliced by machine, shift and part
  • Publish, schedule a refresh and write the handover note so the dashboard outlives you

Software

Power BI Desktop, a free download from Microsoft, Windows only. Excel for the sample files. Every module can be completed on Desktop alone, without a Power BI service licence.

Hardware

A Windows PC or laptop. Nothing on the plant side.

Syllabus

13 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1What Power BI does on an engineer's desk2 lessons
  2. 2Your first report, start to finish1 lesson
  3. 3The same workflow, taught a second way1 lesson
  4. 4Power Query and the star schema3 lessonsLab
  5. 5DAX: writing the measures1 lesson
  6. 6Choosing visuals a plant head can read2 lessons
  7. 7Report layout, tooltips and interaction2 lessons
  8. 8OEE: availability, performance and quality3 lessons
  9. 9Downtime Pareto and reject analysis2 lessonsLab
  10. 10A full build watched end to end2 lessons
  11. 11Plan against actual: targets and variance1 lessonLab
  12. 12Refresh, publish and hand over1 lesson
  13. 13Final assessment0 lessons

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Practise the data half of the course in the lab: clean a messy downtime export with steps that run again next week, then rank losses and compare lines to target. You build no dashboards or DAX there.

Works alongside Power BI for Manufacturing: OEE and Production Dashboards. The Lab is ai for industry practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
AI for industry: Build AI models.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for Power BI for Manufacturing: OEE and Production Dashboards

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • Chandoo

    the getting-started and vocabulary lessons, Power Query, the star schema and data modelling, the DAX and Power Pivot examples, chart choice and the visuals masterclass, tooltip pages, and the three full dashboard builds

  • Learn Skills Daily

    the Power BI Full Course ladder, used as a second pass over the workflow and as the walkthrough beside the OEE, Pareto and reject-rate modules

  • CQE Academy

    a lesson in "OEE: availability, performance and quality"

  • PK: An Excel Expert

    a lesson in "OEE: availability, performance and quality"

  • Havens Consulting

    a lesson in "Downtime Pareto and reject analysis"

Questions

About this course

Is the course really free?
Yes. All twelve modules, the practice tasks, the notes and the assessments are free. You create an account so your progress is saved and the final assessment can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want one.
What certificate do I get?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you have finished every module and passed the final at 60 percent, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a Microsoft credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons?
Chandoo and Learn Skills Daily, on their own YouTube channels, credited at the foot of the course page. EDWartens did not make the videos and neither creator is affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the OEE material, the practice tasks and the assessments.
Do I need to buy Power BI?
No. Power BI Desktop is a free download from Microsoft and every module can be completed on it. Note that Desktop runs on Windows only, so a Mac needs Windows in a virtual machine. Publishing and sharing through the Power BI service needs a licence, which your employer usually already holds inside its Microsoft 365 tenant.
Is this the same as the Microsoft PL-300 certification?
No. PL-300 is Microsoft's paid exam and this course is neither that exam nor a substitute for it. It is preparation and practice: it covers Power Query, modelling, DAX and report design on manufacturing data, which is the same ground, but the certificate you receive is an EDWartens Certificate of Completion.
Do I need to know Python or SQL first?
No. This is the no-code route. If you can build a pivot table in Excel you have enough. The SQL and Python courses in the track sit beside this one, not before it.
What if my plant has no OEE data yet?
That is the normal starting point. The practice tasks are written for one machine and one shift on paper, so you can work through the whole course with a downtime register and a production log. The course also covers what to do when the reason codes are free text, which is the usual problem.
Who is it for?
Automation, maintenance, quality and production engineers who currently report in Excel, and anyone who has been asked to put the daily production numbers on a screen. The engineer who builds the OEE dashboard tends to become the one who presents it in the morning meeting.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module