What stays the same across industries
Common ground
- Establish first what signals a machine can actually put out.
- Where communication is unsupported, find an alternative path through contacts or sensors.
- Standardise differing formats in the collection layer so upstream systems never see them.
- Build one high-impact area, verify it, then widen.
What differs by industry is which history has to be kept. Moulding needs conditions and mould shot counts; railway parts need drawing revisions and assembly history; welding needs per-joint operators and inspection results; electronics needs material lots and verdicts; precision machining needs work orders and measurement history.
The approach, by contrast, is largely identical: survey the equipment, collect and standardise signals, minimise floor entry, then connect the history. Skipping that order produces data that accumulates and never gets used.
If none of the listed sectors fits, or several do, a site survey is where scope gets sorted out.
Quick AnswersIndustry approach — frequently asked
Questions that come up when evaluating by sector.
Our industry is not listed. Does that rule us out?
No. The list covers sectors with published cases. The approach is set by equipment mix and the history you need to keep rather than by industry label, so scope comes from a site survey.
How much does the approach differ by industry?
What history must be kept differs, and so does floor entry. The sequence — survey, signal standardisation, phased expansion — is the same regardless of sector.
We run several mixed processes. Where do we start?
With whichever manual work consumes the most time or where problems recur. Traceability, production results, quality and inventory are the usual first areas.
Most of our equipment is old. Must it be replaced?
Replacement is not assumed. Communication method and signal condition are surveyed, then an industrial gateway or Resource Lake takes the signals that are available.
How are duration and cost determined?
By the number of machines connected and the breadth of history required. Scope is fixed at the survey stage and estimated in phases.
What fits your plant?
Equipment mix and required history are usually enough to define scope.
Request a site survey