Machine monitoring and production tracking software

Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some solid software for tracking batch production machines. I’m specifically looking for something that can handle machine productivity metrics—you know, things like calculating OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). My main goal is to really dig into why we're seeing downtime so we can actually use those insights to boost our efficiency. We're looking at a setup with anything from a handful of machines up to several dozen, and I’d love to have them all connected to a single database. That way, it would be super easy to run comparisons, analyze the data side-by-side, and ultimately work on improving our ROI. Does anyone know what kind of software major American manufacturing firms typically lean on, and what kind of results they usually see from implementing them?

Thanks so much!

Andrew Howard75 said:Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some solid software for tracking batch production machines. I’m specifically looking for something that can handle machine productivity metrics—you know, things like calculating OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). My main goal is to really dig into why we're seeing downtime so we can actually use those insights to boost our efficiency. We're looking at a setup with anything from a handful of machines up to several dozen, and I’d love to have them all connected to a single database. That way, it would be super easy to run comparisons, analyze the data side-by-side, and ultimately work on improving our ROI. Does anyone know what kind of software major American manufacturing firms typically lean on, and what kind of results they usually see from implementing them?

Thanks so much!

Look, first things first: give your operators some paper logs or checklists where they can track why a machine stopped and how long it stayed down. Once they get used to that and you have some baseline data, you'll actually be able to make smart decisions about the main causes of downtime. Plus, it helps the operators build the habit of logging interruptions. No piece of software in the world is going to give you accurate data if the people running the machines aren't inputting it correctly.

Just ask your equipment manufacturers for their recommendations.

Andrew Howard75 said:Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some solid software for tracking batch production machines. I’m specifically looking for something that can handle machine productivity metrics—you know, things like calculating OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). My main goal is to really dig into why we're seeing downtime so we can actually use those insights to boost our efficiency. We're looking at a setup with anything from a handful of machines up to several dozen, and I’d love to have them all connected to a single database. That way, it would be super easy to run comparisons, analyze the data side-by-side, and ultimately work on improving our ROI. Does anyone know what kind of software major American manufacturing firms typically lean on, and what kind of results they usually see from implementing them?

Thanks so much!

If you've got ABB PLCs running the line, then check out http://new.abb.com/cpm/industry-soft...-effectiveness

Otherwise, you'll need your programmer to write custom code for the 2 or 3 PLCs on your belt to push data straight into your ERP, or just look at https://www.inductiveautomation.com/pricing/mes
Just don't go thinking those prices listed are the reality; the actual costs are probably ten to a hundred times higher. Honestly, the "cheapest" route is to find a group of PLC programming experts, hire them full-time at maybe $15,000$10000 a month (probably more), and just develop the code yourself to use or sell later. I'd guess it would cost you somewhere in the realm of $15–$20 million to build something like that from scratch, though maybe not quite that much.

I don't think $15-20 million is what it should cost; it definitely ought to be less than that. However, you have to factor in the potential ROI if a program like this doesn't already exist on the market.
Think about how many manufacturing plants out there are running machinery and desperately need to know their actual utilization rates...

Then again, I suspect there might already be solutions out there, though they’re likely priced at those steep industrial rates.

mellownomad said:I don't think $15-20 million is what it should cost; it definitely ought to be less than that. However, you have to factor in the potential ROI if a program like this doesn't already exist on the market.
Think about how many manufacturing plants out there are running machinery and desperately need to know their actual utilization rates...

Then again, I suspect there might already be solutions out there, though they’re likely priced at those steep industrial rates.

$15-20 million wouldn't even cover the full software suite. However, if you develop a semi-finished product and launch it with a few solid pieces of code, once this crisis blows over, you could flip it to a massive corporation for a fortune or dump it onto some unsuspecting investors on the NASDAQ.
You’d actually need a legal team of at least 30 or 40 lawyers just to handle negotiations with machine manufacturers to ensure your software can actually bridge the communication gap between the hardware and the dashboard. And honestly, looking at those "special offer" price lists? We're talking peanuts—maybe $20,000 to $50,000 a year.

I stumbled upon this: www.gamed.com along with the OEE Analyser and Machin Eye.
Does anyone happen to know which specific software companies around here are actually running on?

Andrew Howard75 said:I stumbled upon this: www.gamed.com along with the OEE Analyser and Machin Eye.
Does anyone happen to know which specific software companies around here are actually running on?

Do your machines have any kind of built-in control systems?
What type of controllers are we talking about?
And more importantly, what kind of data can actually be exported?

Your question is a bit too broad right now—it’s like trying to pick a tool before knowing what you're building. We really need to identify the specific pain points first to find the right fix.
Shoot me a PM; I'll take a look and try to suggest a roadmap to help you tackle the issue.
At the end of the day, software doesn't solve problems by itself—it's all about how you implement it.

Harold Jones said:Do your machines have any kind of built-in control systems?
What type of controllers are we talking about?
And more importantly, what kind of data can actually be exported?

Your question is a bit too broad right now—it’s like trying to pick a tool before knowing what you're building. We really need to identify the specific pain points first to find the right fix.
Shoot me a PM; I'll take a look and try to suggest a roadmap to help you tackle the issue.
At the end of the day, software doesn't solve problems by itself—it's all about how you implement it.

In my experience, the actual control system on the machine itself shouldn't really interfere with how the software operates. Usually, when a worker kicks off a production run for a specific part, they just log it directly into the software. From there, everything coming off the machine into the software could simply be triggered by a sensor—you know, like a little signal sent once a unit is finished. If the software doesn't receive that signal for a while, it realizes there's a downtime issue. That’s pretty much how the OEE Analyser over at gamed.com handles things.

Andrew Howard75 said:In my experience, the actual control system on the machine itself shouldn't really interfere with how the software operates. Usually, when a worker kicks off a production run for a specific part, they just log it directly into the software. From there, everything coming off the machine into the software could simply be triggered by a sensor—you know, like a little signal sent once a unit is finished. If the software doesn't receive that signal for a while, it realizes there's a downtime issue. That’s pretty much how the OEE Analyser over at gamed.com handles things.

You really need to get your company's ERP provider to handle this, obviously for a fee. Honestly, when you ask me this, I picture beer bottles rolling down an assembly line. Or, you know, why don't you just reach out to your plant's engineers?

Andrew Howard75 said:Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some solid software for tracking batch production machines. I’m specifically looking for something that can handle machine productivity metrics—you know, things like calculating OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). My main goal is to really dig into why we're seeing downtime so we can actually use those insights to boost our efficiency. We're looking at a setup with anything from a handful of machines up to several dozen, and I’d love to have them all connected to a single database. That way, it would be super easy to run comparisons, analyze the data side-by-side, and ultimately work on improving our ROI. Does anyone know what kind of software major American manufacturing firms typically lean on, and what kind of results they usually see from implementing them?

Thanks so much!

We build those kinds of systems. Depending on the scale and whether you need to upgrade your L1 setup (communication cards, specific PLC types, etc.), a custom system can run between $160k and $220k. This includes integration with your L1 and ERP, industry-specific optimizations, energy consumption monitoring, individual component tracking, CMMS, trend analysis, and more.

Gary Kern28 said:We build those kinds of systems. Depending on the scale and whether you need to upgrade your L1 setup (communication cards, specific PLC types, etc.), a custom system can run between $160k and $220k. This includes integration with your L1 and ERP, industry-specific optimizations, energy consumption monitoring, individual component tracking, CMMS, trend analysis, and more.

So, where exactly have you guys actually deployed this stuff?