In brief
- Automatic machine monitoring is the continuous collection of machine data straight from the control, without the operator writing it down.
- Data arrives over the LAN, by the control’s protocol or by a standard such as OPC UA, MTConnect or Modbus TCP. Machines without a CNC are connected with the BIOS-IO-01 module.
- The system shows status, downtime and OEE for each machine, and it can alert you when a machine stands too long.
- Start with 2–3 critical machines, check that the data matches the shop floor, then extend monitoring to the rest.
- In Scout MES we connect popular CNC controls within minutes. The cloud trial lasts 14 days and is free.
What is automatic machine monitoring?
Automatic machine monitoring is the continuous, unattended collection of how a machine is working, taken from its control: whether it is running, which program it is executing, at what speed, and whether it has an alarm. The operator does not have to write this down. What the operator adds, such as the job or the reason for a stop, sits on top of the machine data.
Each lathe, mill, press or line reports its own state, around the clock. The data is in the system at the time, so a stop can be dealt with now rather than after the end-of-shift report. What you see on screen is on the real-time machine monitoring page. This guide is about how the system is put in, not about the live view itself.
Manual monitoring and automatic monitoring
With manual monitoring someone walks up to the machine, reads a counter and writes times on paper or in a spreadsheet. The note is already late, short stops are missing, and the figures are estimates. Automatic machine monitoring records each change of state with a timestamp. The data is in the system at once, with no retyping.
Automatic monitoring and Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is production run on data rather than on a hunch. Automatic machine monitoring is the first practical step: without reliable data from the machines you cannot calculate OEE properly, plan the next job or close a job with real times.
What you gain
OEE from measured time, not from a guess
OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) combines availability, performance and quality. Calculated by hand it is late, and it is often too high, because short stops never reach the sheet. With automatic machine monitoring, OEE software runs live for each machine, shift, employee and job, so you can see where the time goes.
For example, the data may show that one machine loses several dozen minutes a day to changeovers, or that the pace drops at the end of a shift. That is an example of what the trace can reveal, not a result we claim for every plant.
A faster response to downtime
A stop costs money: the machine is not producing, the job slips, and people wait. Machine downtime alerts go out by e-mail or SMS when a machine stands longer than the limit you set. Push notifications in the Scout MES Mobile Operator app on Android are configured for each deployment. You do not have to wait until someone reports the stop.
What a stop costs in your plant is your own sum: downtime from the system multiplied by your machine-hour cost. The point is that the duration is measured, not estimated. We do not publish an average cost of downtime.
The same data for every department
One reading from the machine serves the process engineer (real program times), the planner (real capacity), maintenance (actual run time as the basis for service) and management (how the shop is used).
How automatic machine monitoring is built
How the machine exposes data
More and more machines expose data through open standards such as OPC UA and MTConnect. PLCs often do the same through Modbus TCP. Many CNC controls also have their own protocol, for example FOCAS2 on Fanuc, and we read Siemens controllers over S7 TCP. Which path is open depends on the builder and on the options fitted to the machine. For a machine without a supported control we use the BIOS-IO-01 module, digital inputs only. See legacy machine monitoring.
The LAN
The LAN is how the system reaches the machines and how operators open the panels on the floor. On many current machines, for example with a Fanuc control, you connect the machine to the LAN and set the network parameters on the control. We do the rest remotely, with no electrical modification.
Software that collects the data
In Scout MES the data is received by SCT (Scout Configuration Tool): a set of console applications that run in the background as Windows services on a PC or server in your LAN. We install and configure SCT remotely. Data reaches Scout over HTTPS, and the machines do not need internet access. The step-by-step path is machine data collection. SCT, the BIOS-IO-01 module and ERP integration prepared for your own system are grouped under machine data integration.
What people actually read
The data is useful once it is easy to read: every machine live, the history of each machine on a timeline, OEE, and reports for the period you choose. Where a person has to add a fact, you use the operator panel or a physical andon box at the machine.
How to roll out automatic machine monitoring
1. Pick the first machines
You do not have to connect the whole shop on day one. Start with the machines whose failure stops production, or with the ones that should be running the most. Two or three machines are enough to check the system and to show the team. Connecting several dozen machines on the first day is a good way to create noise and resistance.
2. Choose the system
Check three things: whether the system reads your controls, whether people can use it, and who will set it up. Scout MES runs in the cloud (a subscription per machine per month) or on your own server (a licence; ask us for a quote). Prices are on the pricing page. We do not repeat the figures here.
3. Connect the machines and run a pilot
You connect the machines to the LAN and prepare a Windows PC. We do the rest remotely: we install and configure SCT, and we connect popular CNC controls within minutes. Older machines with no usable communication port can still be monitored, through BIOS-IO-01.
Run the pilot long enough to cover typical jobs and shifts. In practice that is 2–4 weeks. Ask process engineers, maintenance, planners, supervisors and operators what they see. Check that the system matches the floor. Only then add the next machines.
4. Bring the team in
Operators need to know what the monitoring does and why it is there. Show it as support, not as a surveillance tool: an alert about a stop is a chance to get help sooner. A stopped machine is a loss for the company and for the people waiting on the job.
On this topic
- CNC machine monitoring — one system reading different CNC controls over the LAN, with no sensors.
- CNC machine monitoring guides — the hub for this subject.
Questions
It is the continuous collection of machine data straight from the control, for example status, the program and alarms, without the operator writing notes.
Usually status and mode, the program, feed, spindle speed and override, and alarms. Some controls also provide a part counter and spindle load. The set depends on the control.
No. The machines stay on the LAN. SCT on a Windows PC in your network sends the data to Scout over HTTPS.
Current cloud prices and the on-premises quote are on the pricing page. The 14-day cloud trial is free.
You connect the machines to the LAN and prepare a Windows PC. We install and configure SCT remotely, and we connect popular CNC controls within minutes.
Yes. We connect them with the BIOS-IO-01 module: digital inputs, data over the LAN, for example a run signal from the signal tower.
Not sure where to start? We will help.
Contact us to start a free 14-day trial of Scout MES.