For us, data visualisation does not start with the chart but with the question of who needs which number, and when. We bring data from PLCs, MES, ERP and Excel together and build dashboards for the control room, maintenance and management – with live values, thresholds and last week for comparison.
Data visualisation rarely fails at the chart – it usually fails because the data sits in five places. The PLC knows the cycle time and the current fault, the MES knows the order, the ERP knows the delivery date, and the shift handover lives in an Excel sheet. So we bring these sources together in one data foundation first: controllers via OPC UA or the S7 protocol, MES and ERP via their interfaces, spreadsheets and PDF reports via import. Only once every value carries a timestamp and a machine number is the chart worth drawing.
The dashboards we build on that basis are made for the shop floor, not the meeting room. A shift leader sees in passing whether the line is running, where it has stopped and how far the order has progressed – three numbers, not twenty filters. Maintenance sees states and thresholds live; management sees availability and scrap week on week. Where it fits, we build on ralwo PlantPulse; otherwise we develop the dashboard to your requirements.
Four things that exist in your operation after the project – not just a screen on the wall.
The same approach as every ralwo project – seen here from the perspective of the data that should become visible.
In about 30 minutes we clarify who in your operation is looking for which number today and where it sits – in the PLC, in the MES, in a spreadsheet. You learn which sources can be connected and what a first step would cost. Free of charge and without obligation.
In one to two weeks we review signals and interfaces, define the data model and sketch the views for each role on paper – no code yet. You receive a list of the sources to be connected, the sketches and a quotation at a fixed price or on a time-and-materials basis.
We connect the first line, build the views in two-week cycles and mount the screen where the shift walks past. Whatever nobody reads, we remove. Afterwards the dashboard keeps running at the line – operated by us or by your IT team.
From the ralwo blog – background, worked examples and checklists, each with its sources.
The OEE formula is quickly explained. Whether the number holds up is decided by the time model and by where runtime, output and scrap come from - with a shift worked through minute by minute and an Excel layout.
20 min read
A complete ISA-95 topic schema, naming rules with the reasoning behind them, an honest assessment of Sparkplug B and a grid for choosing a broker - vendor-neutral, including a section on when you do not need a UNS at all.
21 min read
Brownfield is the normal case. Four escalation levels show how to reach the data inside an existing machine - and why capturing it is the smaller part of the work.
21 min read
Once the data foundation is in place, the next tasks are close at hand: automating the workflows that run on these numbers today, detecting anomalies with AI, or developing the application that fits your operation exactly.
Free · No obligation · approx. 30 minutes
In a free initial consultation we clarify your goals, your data situation and the feasibility – with no obligation.