Platforms and vendors
- Ignition
- MEX CMMS
- SQL databases
- REST APIs
- Rockwell
- MQTT
Plant Intelligence · 07
Maintenance Based on What Your Machines Actually Did
Metromotion Controls connects PLC and SCADA events to your CMMS, so faults raise work orders on their own, condition data gives early warning before a stop, and runtime and cycle counts from the line can drive preventive maintenance intervals.
How we approach it
Engineered for your site and support model
In most plants the control system knows about a fault long before the maintenance system does, and preventive maintenance runs on calendar dates that ignore how hard each machine actually worked. Integration closes both gaps. Fault events and condition alarms from the PLC and SCADA layer raise work orders in the CMMS, and the run hours and cycle counts the PLC already keeps can drive preventive intervals. We have delivered event-triggered work orders with the MEX CMMS on Ignition at Remedy Drinks, and we design each integration around the CMMS a site already uses.
01
SCADA to CMMS integration, delivered with MEX on Ignition
02
Automatic corrective work orders from fault events
03
Condition monitoring alerts and inspection work orders
04
Runtime and cycle counts designed to drive preventive intervals
05
Asset status and open work orders shown in SCADA
06
Store-and-forward interfaces with an audit log
Delivery context
Relevant experience
- Remedy Drinks: plant events from Ignition trigger automatic work order creation in MEX, removing manual maintenance request entry.
- Remedy Drinks: asset status in SCADA linked to live maintenance records, giving maintenance and production a shared view of outstanding work.
- Remedy Drinks: can filler vibration and condition data trended in Ignition, with threshold alerts aligned to maintenance inspection intervals.
Section 01
Plant events that raise work orders
The PLC already knows when an asset faults and which fault it was. Passing that to the CMMS turns a maintenance request from a phone call or a note into a record created at the moment of the fault, against the right asset, with the fault code attached. At Remedy Drinks, plant events from Ignition create work orders in MEX automatically, which reduced the gap between a fault occurring and a work order being raised and assigned.
- A defined fault, or one that repeats beyond a set count, raises a corrective job against the asset.
- The fault code, time and line state are attached, so the technician starts with the facts.
- Open work orders and asset status are shown in SCADA, so operators can see a job is already raised.
Section 02
Condition alerts before the stop
Some failures announce themselves. Vibration, temperature and motor current change for days or weeks before a bearing or gearbox fails. On the Remedy Drinks can filler, vibration and condition data is collected over MQTT, trended in Ignition and alarmed against thresholds aligned to maintenance inspection intervals, giving the maintenance team early warning of developing faults. The same alerts can raise an inspection work order in the CMMS.
Section 03
Preventive maintenance from runtime and cycle counts
Calendar-based preventive maintenance services a machine that barely ran as often as one that ran every shift. The PLC already counts run hours, cycles, starts and strokes. Those counts can drive preventive maintenance intervals in the CMMS, so a filler valve set is serviced after a set number of cycles and a gearbox after a set number of run hours. We design the counters, the thresholds and the handover to the CMMS with the maintenance planner, and prove them on a few critical assets before extending them.
- Run hours, cycles and starts read from the PLC, per asset.
- Thresholds agreed with maintenance, based on OEM guidance and site history.
- Counts passed to the CMMS meter readings or used to raise the preventive job.
- Counters reset when the job is closed, so the next interval starts from the service.
Section 04
Rules first, code second
The integration is only as good as the rules behind it. A fault that trips forty times in a shift should raise one work order, not forty, and a stop the operator clears in seconds may not warrant one at all. We run a short working session with the maintenance planner and production lead to agree which events create work, at what priority, against which asset, and who closes it. The PLC asset names are mapped to the CMMS asset register so every job lands on the right equipment.
- Which events raise a work order, and which are only logged.
- Repeat and debounce rules so one fault creates one job.
- Asset mapping from PLC and SCADA names to the CMMS register.
- Priority, assignment and close-out rules agreed with maintenance.
Section 05
How the integration is built
Events are detected in the SCADA layer, where they already have context, and passed to the CMMS through its documented API or a controlled database interface. Nothing outside the OT network writes to a PLC, and the business system never gets a direct path into the control layer. Messages are queued and retried, so a network drop or CMMS outage delays a work order instead of losing it. Every message is logged, so maintenance can see exactly what the plant sent and when.
- Event detection in Ignition or the existing SCADA, with fault codes and asset context attached.
- API or database integration to the CMMS, outbound from the OT network.
- Store-and-forward queuing and retries for network or system outages.
- An audit log of every work order and reading the plant sends.
Section 06
MEX, SAP PM and other CMMS
We delivered the Remedy Drinks integration with MEX. The same event pattern applies to SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM) and other CMMS and ERP maintenance modules that offer a documented API or interface: a plant event or a meter reading becomes a notification, work order or measurement document against the right functional location. We check that interface at the start of a project, because it sets what the integration can do and how it should be secured.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions
Which CMMS systems can you integrate with?
We have delivered integration with MEX on Ignition at Remedy Drinks. SAP PM and other CMMS and ERP maintenance modules can be connected with the same event pattern where they offer a documented API or interface, which we assess at the start of a project.
Will every fault create a work order?
No. We agree rules with maintenance so only meaningful events create work, repeated trips of the same fault create one job, and minor stops are logged without raising a request.
Can run hours and cycle counts drive preventive maintenance?
Yes. The PLC already keeps these counts. They can be passed to the CMMS as meter readings or used to raise the preventive job when an agreed threshold is reached. We start with a few critical assets and extend once the thresholds are proven.
Does the CMMS get access to our PLCs?
No. Events are passed outbound from the SCADA layer through a controlled interface. The CMMS never has a direct path into the control network, and nothing outside the OT network writes to a PLC.
What happens if the network or the CMMS is down?
Messages are queued and retried, so the work order is delayed rather than lost, and every message is logged.
Related Work
Connected services, industries and proof
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Ignition to MEX integration generating automatic work orders from plant events for a beverage producer.
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Ignition SCADA integrator Melbourne
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Automation, traceability, CIP, SCADA and production data for Australian food and beverage plants.
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Related work
Related project proof
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Remedy Drinks
Remedy Drinks is one of Australia's fastest-growing beverage producers, known for its kombucha and low-sugar drink range. As production volumes grew, the maintenance team needed a tighter connection between the plant floor and their MEX CMMS system. Metromotion Controls designed and delivered the integration between the Ignition SCADA platform and MEX, enabling automatic work order creation from plant events and giving the maintenance team structured visibility of asset status without manual data re-entry.
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Remedy Drinks
The can filling line at Remedy Drinks is a production-critical asset. Unplanned downtime on the filler directly affects output and shelf availability. Metromotion Controls was engaged to implement a condition monitoring solution that captured vibration and operational data from the can filler, providing the maintenance team with early indicators of developing faults. The solution used an MQTT-based data collection architecture to feed condition data into Ignition, where it was trended and threshold-monitored alongside production events.
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Austral Bricks
Heavy-industry plants such as brickworks run continuous processes in heat and dust, so condition data has to be collected securely and without disturbing production control. Austral Bricks is one of Australia's largest brick manufacturers, operating multiple production sites across the country. At their Wollert facility, the team wanted to evaluate MQTT as a modern connectivity protocol for extracting machine data and enabling condition monitoring at scale. Metromotion Controls designed and delivered a structured MQTT trial, establishing secure certificate-based connectivity, documenting the architecture, and providing a completed implementation the site team could validate and extend. The project gave Austral Bricks a working reference implementation for MQTT-based data collection on industrial equipment.
Related pages
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