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Instrumentation and plant data capture hardware used for industrial analytics and reporting
Service · 05

Industrial Data, IIoT & OEE Analytics

Metromotion Controls builds OEE, downtime, historian and production analytics that show where the real yield, uptime and giveaway gains sit, working from validated PLC signals for food and beverage manufacturers as a Melbourne control systems integrator serving sites Australia-wide.

How we approach it

Engineered for your site and support model

Production reporting earns its keep when it shows where the next yield, uptime and giveaway gains are. Metromotion Controls builds OEE, downtime, historian and analytics systems from PLC events, SCADA context, quality checks and the production rules used on site, so the highest-impact opportunities are easy to see and act on.

01
MQTT and industrial IoT data capture
02
Local historian and cloud data pipelines
03
OEE dashboards and downtime analytics
04
Production data contextualisation with laboratory, quality and scheduling sources
05
MES solution scoping and deployment
06
Production, batch, material and ERP-integrated reporting
Delivery context

Platforms and vendors

  • Ignition
  • SQL databases
  • OPC UA
  • MQTT
  • Plant historians
  • Power BI integration

Relevant experience

  • OEE work has covered yoghurt, snack food, beverage, packaging and high-volume production lines.
  • Data models are based on PLC states and line rules rather than manual shift estimates.
  • Dashboards support operators, maintenance, supervisors and management with role-specific views.
Section 01

Data capture and architecture

Effective analytics starts with disciplined data architecture. We identify critical data points from PLCs, SCADA and instruments, then model them with naming standards, units, quality states and event context. Typical collection paths include OPC UA collectors, MQTT brokers and historian connectors into SQL or cloud storage layers. We deploy edge buffering where network reliability is variable, which helps prevent data loss during outages. Equipment examples include industrial PCs, virtualised historian servers and secure gateway appliances. This service is particularly useful for sites that have many tags but little trust in reports because data consistency has never been formalised. By establishing clear source-of-truth models and validation checks, we give teams a dependable foundation for dashboards, alerts and optimisation initiatives.

Section 02

Operational reporting and MES outcomes

Reporting layers should answer operational questions: OEE by line and shift, downtime Pareto, changeover performance, utility intensity, CIP cycle duration, yield loss and batch genealogy. Where MES functions are required, we implement workflows for electronic work instructions, lot tracking, quality holds and production declarations. Standards such as ISA-95 help structure data between control, operations and business domains. We integrate production events, quality checks, laboratory results and material movements into reporting models that make investigations and daily reviews faster.

Section 03

Staged data roadmap

Data programs work best when delivery is staged and linked to operational value. We help clients prioritise initiatives by production impact, implementation effort, data readiness and support burden. Roadmaps often begin with historian cleanup, alarm rationalisation or OEE signal validation, then move toward predictive analytics or closed-loop optimisation once data confidence is established. We define ownership, data quality monitoring and cybersecurity requirements so systems remain supportable after the pilot stage.

Section 04

What OEE is and how it stays comparable

Overall Equipment Effectiveness, or OEE, is Availability multiplied by Performance multiplied by Quality, following the ISO 22400-2 definition of the measure. It expresses how much of the available production time turned into good output, and it sits at ISA-95 Level 3, between the control layer and business systems. A single number is only useful when each line counts time the same way, so the harder part is defining machine state consistently across mixed-OEM equipment. We use PackML state models and PackTags to give each machine a common set of states and a common data interface, so a stop on a filler from one vendor and a stop on a capper from another are recorded against the same definitions. With consistent state, OEE, downtime Pareto and changeover figures become comparable line to line rather than reflecting how each OEM happened to label its own events.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions

How much historical data do we need before analytics is useful?

Even a few weeks of clean, contextual data can provide value for downtime and quality analysis. Longer history improves seasonality and trend analysis, but early wins usually come from better event quality and tagging discipline.

Can you connect cloud dashboards without exposing control systems?

Yes. We design segmented architectures with edge buffering, controlled outbound data paths and strong authentication. This allows reporting access while keeping critical control assets isolated from unnecessary inbound exposure.

Can you combine plant data with laboratory or scheduling data?

Yes. We contextualise PLC and SCADA events with laboratory results, quality checks, production schedules, product codes and external data sources so reports explain what happened and why it matters.

Do you provide training for supervisors and engineers?

Yes. We run practical training on dashboard interpretation, data quality ownership and root-cause workflows so teams can turn insights into sustained operational improvements.

Related work

Related project proof

Project

Chobani

Building on the greenfield automation delivered at Chobani's Australian facility, Metromotion Controls was engaged to develop an OEE data platform that gave the operations team structured visibility of line performance, availability losses, and production output. The project connected existing PLC infrastructure to a centralised reporting environment, establishing consistent downtime reason codes, shift-level OEE calculation, and management dashboards aligned to how the site teams already ran daily reviews.

Project

Cobs Fine Foods

Cobs Fine Foods is one of Australia's leading premium snack manufacturers. The business needed real-time production data from all line equipment, including checkweigher and metal detector systems, connected to a centralised OEE platform provided by a third-party vendor. Metromotion Controls designed and delivered the automation integration layer, connecting each line asset to Ignition, capturing data at PLC level, and passing it upstream to the OFS OEE platform. The project included full network architecture design, device configuration, and the PLC logic required for clean, consistent data capture across the line.

Project

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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