Evaluate machine data

Machine data provide important insights into a company's production and accordingly give information about how effectively and productively the systems are running. The machine data acquisition (MDE) serves as the interface between machines, production technology, and data processing, enabling the real-time evaluation of production-relevant data. To analyze and utilize this for optimizing production, companies must first be able to collect and store the data.

What is machine data acquisition?

Machine data generally includes all information that can be generated in a production facility and is collected and made available by programmable logic controllers (PLC) or sensors. This includes, for example, information such as operating data, such as start and stop times, performance data like speed, pressure, and temperature, or production data like information on quantities and throughput.

Machine data acquisition is not synonymous with operational data acquisition. MDE only provides part of the information that can be collected and analyzed across the enterprise.

How can you evaluate and analyze machine data?

Machine data provides important information about the condition of machines, systems, and overall production. But how can companies capture them as efficiently as possible to analyze them afterward?

Machine data acquisition consists of four components:

Connectivity

The networking of the data source with a connectivity solution that translates the proprietary and closed protocol of the data source into an open protocol like OPC UA or MQTT. From this point on, the data can be freely distributed in systems.

Data preparation

Correctly configured units and a standardized naming convention turn chaotic variables into usable and clearly understandable data.

Data storage

Appropriate IT solutions make your prepared machine data accessible long-term, securely, and centrally. It is also important that the machine data is enriched with additional information – context data – such as order and product data, reasons for downtime, and additional comments from workers. This ensures the availability of all data in an application later on.

Data utilization

The collected and prepared data can then be analyzed using reports and dashboards to gain insights and optimize your production. 

The crux lies in having all relevant information in one application, enabling analyses from high-level down to minute details. This way, a better output can be achieved with less effort.

More information on how to evaluate machine data and what to consider when choosing the right software can be found in this article. 

Four tools for evaluating machine data

Machine data holds great potential for companies to position their production competitively and continuously optimize it. To get information about the state of production, the necessary machine data must first be collected and then prepared and analyzed. Various tools and platforms are available that focus on different aspects:

ENLYZE

With our Manufacturing Data Platform, even older and mixed machine parks can be fully digitized within a few weeks. Retrofitting machine data acquisition is often expensive and lengthy because companies need to set up a comprehensive IT project for this. The ENLYZE platform, on the other hand, works from day one. Machine data is stored in a central location and enriched with order and product data to automatically calculate relevant KPIs in the background and ensure traceability. In addition, the ENLYZE app offers ready-to-use applications for areas such as production monitoring and OEE management, process analysis, reproducibility and performance improvement, as well as traceability and process auditing, allowing you to have the data readily available with just a click.

If you need data for further specific applications, these can be easily integrated via the interfaces of the platforms, as the Manufacturing Data Platform is designed to maximize flexibility.

Excel

A particularly simple solution for machine data acquisition is the classic manual collection via run sheets or shift transfer protocols, which are then digitized via Excel. While this is a cost-effective and low-threshold solution, it is also extremely labor-intensive. Moreover, this method only allows for retrospective work, as the data is usually several days old, making it difficult to rectify errors immediately. More information on why machine data acquisition with Excel often does not lead to the desired success can be found in this article.

Power BI

The business analysis tool Power BI offers capabilities primarily for visualizing the collected machine data. The tool can be easily integrated into the ENLYZE Manufacturing Data Platform.

Minitab

Minitab can also be integrated into the ENLYZE Manufacturing Data Platform and offers numerous opportunities to visualize data, analyze processes, and monitor production.

Evaluating machine data with dashboards

In evaluating machine data, visualization plays a particularly important role: it makes the data more tangible and reveals processes—or disruptions. Dashboards are especially well suited for this. There are many different options available here. For example, you can find out which options are available to you in the area of OEE management in this article, and which five dashboards should not be missing in any production, in this article. 

Evaluating machine data with the right tools

Machine data is invaluable when it comes to making one's production as effective and productive as possible. They provide insights into the current state, and in prepared form, optimization opportunities can be extracted from them. To leverage this potential, companies need the right tools to analyze machine data. In addition to easily and quickly integrable solutions like that of ENLYZE, there are other tools that can be seamlessly integrated into the Manufacturing Data Platform. Which ones are sensible for the individual production depends on the requirements of the respective company.