What we read from
Every source on this list is read, never written to. We map what your plant already has and agree the list with your team before anything connects.
| Source | How we read it |
|---|---|
| PLCs, including Allen-Bradley | We read tags the controller already holds, such as machine state, cycle counts and faults. Read access only. |
| HMI and SCADA screens | We read the values behind the screens operators already watch. The screens stay exactly as they are. |
| Kepware and other OPC servers | We read the tags the server already publishes, through an account that can read and do nothing else. |
| Historians and machine logs | We read stored history and log files. Nothing in them is edited or deleted. |
| ERP exports and shift calendars | We read exports your team already produces, or a view it chooses to share, for shifts, part standards and ideal cycle times. |
| Spreadsheets | We read the workbooks people keep today, from a location your team picks. Nobody has to fill them in differently. |
A plain note on OEE: the controls supply availability and counts. The shift calendar and ideal cycle times usually come from your ERP or your standards, not from the controls. That is why those rows are on the list.
What never happens
The dashboard observes the line. Your controls engineer can check each of these against the setup we write down.
- No writes to controllersThe connection reads. It has no path to send a value, a command or a program change to a PLC.
- No setpoint changesSpeeds, temperatures and limits stay where your engineers set them. The dashboard shows them and nothing more.
- No change to how operators run the lineOperators keep the same screens and the same routines. The floor runs the way it ran the day before.
Six questions before you sign off
The ones IT and controls people raise first. If yours is missing, ask it.
Who holds the accounts and credentials?
Every account the project uses is written down: what it connects to, what it is allowed to do and who holds it. That record is visible to your team from the start, and your IT team decides who keeps access.
How is network access set up?
With your IT team, under your rules. Together we agree where the dashboard runs, what it can reach on the plant network and how our people reach it to do the work. Nothing is opened until your team signs off.
Where do the code and data live?
Inside your environment. The code, the data and the systems are yours, under your accounts, not somewhere you would have to rent back from us.
What does the dashboard show?
Machine status, part counts and run rates. Uptime and downtime, with the reason for each stop. Scrap, where the data exists. OEE and trends over days and weeks. We start with the few views tied to the problem you most want to see, then add more.
What happens if you stop working with Vectis?
You keep everything: the code, the data, the dashboard and the record of how it connects. There is no licence to renew. Ongoing support is optional, for teams that want us to keep improving it.
Who does the work?
Controls, data and software people on one team: controls and PLC work, including Allen-Bradley; data architecture and integration; backend and frontend development; and ERP advisory. Behind it are 20+ years building systems inside operations-heavy businesses.
What else the team builds
Once plant data is structured and reachable, the work around it gets simpler.
- Spreadsheet workflows rebuilt as governed web apps, with an audit trail, permissions and rules you approve before anything is rebuilt
- Workflow automation and system integrations
- A structured data layer with APIs
- Reporting that assembles itself
- Custom internal tools
- Ongoing support, when you want it
Send the technical question first.
Ask about accounts, network access, where the data sits or what the dashboard needs from ERP. If the project is not a fit for your plant, we say so.