Process
Eight stages, and a way out after each one
Industrial projects fail in predictable ways: a scope nobody wrote down, a survey nobody did, a cut-over with no way back, and a system that goes live and is then never tuned. This process exists to remove each of those, and it is deliberately structured so you can stop at any boundary with something complete in hand.
Start with a conversation- 01
Discover
1–2 conversations
We start with the business problem, not the technology. What can you not answer today, what does it cost you, and what would you do differently if you could see it. If the honest answer is that a monitoring system would not change any decision, we will say so.
You receive
- Problem statement in your words
- Rough scope and phasing
- Go / no-go before anyone spends money
- 02
Audit
1–3 days on site
A physical survey of the plant. Every machine in scope: make, model, controller, available protocols, spare I/O, panel condition, existing meters. Plus the network, the shop-floor environment and the shutdown windows we will have to work in.
You receive
- Machine and tag inventory
- Network and infrastructure assessment
- Instrumentation requirements per machine
- Constraints and risks
- 03
Design
1–2 weeks
The technical architecture: what is read from where, over which protocol, at what rate, through which gateway, into what data model, presented how. Written down and reviewed with your team before anything is built, because a disagreement on paper costs nothing.
You receive
- Architecture document
- Tag and data model
- Interface definitions
- Phased implementation plan with fixed-price phase one
- 04
Engineer
2–8 weeks per phase
Build. PLC and HMI code, gateway configuration, edge logic, backend services, dashboards and applications — developed against simulated or offline equipment wherever possible so your production line is not the test rig.
You receive
- Configured and tested hardware
- Commented source code
- Application and dashboards
- Test records
- 05
Integrate
1–2 weeks
Connect the parts and prove they talk: machine to gateway, gateway to platform, platform to your ERP or MES. Tested with real failure — target system down, malformed data, duplicates, network partition — because all of those will happen eventually.
You receive
- Verified end-to-end data path
- Integration interfaces with monitoring
- Failure and recovery test evidence
- 06
Deploy
Your shutdown window
Physical installation and commissioning, planned around your production schedule. Loop checks, dry runs, staged cut-over, and — for anything that changes machine behaviour — the previous configuration kept intact and restorable.
You receive
- Commissioned system
- As-built documentation
- Operator and maintenance training
- Defined rollback position
- 07
Monitor
First 4–6 weeks
We watch the system in production with you. The first month always surfaces something: an assumption about the process that was wrong, a reason code list that needs changing, a threshold that is too sensitive. Fixing that is part of the project, not a change request.
You receive
- Tuned thresholds and alarms
- Revised reason codes
- Data quality verification
- First real findings
- 08
Optimise
Ongoing, if you want it
The system is now producing evidence. Where it points to a further change — a bottleneck to address, an asset to instrument, a process to automate — we scope the next phase from measurement rather than from assumption. Or you take it from here; the documentation is written so you can.
You receive
- Findings and recommendations
- Next-phase scope, if justified
- Support arrangement, if wanted
Engagement
Four ways to work with us
Which one fits depends on how well defined the problem already is.
Fixed-price pilot
One line or a defined set of machines, fixed scope, fixed price. The normal way to start. It is small enough that a wrong assumption is cheap and large enough to produce real findings.
First engagement, proving the approach
Phased project
A larger programme broken into phases, each independently useful and separately priced. You can stop after any phase and still have something working.
Plant-wide or multi-line rollouts
Paid discovery
Where the scope genuinely is not clear, a short paid engagement producing a survey, architecture and realistic estimate. You own the output whether or not you continue with us.
Complex or ill-defined problems
Retained engineering
A monthly allocation of engineering capacity for continuous development, support and improvement — appropriate once there is a system in production that keeps evolving.
Ongoing development and support
Questions
About working together
Do you charge for the site audit?
The first conversation is free. A physical site audit involves engineers travelling and a day or more of work, so it is normally charged — and where it leads to a project, that cost is credited against the first phase. You own the audit output regardless of whether you continue with us.
What if the audit shows the project is not worth doing?
Then we say so, and you have an audit document that tells you why. That is a better outcome for you than a project that produces a dashboard nobody opens, and it is a better outcome for us than a reference we would not want quoted.
Can we stop after a phase?
Yes, and each phase is scoped so that stopping leaves you with something complete and usable rather than a half-built system. That is the point of phasing.
Who does the physical installation work?
Depending on scope, our engineers, a local electrical contractor working to our drawings, or your own maintenance team with our supervision. We are explicit about who is doing what before the work starts, including who is responsible for the panel and for any hot work permits.
What happens after handover?
You receive full documentation, source code and credentials, and your team is trained. If you want ongoing support, that is a separate written arrangement with defined response times and scope. If you do not, the system is built so that you or another competent team can maintain it.
How do you handle changes mid-project?
Small changes within the agreed intent are absorbed. Changes that alter scope are quoted before being done, not after. The design document from stage three is what we both refer back to, which is precisely why we insist on producing it.