Real-time data collection is crucial to any industrial automation control system no matter what the domain is. It allows industrial processes to monitor data continuously and to send immediate feedback on the industrial operational condition. The feedback helps to identify and correct issues in the operational processes and to understand how the process is working to fulfill the production goals.

Real-time or RT data collection assists in detecting faults in automation systems and machinery early without causing downtime in the production line. It allows for the prevention of equipment failures, eliminates downtime, and costly repair of machinery. The earlier the machine faults are identified by real-time data collection and acquisition the faster they can be repaired and save costly machine replacement.

For large-scale production units like industrial production plants integrating the RT data collection process between ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and MES (Manufacturing Execution System) is vital. It helps the manufacturing unit achieve a comprehensive and efficient approach to ensure flawless industrial operations. This data integration between enterprise systems not only facilitates effective communication with customers but also provides seamless product traceability, production monitoring, and back-office connectivity for manufacturing operations that leverage production floor operations integrating data to various MES software solutions.

Integrating data collection with a back-end database seems effective and beneficial when hiring an expert like ControlSoft Canada. However, effective data integration comes up with a set of business benefits for industrial plants. These are.

• Better business decision-making for data integration
• Easier data access for business analytics and increased production efficiency based on real-time data acquisition.
• Very few data silos

It helps businesses to make more data-driven decisions and to plan the next move strategically.

The time for real-time data collection integration with the back-end database for an industrial automation control system varies due to many factors. From the control system complexity to the scope of data integration, data volume to data transferring speed, database type to structure, existing infrastructure, and available tools, technologies, and resources – everything affects the timing of data collection integration to the back-end database for an industrial automation system.

A wide range of production collection points or sources are used for real-time data collection on a production floor. The sources are utilized to gather and monitor data in real-time to keep a check on the status, performance, and efficiency of the manufacturing process. A few common production floor collection points are machine and equipment sensors, Radio-Frequency Identification tags, barcode scanners, programmable logical controllers, remote terminal units, human-machine interfaces, and so on.