Manufacturing Software Development

Challenges in manufacturing software

• Production status tracked on paper travellers and whiteboards
• Inventory and bills of materials that do not match reality
• Quality issues discovered late, with poor traceability
• Machine data that exists but is never used
• An ERP that does not fit how the factory actually runs

Software we build for manufacturing

Compliance and security

We are engineers, not lawyers. We build the technical controls these rules require and work with your compliance and legal advisers.

Systems we integrate with

Start small on the shop floor

Factory software succeeds when operators adopt it. We usually start with one line or cell: replace paper travellers with tablet screens, capture start, stop and scrap with a tap, and show live status on a TV dashboard. Once the data is trusted, we connect machines and roll out to other lines.

Digitising the shop floor: a practical path

Many manufacturers want the benefits of Industry 4.0 but are wary of large, disruptive projects. A step-by-step approach reduces risk and builds confidence. The first step is visibility: replacing paper travellers and whiteboards with simple tablet screens where operators start and stop jobs, record quantities and scrap, and flag problems. Supervisors see real-time status on a dashboard.

With trusted data in place, the next steps follow naturally: connecting machines to capture run time and downtime automatically, calculating OEE by line and shift, linking quality inspections to batches for full traceability, and feeding actual production data back to the ERP for accurate costing and planning. Each step delivers value on its own, and the factory team helps shape the next one.

Traceability when it matters

When a customer reports a defect or a supplier issues a recall, manufacturers need to know quickly which batches, materials and finished goods are affected. Paper records make this slow and uncertain. Digital traceability links raw material lots, production orders, machines, operators, inspection results and shipments, so a single search shows the full history of any item. This shortens investigations from days to minutes and supports quality certifications such as ISO 9001.

A reference architecture based on ISA-95

ISA-95 (IEC 62264) is the widely used model for how manufacturing systems fit together. It separates business planning from shop-floor control, which helps decide where new software belongs and which system owns which data.

Most of the custom software we build sits at Level 3: it pulls orders from the ERP, collects data from Level 2 through OPC UA or MQTT, and gives supervisors and operators screens designed for their work. Control logic on the machines stays with your automation engineers and system integrators.

A typical shop-floor digitisation project

1. Walk the floor1–2 weeks

   Observe each line and shift, collect paper forms and spreadsheets, and list the questions managers cannot currently answer.

2. Pick one line and one metric

   Start with a single line and a measurable goal, such as downtime reasons or scrap rate.

3. Connect data sources2–6 weeks

   Read machine states through existing PLCs, OPC UA servers or retrofit sensors; integrate work orders from the ERP.

4. Build operator screens4–8 weeks

   Tablet or terminal screens with large controls for logging downtime, quality checks and material usage.

5. Prove the value4–8 weeks

   Run alongside the old process and compare the data with what supervisors expected.

6. Scale line by line

   Roll out to further lines with the configuration, not code, changing each time.

Buy, configure or build

Securing operational technology with IEC 62443

Connecting machines to business systems creates new paths for attackers, and a ransomware incident on a plant network can stop production. IEC 62443 is the main family of standards for industrial automation and control system security. We apply its principles to the software we build:

• Segment networks into zones and control the conduits between them — business systems never talk directly to PLCs
• Read-only data collection wherever possible, through a gateway in a DMZ
• No inbound internet connections into the plant network
• Signed software updates and a documented patch process agreed with your OT team
• Least-privilege accounts and multi-factor authentication for remote access

Changes to control systems are made by, or with, your automation engineers and system integrators.

Questions to answer before you start

• Which decisions would better data change, and who makes them?
• Which machines already expose data, and which need retrofitted sensors?
• Who owns the plant network, and what are their security rules?
• Is the ERP the master for items, routings and work orders?
• What will operators stop doing on paper once the system is live?

Related reading: IoT and embedded development and ERP integration.

Getting reliable data from machines

The quality of any manufacturing analytics depends on the data underneath it. Modern machines often expose data through OPC UA or MQTT, while older equipment may only offer digital outputs, a serial port or nothing at all. We work through the options in order of effort and risk:

Automatic signals tell you when a machine stopped; people tell you why. Combining the two is what turns raw data into decisions. We define each metric, such as OEE availability, carefully with your team so that numbers mean the same thing on every line and every shift, and we show supervisors the underlying events so they trust the totals.

Supplier and customer collaboration

Much of a manufacturer’s delay and rework starts outside the plant: late supplier confirmations, unclear drawings, or customers chasing order status by phone. Simple portals remove much of this friction. Supplier portals let vendors confirm purchase orders, update delivery dates, upload certificates of conformance and respond to quality issues. Customer portals show order status, shipment tracking, documentation and reorder options, reducing calls to customer service.

Both kinds of portal read from and write to the ERP, so there is no second copy of orders to keep in sync. Access is limited to each company’s own records, and every change is logged so purchasing and quality teams can see who confirmed what and when.

Manufacturing KPIs worth digitising first

Illustrative metrics; which ones matter depends on your organisation and goals.

Starting with one or two of these on a single line keeps the project small enough to deliver quickly and proves the data is trustworthy before it is used across the plant.

Manufacturing terms we standardise on

• MES — manufacturing execution system tracking work in progress on the floor.
• Routing — the sequence of operations to make a part.
• BOM — bill of materials listing components and quantities.
• Genealogy — the record linking finished goods to the lots and machines used.

Services for this industry

Related: ERP development, Odoo development and business process automation.

Explore more in Industry Software Development for the Sectors We Serve.