Industry
Connectivity and interoperability for industrial environments with multiple assets, protocols and systems: PLCs, sensors, MQTT and OT-IT integration to unify plant and management in one shared data layer.
The data layer for industrial environments
A typical industrial plant assembles its machine park over decades: PLCs from several vendors, sensors of different generations, equipment that only reports to its own panel. Captia Connect works at exactly that layer, connecting PLCs, sensors and heterogeneous systems so operational signals reach one common point. The usual pieces are PLC connectivity to read the control layer without altering programs, sensor connectivity for physical variables, MQTT integration for devices at scale and OT/IT integration to deliver plant information to business systems.
The architecture is read-oriented and planned not to interfere with production, with edge ingestion holding data through network outages. Projects start with one bounded perimeter and grow from there. For what to connect first, see Captia Consulting for industry; for what to build on top, Captia AI for industry.
Frequently asked questions
- Do old machines need replacing before they can be connected?
- Usually not. Veteran PLCs and equipment tend to expose their signals through industrial protocols or can be read through gateways, and when neither is possible, additional sensing solves the specific measurement. Replacement is the last option, not the first: the data layer is designed around the machine park that already exists.
- Can connecting the plant interfere with production?
- The architecture is designed so it does not. The data layer reads information from control systems without modifying their programs or cycle times: PLCs keep commanding and the data layer observes. Work requiring downtime is planned with production and grouped into already scheduled windows.
- What happens to the data if the network goes down?
- Signals that matter should not be lost to a network outage. With edge ingestion, the software reading the signals runs locally on plant equipment: it holds data through outages and forwards it once the connection is restored, so history does not depend on central connectivity being available at all times.
- Who uses the data once it is connected?
- Whoever the company decides. The data layer makes every signal available in an orderly way for historians, dashboards, MES, ERP or analytics tools. Within Captia, the AI unit builds dashboards, alerts and prediction on that base, but the connectivity layer is neutral: the data belongs to the company.