With the customer
Why was the order late? Show when the machine ran, when it waited and for what reason. What you share is your decision.
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Contract Manufacturing Machine Monitoring by Customer | MDCplus
Contract manufacturing · one park, many customers
Machine monitoring for contract manufacturers
You sell machine hours to many customers on the same machines. MDCplus records what each machine did and for which order, so every customer gets an honest picture and every conversation about hours, delays or invoices has data behind it.
- Machine hours per customer
- Setup, run and stops per order
- Orders from your ERP
- On premise, also offline
Shift, 4 machinesClick a customer
06:0010:0014:00
Illustrative shift, not customer data. In MDCplus the order, and so the customer, comes from your ERP.
Machine monitoring for contract manufacturers means collecting machine data automatically and linking it to orders, so machine hours, setups, stops and parts can be grouped by customer. When many customers share one machine park, the same data answers three questions: what did each customer really use, which orders are late and why, and which customers are worth the machine time.
How it fits together
How do you report machine hours per customer?
1
Order from the ERP
The order and its customer are sent to MDCplus through the API.
2
State from the machine
Run, setup and stops are read from the controller or PLC, read-only.
3
Report per customer
Machine time, setup, parts and stops grouped by customer and by order.
Three conversations
What does a contract manufacturer use machine data for?
With your planner
Which orders really take longer than planned, and on which machines. Next quote and next plan use real hours.
With finance
Real machine hours per customer valued at your machine hour rate, against what you charge. The calculator gives the rate.
Customer security requirements
Can machine monitoring run where customers demand a closed network?
Yes. MDCplus is installed on premise and can work fully inside a closed network without internet access. It reads the machines, it does not write to them. Your machine data stays on your servers.
Mixed machine park
Which machines can be connected?
MDCplus connects to CNC machines and PLCs over more than 100 open protocols, including FANUC (FOCAS 2), Siemens Sinumerik, HEIDENHAIN, Mazatrol, Okuma OSP and Haas. Older machines connect through a terminal, PLC signals or sensors. It exchanges data with ERP, MES, CAD/CAM, PDM and BI systems through the API.
Open the machine connectivity checker to see the connection route for your controller.
Discuss your customers
Tell us how many machines you run, which ERP holds your orders and what your customers ask for. We will answer what can be reported and how to start.
Frequently asked questions
How do you report machine hours per customer?
Send the order context, including the customer, from your ERP to MDCplus through the API. Machine time, setups, stops and parts are then recorded against each order and can be grouped by customer in reports.
Can jobs from several customers on one machine be separated?
Yes, as long as the system knows which order is running. The machine state is recorded continuously, and the order context says whose work it was at each moment.
How do you prove on-time performance or explain a delay?
With a history of machine states and stops for each order. When a customer asks why an order was late, you can show when the machine ran, when it waited and for what reason.
What data can I give a customer?
MDCplus produces the reports: machine time, setup, parts and stops per order. What you share with a customer, and in what form, is your decision.
How do I know which customers are profitable?
Compare the real machine hours per customer, valued at your machine hour rate, with what you charge. The machine hour rate calculator shows what an hour costs you.
Can MDCplus run in a closed network?
Yes. MDCplus is installed on premise and can work fully inside a closed network without internet access, which matters when customers have security requirements.
How quickly can we start?
The first machine is connected within 1 to 2 hours. The rest depends on how fast you provide the list of machines and the network access on the site.
Technical library
Read more
- Enhancing MES and ERP with data collection
- How to turn machine data into success
- Shop floor data quality
- Machine data in Power BI
- MES explained simply: pitfalls and lessons
- How operational efficiency software drives success
- Why custom manufacturing dashboards help
- Quality evaluation and customer recalls checklist
- SMED changeover template in Excel
- OEE grades: case studies
Other industries
Aerospace
Automotive
Railway components
Turbines & Pistons
Equipment manufacturing
Precision machining
Job shops
Process manufacturing
Free tools
- Machine connectivity checker: find the connection route for your controller.
- Machine hour rate calculator: cost of a scheduled and a productive hour.
- Digital maturity assessment: 20 questions across 7 areas in about 5 minutes.
- Product overview, FAQ and all industries.
Last updated: . Prepared by the MDCplus team.
