Case studies

Proven on the floor

Two recent projects from a North Georgia manufacturing plant: what was wrong, what we changed, and what it delivered. Plant and customer names are left out on purpose.

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Process improvement

One blower. Three silos. Zero stalls.

Project summary: 8+ powder stalls per shift down to 0, worst-case batch time from 12 minutes to under 3, one shared blower replaced by three refill loops

The problem

A powder batching line was fed by three silos sharing a single pneumatic conveying blower. Only one silo could refill at a time, so the batcher kept starving: more than 8 powder stalls per shift, and batches dragging out to 12 minutes.

What we changed

  • Split the system into three independent refill loops
  • A dedicated PLC per silo, linked over Modbus
  • A dedicated blower per silo
  • A VFD-driven rotary airlock per silo
  • Radar level transmitters over 4-20 mA

The result

  • Zero powder stalls
  • 300 lb batches in under 3 minutes
  • Refills from a silo in under 1 minute
PLC programming
OT integration

Every PLC. One network. Every data point recorded.

Architecture: CompactLogix, CLICK PLUS, multi-brand PLCs and VFDs on one OT network feeding HMIs, a historian, Excel charts and PlantProof with LineProof MES and ERP connectors

The problem

Plant data was scattered across standalone PLCs and HMIs from different brands that couldn't talk to each other, so nobody had one view of the process or a record of what happened.

What we changed

  • Connected every PLC onto one OT network (OPC UA, EtherNet/IP, Modbus), so PLCs and HMIs share live data
  • Tied it into a historian database that records every tag at the interval each process needs
  • One-click exports to Excel charts for reports, trending and troubleshooting
  • Built PlantProof from the ground up: SCADA, historian and maintenance in one platform, linked to LineProof MES and the business side through ERP connectors

ERP connectors we can develop

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, SAP (S/4HANA, Business One), Oracle NetSuite, Epicor Kinetic, Infor (SyteLine / CloudSuite), Plex, Acumatica, Sage (X3 / Intacct), Odoo and QuickBooks. Using something else? If it has an API or a database, we can connect to it.

See PlantProofERP connectors

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