Real-time IIoT monitoring and smart automation
La Fabril IIoT Downtime Monitoring is a web-enabled solution that captures, analyzes, and alerts on production line stoppages and idle periods across the Bags, Rigid, and Drums lines. Using infrared sensors wired to Siemens Devices over smart bus communication, the system streams real-time signals to La Fabril’s database for cloud analytics. It standardizes event tracking, improves traceability, and delivers actionable insights, accelerating response to issues and improving overall efficiency.
- Category Smart Manufacturing
- Services : Tech innovation
- Clients : La Fabril de Aceites
- Location : San Salvador
- Date : July 2025
Technologies Adopted
- Advanced Sensing & IIoT
- Edge-to-Cloud Architecture
- Advanced Analytics & Machine Learning
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Interoperability & APIs
- Cybersecurity
Key Features & Functionality
- Multi-line coverage: Dedicated Siemens devices and sensors to detect movement, blockages, and inactivity.
- Industrial data pipeline: collects, normalizes, and forwards signals to the central database for analytics.
- Downtime and idle classification: Business rules convert raw input states into categorized events with start/stop timestamps and reasons.
- Anomaly detection and alerts: Thresholds and pattern checks trigger alarms for abnormal stoppages or extended idle, notifying the right teams in real time.
- Dashboards and reporting: Line utilization, stoppage frequency/duration, MTBF/MTTR, and trend analytics with drill-down by line, shift, and cause.
- Integrations: API-ready to sync with ERP/MES for work orders, schedules, and maintenance tickets.
- Security and reliability: Role-based access, encrypted transport, and audit trails for changes and events; designed for high availability and data integrity.
- Scalable architecture: Modular setup to add sensors, lines, or new KPIs without disrupting operations.
Impact and Benefits
At La Fabril, we have deployed an industrial IIoT monitoring and analytics solution that continuously tracks stoppages and idle time across multiple packaging lines. This enables real-time visualization and analysis of production events, allowing us to detect anomalies early, standardize event classification, and accelerate response to issues. By integrating sensors, connectivity, an industrial gateway, cloud-based analytics, and role-based dashboards, the system not only improves line utilization and operational efficiency but also reduces unplanned downtime and maintenance costs. As a result, La Fabril is advancing its Industry 4.0 journey with reliable KPIs and actionable insights that increase OEE and drive continuous improvement.
The implementation of this system at La Fabril has delivered significant benefits, including:
- Reduced unplanned downtime through faster detection and response to anomalies.
- Improved OEE and line utilization by minimizing idle time and recurrent stoppage causes.
- Lower MTTR via real-time alerts and clear event context for maintenance and operations.
- Higher data accuracy and traceability, enabling root-cause analysis and compliance reporting.
- Data-driven decision-making with reliable KPIs for continuous improvement and prioritization.
- Foundation for predictive maintenance by building a historical dataset of events and conditions.