Monitor Points

A Monitor Point is the core data collection node. It links a PLC and a communication instance (edge client) and defines exactly which PLC tags to read — for production counting, alarm monitoring, and quality tracking.

Monitor Points must be placed under a Line node in the hierarchy (they do not need to be direct children, but a Line must exist somewhere up the tree).

Accessing monitor point configuration

Open the Hierarchy Editor via Settings → Line Setup → Hierarchy. Select an existing Monitor Point or create one with the + button and node type Monitor Point.

Connection fields

Communication Node

Select the Communication Instance (edge client) that will read this monitor point’s tags. The ClientService running on that edge device must have a --node_identifier matching the identifier configured on the Communication Instance node.

PLC

Select the PLC node that this monitor point reads from. The communication path configured on the PLC is used by the edge client to establish the connection.

Production Tag Configuration

The fields shown depend on the Line Type of the parent Line node.

Discrete and Continuous lines

Field	PLC tag type	Description
Poll Rate	—	How often to read the tags, in milliseconds. Range: 100–10 000 ms. Default: 1000 ms.
Product Detect	BOOL	The tag that pulses to indicate a product has passed. A production record is written on the rising edge (0 → 1).
Value 0 – Value 3	DINT (32-bit int)	Up to four integer tags to record with each production event (e.g., product ID, recipe number). Product auto-selection is based on these values
Real 0 – Real 3	REAL (float32)	Up to four floating-point tags to record with each production event (e.g., fill volume, weight).

All tag fields are optional except Poll Rate and Product Detect. Unused fields can be left blank.

Batch lines

Field	PLC tag type	Description
Poll Rate	—	Polling interval in milliseconds. Range: 100–10 000 ms.
Cycle Step	DINT	Tag indicating the current step number within the batch cycle.
Cycle Start State	DINT	The numeric step value that marks the beginning of a new batch cycle.
Product ID	DINT	Tag carrying the product identifier for the current batch.
Batch Amount	REAL	Tag holding the total amount produced in the batch (e.g., kg, litres).
Batch Number	DINT	An identifying number for the batch.
Numeric Tags to Track	REAL	Expandable list of additional named numeric tags to record per cycle. Maximum 10 tags. Each entry has a label (display name) and a tag name (PLC tag). These can be used to track temperatures, pressures, or other process variables.

Alarm Configuration

Define which PLC alarm tags to monitor. Each alarm is a row in the table:

Column	Description
Alarm Name	A human-readable label for the alarm (e.g., VFD 101 Overload).
Alarm Tag	The PLC BOOL tag to read (e.g., vfd101_overload).
Alarm on True	When checked, the alarm is active when the tag reads true. When unchecked, the alarm is active when the tag reads false.
Linked Category	Optional. Assigns a downtime category to this alarm so incoming events are auto-categorised.
Linked Cause	Optional. Assigns a downtime cause to this alarm for automatic root cause assignment.
Linked Location	Optional. Links the alarm to a physical location node for reporting purposes.

Click Add Alarm to add a new row. Click the × on a row to remove it.

Note

Alarms are polled separately from production tags and have their own poll rate, capped at 1000 ms. The alarm poll rate is configured in the underlying configuration file generated by ConfigurationService — it is not exposed directly in the hierarchy editor.

Quality Tag Configuration

Quality tags record reject or inspection events at a specific point relative to the monitor point.

Each quality tag has:

Field	Description
Point Name	A display name for this quality check point (e.g., Top Label Check).
Point Tag	The PLC BOOL tag that signals a quality event (rising edge triggers a record).
Position	Whether this check point is Before or After the monitor point in the line flow.

Click Add Tag to add a new quality tag row.

Caution

The position field is critical for accurate reporting. A “Before” quality tag indicates a defect detected before the main production event (e.g., a failed check before the product is recorded), while an “After” quality tag indicates a defect detected after the main production event (e.g., a failed final inspection). The option affects the calculation of OEE.