When it comes to building scalable and configurable OEE solutions for manufacturing enterprises, the complexity can feel overwhelming. Every plant, machine, and process has its own quirks and requirements. As engineers, we understand that what works for one facility might not work for another—and that’s where tools like Ignition and SparkMES really shine.

At Flexware Innovation, we recently partnered with Belden to tackle this exact challenge. Their Richmond, Indiana plant needed an OEE solution that could not only address their immediate needs but scale seamlessly across the enterprise. By combining the flexibility of Ignition by Inductive Automation with the rapid development framework of SparkMES, we delivered a solution tailored to their unique operations. Here’s how we made it happen.

The Building Blocks: Ignition and SparkMES

Ignition, with its extensive suite of drivers and open architecture, is the backbone of our OEE implementations. Whether we’re connecting to Allen Bradley PLCs via OPC-UA, pulling data from Modbus, or querying SQL databases, Ignition handles the connectivity with ease. For Belden, this versatility was critical—their equipment varied widely in how it communicated, and Ignition’s robust driver support made integrating these disparate systems possible.

But connectivity is only half the battle. That’s where SparkMES comes in. SparkMES is our in-house MES framework, designed to jumpstart the development of customized MES applications. It includes pre-built Perspective screens, UDTs, stored procedures, and background logic—everything needed to accelerate implementation without locking customers into a rigid structure. Once deployed, SparkMES can be fully customized to fit each plant’s specific needs.

Tackling Data Complexity with Ease

One of the biggest challenges with the Belden project was getting all the data up to SparkMES. The Richmond plant had a mix of machines with varying capabilities, and not all of them provided clean, consistent data. Ignition’s drivers allowed us to bridge this gap, connecting to machines via PLCs, databases, and even Modbus connections to pull in the data we needed.

SparkMES’s pre-built OEE UDTs then allowed us to organize this data into a usable format. These UDTs handle key metrics like infeed, outfeed, scrap, and status codes, embedding seamlessly into existing tag structures or creating new ones as needed. For Belden, we developed custom UDTs for every machine type, ensuring the system could adapt to their diverse equipment.

Scalable and Configurable by Design

A major goal of any enterprise-level solution is scalability. With SparkMES, we prioritized making the system configurable by operators with minimal Ignition expertise. We developed Perspective-based configuration tools, allowing users to define how SparkMES operates without needing deep technical knowledge. This approach ensures the solution can scale across plants, with each site tailoring the system to their specific operations.

For example, the production model in SparkMES is highly flexible, letting users define plant levels without being boxed into a rigid hierarchy. This flexibility means the same solution that works for Belden’s Richmond plant can be adapted for other facilities without a full redesign.

Insights That Drive Action

Ultimately, the value of an OEE solution lies in the insights it provides. For Belden, SparkMES delivers real-time data through intuitive dashboards designed for both operators and managers. High-level screens show plant-wide performance metrics, while drill-down views provide granular details on individual machines. Features like downtime Pareto charts and trend analysis tools make it easy to identify bottlenecks and prioritize improvements.

The UI design also plays a crucial role. We opted for a dark theme with a card layout, making the dashboards visually appealing and easy to navigate. Embedded views and a widget library ensure the system remains consistent and scalable as new screens are added.

Why It Matters

By combining the strengths of Ignition and SparkMES, we helped Belden achieve a scalable OEE solution that’s tailored to their operations and ready to grow with them. But more than that, this project highlights the power of collaboration between innovative tools and thoughtful engineering.

If your organization is facing similar challenges, SparkMES could be the jumpstart you need for your MES applications. From rapid development to enterprise scalability, it’s built to simplify the complex and deliver results.

Technical Overview & Belden Case Study – Watch & Download

Want to see the full story? Download the Belden case study to learn how we tackled their OEE challenges and delivered a scalable, enterprise-ready solution or watch the technical overview below: