Machine utilisation
Which machines are running, idle or down, and for how long, logged automatically.
01 Monitoring & dashboards · Devon, UK
See what’s running, idle or wrong.
Machine monitoring and live dashboards for workshops, factories and offices: which machines are in use and for how long, what the environment is doing and where the energy goes, on a screen the team actually looks at.
02 How it works
It’s hard to manage what nobody can see. I put sensors and PoE cameras where they tell you something useful, collect the data on a server on site, and show it live: on a wall screen on the shop floor, a laptop in the office or a phone.
Monitoring doesn’t have to mean rewiring your machines. In one workshop, cameras and a custom web server track which machines are in use and for how long, without touching the machines’ own electronics.
The same approach works in offices: environment and energy monitoring, screens and signage, and linking up systems that don’t talk to each other, so the numbers end up in one place.
03 What I build
Numbers you can act on.
Live dashboards
Live views built around the questions you actually ask, on a wall screen, a laptop or a phone.
PoE cameras
Cameras on a single cable for power and data, watching machines without touching their electronics.
Environment & energy
Conditions and energy use across workshops and offices, measured where it matters.
Screens & signage
Screens on the shop floor or in the office, showing people what they need to see.
Joining systems up
The glue between systems that don’t talk to each other, so data ends up in one place.
04 Built already
Real systems, running every day.
Anonymised, but all real.
Workshop · Monitoring
Machine tracking for a workshop
PoE cameras and a custom web server showing which machines are in use and for how long, without touching the machines’ own electronics.
- PoE cameras
- Custom web server
- Live dashboard
Home · Control server
Whole-home control server
A custom dashboard running the house: lighting and heating, TV and media control, a voice assistant that works fully offline, and network-level ad and tracker filtering for every device.
- Linux server
- Docker
- Custom web UI
- Offline voice control
05 Questions
Fair questions, straight answers.
Will it interfere with my machines?
It doesn’t need to. Cameras and external sensors can watch a machine without touching its electronics, which is exactly how the workshop example works.
Where does the data go?
Onto your own hardware, on site. Nothing has to leave the building, and monitoring carries on if the internet drops.
Can it work with the equipment we already have?
Usually, yes. I design around what’s already there and how it’s used, rather than asking you to replace it.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the site. You get a written scope and a clear price before anything is built, and I’ll always include the most affordable option that does the job.
06 Other services
Whatever else the job needs.
- 01
Control & automation systems
Central servers and controllers that tie lighting, heating, media, sensors and third-party kit together into one system, and keep working when the internet doesn’t.
- 02
Custom hardware nodes
Microcontroller-based relays, dimmers, sensors and PoE cameras, designed around your installation.
- 04
Bespoke software & web
Web servers, integrations, internal tools and websites, written to fit how you work.
- 05
Networking, servers & Docker
Networks set up or sorted out, servers specified and supplied to fit the job and the budget, and services run on your own hardware in Docker rather than rented from the cloud.
Got something that needs building?
Tell me what you’re trying to do. I’ll reply with honest next steps. No pitch, no obligation.