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Predictive maintenance agent on your PLC and SCADA data
An AI agent that watches the signals your control system already records, spots drift before it becomes a stop, explains the likely cause and drafts the work order for your planner.
Our predictive maintenance agent reads machine data from the systems you already have, such as the historian of Ignition or WinCC and the tags in your Siemens PLCs. It looks for drift and unusual patterns in signals like motor current, temperature, vibration, pressure and run hours, and compares them with work order history and the OEM manual. When it finds something, it explains the likely cause in plain language and drafts a work order for the planner to approve. It starts read-only, on the data you already collect, and we add sensors only where a signal is missing.
How it works
- Connect. Read-only access to the historian or SCADA, selected PLC tags, a work order export from your CMMS and the manuals of the critical machines.
- Learn what normal looks like. Per machine and per operating mode, because a pump at full speed and at half speed behave differently.
- Watch. Drift, step changes, slow rises and unusual combinations of signals. It also flags instruments that look unreliable: flatlines, stuck values, chattering switches.
- Explain. The likely cause, with the evidence: which signals, which period, and similar cases in the work order history.
- Prepare the action. A draft work order with tasks, parts and permits. Your planner approves; nothing happens on its own.
Why start from control system data
Most plants already record hundreds of useful signals in their PLCs and SCADA. Starting there avoids a separate sensor project and keeps operators, maintenance and engineering on the same data. Where a signal is missing, for example vibration on a critical pump, we add a sensor and bring it into the same system. We specialise in Siemens and Ignition, and connect other systems where a project needs it.
What you get
- A watch list of critical machines, ranked with your maintenance team
- Alerts with the reason and the data behind them, not just a red light
- Draft work orders for the planner
- A weekly health summary per machine and an instrument health report
The approach follows the general guidelines of ISO 17359 for condition monitoring: start from the critical equipment and its failure modes, choose what to measure, set alert criteria and decide the action that follows.
Our rules
- Read-only access by default: nothing writes to PLCs or SCADA
- New work happens on development or test systems
- An engineer approves every change; safety functions stay outside AI
- We agree up front which data the AI may see, and where it runs: enterprise cloud services or local models on your own hardware
See it in the vibration alarm use case, or start with an AI pilot on one line.
Questions we get
Do we need new sensors?
Usually not to start. Motor currents, temperatures, pressures, run hours and cycle counts are often already in the PLC or SCADA. We add sensors where a critical signal is missing.
Which systems can it read?
For example the Ignition and WinCC historians, Siemens S7 PLCs through OPC UA, SQL databases and CSV exports from your CMMS. Other systems on request.
Does our data leave the site?
Only if you agree. The agent can run on enterprise cloud services, also in EU regions, or on local models on your own hardware.
Does it replace vibration specialists?
No. It watches many signals continuously and tells you where to look. Detailed vibration analysis stays specialist work.
Who approves the work orders?
Your planner. The agent drafts; people decide.
How do we start?
With an AI pilot on a handful of critical machines on one line.
Sources
A new line, an upgrade, or AI for your plant?
Tell us about your project and we will set up a technical call.
2800 Mechelen, Belgium E-mail: info@simsolutions.be Enterprise no. / VAT: BE 0680.932.773