labs@atheron:~/industries/manufacturing/apps$ build app --web --mobile

MES and floor apps

An MES dashboard and a technician app, built for your lines.

Off-the-shelf MES suites are built for the plant the vendor imagined. We build the dashboard and the floor app around your lines, your reasons codes and the way your shifts hand over, and connect them to the machines you already have.

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// what matters here

What is different in this industry.

Reads the machines you already own

OPC UA, Modbus and the historian you have. An edge gateway on site buffers readings when the connection drops, so a network blip is not a hole in the shift report.

Works where the Wi-Fi does not

The technician app stores work orders and photos on the phone and sends them when it reaches a signal, so a fix logged behind a press is not lost.

Your reasons, not ours

Downtime and scrap reasons are your codes, editable by the plant without a developer, so the report matches how your supervisors talk.

One login across roles

Operators, technicians, supervisors and managers see the same data with different permissions, enforced in the database as well as the screens.

// example projects

Priced examples for this service.

Each one is hypothetical, labelled as such, and priced live from our rate card. Open any of them in the estimator and make it yours.

Example projectWeb appMobile appMaterials tracking

MES dashboard and technician app

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A three-line plant tracks output, downtime and scrap in a spreadsheet filled in at the end of each shift, so problems are found a day late.

// What we would build

A web dashboard fed live from the lines' PLCs through an edge gateway, with an iOS and Android app technicians use to log downtime reasons, close work orders and photograph faults.

// What is in it

Raw materials and work in progress scanned at receiving and at each station
Production orders and scrap posted to QuickBooks Online, built on the QuickBooks Online API
Live OEE, throughput and scrap per line, per shift and per product
Downtime reasons logged on the phone at the machine, with photos
Work orders raised, assigned and closed from the app, offline on the floor
An edge gateway reading OPC UA and Modbus, with a small on-site server
Shift handover report generated, not typed
Roles for operators, technicians, supervisors and the plant manager

// Stack

Next.js
React Native
PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB
OPC UA and Modbus gateway
AWS

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$176,000 to US$270,000, delivered within 44 weeksCAD 251,100 to 384,000
Hosting: ≈ US$492 a monthCAD 700 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month
Hardware: ≈ US$16,400 to US$19,900CAD 23,330 to 28,330

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Data mapping and sandbox connection: 0.4 weeks
Discovery and site walk-through: 0.4 weeks
Design approved: 8.9 to 15.4 weeks
Core features: 1.4 to 2.4 weeks
Full build: 0.9 to 1.9 weeks
First build on devices: 2.9 to 4.4 weeks
Sync built and reconciled in sandbox: 0.9 to 1.9 weeks
Stock, receiving and transfers: 2.4 to 4.4 weeks
Tracking and devices working: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.4 weeks
Store submission: 0.4 weeks
Pilot site live: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Live cutover: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Hypercare: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Rollout: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

Hardware delivery, after it is ordered: 2 to 6 weeks
App store review: 1 week

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 50,220 to 76,800
Discovery 4.7%: CAD 11,801.70 to 18,048.00
Data mapping and sandbox connection 0.9%: CAD 2,259.90 to 3,456.00
Discovery and site walk-through 3%: CAD 7,533 to 11,520
Design approved 7.8%: CAD 19,585.80 to 29,952.00
Core features 3.9%: CAD 9,792.90 to 14,976.00
Full build 2.6%: CAD 6,528.60 to 9,984.00
First build on devices 10.4%: CAD 26,114.40 to 39,936.00
Sync built and reconciled in sandbox 2.9%: CAD 7,281.90 to 11,136.00
Stock, receiving and transfers 9.2%: CAD 23,101.20 to 35,328.00
Tracking and devices working 6.1%: CAD 15,317.10 to 23,424.00
Testing and fixes 1.3%: CAD 3,264.30 to 4,992.00
Store submission 3.4%: CAD 8,537.40 to 13,056.00
Pilot site live 3%: CAD 7,533 to 11,520
Launch 4.7%: CAD 11,801.70 to 18,048.00
Live cutover 0.9%: CAD 2,259.90 to 3,456.00
Hypercare 0.9%: CAD 2,259.90 to 3,456.00
Rollout 4.3%: CAD 10,797.30 to 16,512.00
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 25,110 to 38,400
Entry server x 1: CAD 4,200 to 9,200. Billed up front, at cost, outside the milestones
Rugged barcode scanner x 8: CAD 14,080. Billed up front, at cost, outside the milestones
Industrial label printer x 2: CAD 4,760. Billed up front, at cost, outside the milestones
Corded barcode scanner, for our build and testing: CAD 290. Billed up front, at cost, outside the milestones

Start from this example

// questions

Questions we get about this.

Do we have to replace our existing MES or ERP?

No. We usually connect to the ERP for orders and products and to the machines for counts, and fill the gap between them. Replacing a working system is rarely the cheapest route.

What if our machines are old?

Older machines without OPC UA can usually be read through their PLC, a protocol converter or a simple sensor on a stack light. We look at each line before we quote.

Can it run if the internet goes down?

Yes. The on-site gateway keeps collecting and the floor app keeps working offline; both catch up when the connection returns.

Back to the industry: Manufacturing About the service: Web and mobile apps

// next

Not quite your project?

Tell us what you have in mind. We will come back to you with a range and the questions that would narrow it. Or book a call and talk it through.

Start a project Book a call