Manufacturing IT Support
For manufacturers across Cleveland and Northern Ohio, from the design workstation to the machine network.
When the network drops, production stops
Most manufacturers call us because of network problems, or machines and systems that keep disconnecting and interrupting production. In manufacturing, the cause is rarely just one thing. We regularly find damaged cabling in harsh areas, electrical interference from welders and plasma tables, overloaded or aging switches, Wi-Fi dead zones, and servers that cannot keep up - often several at once.
We have found critical machinery connected nine switches deep, each switch chained off the one before it, when a sound design keeps equipment within a few switches of the core of the network. Every extra link is another place for traffic to stall, and another point of failure between the machine and the systems it reports to.
At another manufacturer, a machine kept dropping off the network. They had rewired it and replaced its controller computer and its network components, and two IT companies had already looked at the problem. We were on site for something else, heard about it during a walk-through, and suggested one change. That fixed it. It was a single setting, the kind you only think to check after years of keeping systems running around the clock.
That is not unusual. We are often brought in after a manufacturer’s IT and the equipment vendor have both been unsuccessful, when it is clear the problem needs a fresh look.
Signs your manufacturing network is costing you production
- Machines or controllers that drop off the network, often at the same times of day.
- CNC programs that stall or fail on the way from the programming workstation to the machine.
- Business system screens that crawl at shift change.
- Scanners and tablets that lose Wi-Fi in certain aisles or near certain equipment.
- A network problem that comes back after every fix.
- Nobody can say for sure which switch a given machine is plugged into.
If more than one of these sounds familiar, the problem may be the network itself rather than any single machine. Support is available 24/7, because a second shift’s outage is still an outage.
From design to the shop floor to your customers
Manufacturing runs on a chain of systems, and a break anywhere in it shows up as lost production. We support the IT side of every link, so you are not left working out which vendor to call.
- 1. Design
SOLIDWORKS
Design workstations that stay fast, backed up, and connected to the shared files engineering depends on.
- 2. Machining
Mastercam
Programming workstations, and the path that carries finished programs from the workstation to the machine.
- 3. Shop floor
CNC, laser and plasma tables, robotic welders, FARO arms
The network, computers, and connections around your equipment - the point where a machine meets IT.
- 4. Business system
SAP Business One, NetSuite, JobBOSS, Epicor
The servers, network, and access your operation runs on, supported day to day and through upgrades.
- 5. Labeling
BarTender, label and thermal printers
Label software, the business-system data it prints from, and the label and thermal printers on the floor - so parts, lots, and shipments go out labeled correctly.
- 6. Accounting
QuickBooks, Sage
Many manufacturing business systems hand invoices, job costs, and inventory off to accounting. We keep those integrations working, so the shop floor and the books agree.
- 7. Trading partners
TrueCommerce
Electronic data interchange with customers and suppliers - orders, invoices, and shipping notices that arrive without retyping. When that link breaks, orders stop arriving.
You keep your service agreements with your equipment makers - we expect that. We handle the network, computers, and connections around the equipment, and help diagnose problems wherever the machine meets IT.
Legacy systems, kept running and modernized
Manufacturers run on equipment and software that outlive the computers they were installed on. We have a long history of keeping older systems running safely, and of planning their upgrade or replacement around production rather than in place of it - see legacy software modernization.
Backups for what manufacturers forget
Office files are the easy part. A manufacturer also depends on CNC programs, machine configurations, and business-system data, and losing any of them can stop a line. We protect them by whatever method suits the equipment. Some legacy systems get virtualized, so an aging computer is no longer a single point of failure.
Network security built for manufacturing
A manufacturing network carries machines that cannot be patched like office PCs and vendors who need to connect in for support. Appropriate security for a manufacturer starts with keeping production equipment separate from the office network, controlling how outside vendors connect, firewalls sized to the site, and backups that can actually be restored. Door access control for secured areas is covered on our security systems page.
Work scheduled around production
Updates, network changes, and cutovers happen when your line can spare them. For some manufacturers that means 1 a.m., and that is when we will be there. Your production schedule sets the maintenance window, not ours.
Your compliance framework, respected
We do not run compliance programs. When your business operates under a quality or security framework, we work inside its processes and help keep your IT consistent with it.
Built by people who have worked the floor
Many of our team came to IT from production floors, automation and robotics, and shipping docks. A manufacturing client rarely has to explain how their operation runs - see our team.
Custom AI and automation
We build custom AI and automation tools around a manufacturer’s own processes - see AI development and integration.
Questions from manufacturers
Do you service our machines?
No - your equipment makers do, under your service agreements with them, and we expect those agreements to stay in place. We support everything around the machines and help diagnose problems at the point where a machine connects to your network or computers.
Can you support our business system?
Yes. We work with SAP Business One, NetSuite, JobBOSS, Epicor, and others, along with the servers and networks they depend on, BarTender label printing, the QuickBooks or Sage accounting they hand off to, and TrueCommerce connections to your customers and suppliers.
Do you handle compliance?
We do not run compliance programs. When your business operates under a quality or security framework, we work inside its processes and help keep your IT consistent with it.
Will your work interrupt production?
We schedule updates, network changes, and cutovers around your production schedule. For some manufacturers that means doing the work at 1 a.m.