Machine Utilisation Monitoring in India: Logs vs Sensors vs Controller Data vs Cameras (₹)
There are four ways to find out how many hours your machines actually worked: operator logs, current sensors on the power supply, data read from the machine's own controller, and cameras. Sensors and controller data are precise about whether a machine ran but mostly blind to why it stopped; cameras see the floor around the machine but not what happens inside a closed enclosure or a controller. Most mid-size plants end up mixing two or three methods, chosen machine class by machine class.
By the Mama Editorial Team. Mama scopes camera and floor-visibility projects for Indian factories. A buyer's comparison for mid-size Indian plants with a mixed fleet: newer CNCs, PLC-driven presses, and old machines with no data port. We do not rank vendors. Prices come from published pages or listings; where none is published, we label our assumption.
Key takeaways
- Published sensor-subscription prices are not small. Two European list prices we found (checked 13 October 2026) work out to roughly ₹9,800–₹13,800 per machine per month, before discounts.
- Controller data is the richest signal but only where the control supports it. Older controls may need a paid option or extra hardware before anything can be read.
- Cameras get cheaper per machine only where one view covers several machines, and they are the only automatic method that also shows waiting for material, crane or inspection. They miss what is invisible: spindle load, alarm codes, inside a closed guard, and anything a pillar or bad light hides.
- Decide per machine class, not per plant. Controller data on new CNCs, sensors or cameras on old iron, one shared list of stop reasons.
The four options in one paragraph each
1. Manual logs. The operator writes start, stop and reason on a sheet; a clerk types it up. Nearly free to start, it captures reasons for big stops in the operator's words, but misses short stops and anything the writer would rather not record, and arrives a day late.
2. Current (CT) sensors. A split-core current transformer clamps around a supply conductor and a small logger turns the current trace into run, idle and off. The sensor itself is cheap: a common 30 A split-core CT was listed at ₹489 including GST at one Indian retailer when we checked on 13 October 2026. The cost is in the logger, the panel work by a licensed electrician, the power-down to fit it, and the software.
3. Controller data (MTConnect, OPC UA, FOCAS). MTConnect is a published standard (ANSI/MTC1.4-2018) for reading machine-tool data; OPC UA for Machine Tools, Part 1 (OPC 40501-1, release 1.02.0) is the OPC Foundation's companion specification for monitoring a machine tool and giving an overview of the jobs on it. On FANUC controls the usual route is FOCAS over Ethernet; according to one integrator's connection guide (not FANUC's own documentation), the FOCAS Ethernet function is an option on many machines and listens on TCP port 8193 by default. Depending on the control and what the builder has enabled, this can give you run state, mode, program number, alarm information and part counts, not just "running".
4. Cameras and video analytics. A camera watches a machine or a row of machines; software reads cues such as spindle or ram motion, a stack light, chips or parts leaving. Existing IP cameras can often be reused (see running AI on existing CCTV); as one example, a 2 MP IP bullet camera was listed at ₹2,301 excluding taxes by a single seller on a B2B marketplace when we checked on 13 October 2026. Cameras also need compute and a licence; the worked example includes both. One camera can cover several machines when the sightline allows.
What each one sees and misses
Utilisation is half the answer; the next question is "why was it stopped?"
| Signal | Manual log | CT sensor | Controller data | Camera |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine running vs not | Approximate, after the fact | Yes, continuous | Yes, continuous | Yes, if a moving cue is in view |
| Short stops (under 5 min) | Rarely written down | Yes | Yes | Yes, if in view |
| Spindle load / cutting vs air-cutting | No | Partly (current level) | Yes, on controls that expose it | No |
| Alarm code, program, part count | Sometimes | No | Yes | No (stack light colour at most) |
| Waiting for material, crane, forklift | If the operator writes it | No | No | Yes, often visible |
| Waiting for first-piece approval or QC | If written | No | No | Partly (person and gauge visible) |
| Operator present at machine (aggregate) | Self-reported | No | No (unless login) | Yes, as a count, no names |
| Setup / changeover in progress | If written | Shows only "idle" | Partly (mode, program change) | Often: activity visible, not always what kind |
| Machine with no electronics (old lathe, manual press) | Yes | Yes, if it has a motor | No | Yes |
| Inside a closed guard or enclosure | No | Yes (electrically) | Yes | No |
Read it column by column. Sensors and controller data never forget, but on their own they tell you a machine stood idle for 47 minutes, not that it was waiting for the forklift. Logs and cameras carry the reason, logs with the writer's bias, cameras only within what is visible.
What cameras miss, stated plainly
Mama is camera-based, so this is deliberately blunt:
- No view, no data. A pillar, a stacked bin, a closed guard door or steam hides the cue. Placement matters more than software.
- "Powered but idle" can look like running when nothing visible moves, and a slowed-down feed rate looks identical to full speed.
- No alarm codes, no program numbers, no spindle load. If you need to know which alarm stopped a VMC, you need the controller.
- Light matters. Poor night lighting and glare reduce reliability.
- It is an estimate and it has running costs. Video gives approximate durations, not a controller's exact timestamps, and the licence is paid monthly whether or not anyone reads the output.
- People are in the frame. Even when the goal is machines, a worker CCTV notice under DPDP is needed; see the worker CCTV notice your factory needs. Aggregate counts only, no individual ranking.
Sensors and controllers have their own honest limits: a CT needs panel access and may conflict with OEM or AMC terms; controller access may need a paid option, the builder's cooperation and network work on the shop floor; neither sees the forklift that never came.
₹ per machine: what the published numbers say
Indian machine-monitoring vendors, in our search, mostly quote on request, so we use two European list prices as a reference point, converted at the RBI reference rate for 12 October 2026 as republished by MSEI (£1 = ₹126.92, €1 = ₹107.30). Both are examples of foreign list prices as shown on 13 October 2026; they can change, and Indian taxes and import costs are not included. They are not an Indian quote.
- One UK vendor lists £72 per machine per month billed annually on its standard plan, plus a £200 one-off device per machine, with a five-machine minimum and volume discounts from ten machines. That is ₹9,138 a month plus ₹25,384 once, or about ₹9,843 per machine per month spread over three years.
- One EU vendor lists from €125 per machine per month with the sensor included, plus a €137 deployment fee per device. That is ₹13,413 a month plus ₹14,700 once, about ₹13,821 per machine per month over three years.
For the other options no single published bundle exists, so the worked example below builds them from listed parts and labelled assumptions.
Worked example: a 40-machine plant over three years
Assume a plant with 40 machines: 12 newer CNCs, 8 power presses and 20 older lathes and mills without network ports. Assumptions are marked; replace them with your own quotes.
| Option for all 40 machines | One-time (₹) | Monthly (₹) | ₹ per machine per month, 3-year view | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual logs | ~0 | 18,000 | 450 | Assumption: one clerk at ₹18,000/month compiling sheets (illustrative; check your state's minimum wage notification for clerical staff); operator time not counted |
| DIY CT sensors + logger | 3,39,560 | your engineer's time | ~236 + engineer | ₹489 CT (listed) + assumed ₹8,000 per machine for logger, enclosure, electrician |
| Sensor subscription (UK list) | 10,15,360 | 3,65,520 | ~9,843 | Published list price, before volume discount |
| Sensor subscription (EU list) | 5,88,000 | 5,36,520 | ~13,821 | Published list price |
| Controller data (12 CNCs only) | not published | not published | quote needed | Option/hardware on older controls and connector software are quoted per machine |
| Cameras: 10 new cameras, 4 machines each | 1,13,010–2,03,010 | 10,000–25,000 | ~330–770 | ₹2,301 camera (one listing) + assumed ₹3,000 per camera for cabling, PoE and mounting + one edge analytics box at ₹60,000–1,50,000; licence ₹1,000–2,500 per camera per month. The box and licence figures are our own planning bands, not Mama's prices, from our retrofit cost breakdown, not a vendor quote |
Three honest readings of this table:
- The subscription lines include things the DIY lines do not (software, dashboards, support, the sensing device). The DIY CT line looks cheap only because your own engineer's months of work are not in it, and it is at the low end of what a commercial installed sensor costs.
- The camera line rests on our own licence band and on the "four machines per camera" assumption. On a floor where every machine needs its own view, it roughly quadruples, and on enclosed machines it may not work at all. Compare it with real quotes, not with this row.
- Controller data is cheapest where the option already exists and expensive or impossible on controls that predate it. Ask your machine builder before you budget anything.
What matters more than the monitoring cost is what the hours are worth. If your machine hour rate is ₹800 (an illustrative figure), one idle hour a day recovered on each of 40 machines is ₹32,000 a day, about ₹8 lakh over 25 working days, more than any monthly line in the table; if your utilisation is already high, see what 25%, 45% and 70% spindle utilisation actually mean before you buy anything.
Installation effort and who must say yes
| Logs | CT sensors | Controller data | Cameras | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touches the machine | No | Yes, inside the panel | Network port, sometimes an option card | No |
| Machine downtime to install | None | Short power-down per machine | Varies; option fitting may need the builder | None |
| Who must agree | Supervisors | Electrician, maintenance, OEM/AMC terms | Machine builder, IT, maintenance | IT (network), maintenance (cabling, mounting), HR (worker notice) |
The hidden cost in every non-log option is an internal owner who checks that data still flows in month four. A dashboard nobody opens fails whichever signal feeds it.
A sensible mixed approach
Give each machine class the cheapest method that answers your question:
- Newer CNCs with a network-capable control: read the controller. You get alarms and part counts no other method gives reliably.
- Old CNCs, manual lathes, presses with accessible panels: CT sensors if you only need run/idle per machine; cameras if one view covers several and the panel cannot be opened. More in tracking old CNCs without a PLC.
- Material flow, cranes, inspection points, loading bays: cameras, because no machine signal sees them.
- Everywhere: keep a short reason list (no material, no operator, setup, breakdown, QC wait) so every method names stops the same way. Then put the numbers into one view, such as the OEE calculator.
Where Mama fits
Mama is one camera-based option. It reads existing cameras over RTSP/ONVIF, or added ones, and every morning the owner gets a short plain-language note on which machines sat idle yesterday and roughly for how long. It watches machines and flows, counts people only in aggregate and never ranks operators. It does not replace controller data on machines that already report it, and it cannot see inside a closed guard. Mama can draw a camera plan for the machines you want to measure, marking which ones your existing cameras already see. Leave an email or phone in the form below.
FAQ
What is the cheapest way to monitor machine utilisation in India? Manual logs have the lowest cash cost but the least reliable data. A DIY current sensor's clamp costs a few hundred rupees; the logger, electrician and software are most of the cost. Cameras beat per-machine subscriptions only when one view covers several machines; where each machine needs its own camera, a CT sensor is often cheaper.
Can I read data from an old FANUC control? Sometimes. On many FANUC controls FOCAS over Ethernet is an installable option; older controls may need extra hardware or not support it at all. Ask the machine builder for the exact control model and options before you budget.
Do current sensors tell me why a machine stopped? No. They show running, idle and off, and current hints at load. The reason has to come from the operator, the controller's alarm, or a camera.
Are cameras accurate enough for utilisation? Where the machine has a visible running cue and a clear view, cameras can tell running from stopped; they cannot read spindle load, alarm codes or anything inside a closed guard. No method should be assumed exact; compare two methods on one cell before trusting either.
Do I need to inform workers if cameras are used for machine monitoring? Yes. Even if the purpose is machines, people appear in the frame, so a worker notice under the DPDP Act is the safe course, and the output should stay at aggregate counts with no individual ranking.