Process and packaging machine builders have been looking for ways to cut back on client support expenses. Remote monitoring via the Internet can save on unneeded maintenance trips and increase uptime for food and beverage clients.

Machine builders used to struggle with diagnosing and troubleshooting their equipment when they tried to talk out the problem(s) over the phone with a food processor’s operator or maintenance person. Usually, a local representative—or a technician from headquarters—had to be sent out, only to find the processor could have easily fixed the machine, if the machine builder’s engineer had a better picture of the machine’s status than someone could describe over the phone.