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Device, maintenance system and our laptop · we install and set up
Pick the machine that makes everyone ask: what happened this time?
The pilot · one machine · four weeks
We bring LineKeeper On, LineKeeper Up and our own laptop, connect them to that one machine and, for four weeks, turn its stops into a record and into plain words for the mechanic: what stopped, what the machine did just before, what to check first. Nothing to pay during the pilot. At the end the system stays at our cost if the goals we agreed on were met, and free if they were not.
The device only reads. It never touches the PLC program; writing to the machine stays off unless you switch it on. No internet, no cloud. The security page has the whole list for your IT.
During the pilot
Length
4 weeks
Week 1 is the baseline · 15 minutes a week with you
Afterwards
At cost · or free
Goals met: the device stays at our cost price · goals missed: it stays free
What we need
One machine
An Ethernet port to its PLC, or a few of its signals · one contact person
Why this machineEveryone has one
Every plant has one machine that eats the mechanics' time
It runs, but it stops a few times a shift, or slows down for no reason anyone can name, and every time somebody has to go and find out what it was. Nobody writes it down, because writing it down is extra work. The pilot takes that one machine and makes the record a by-product of the repair. Four people get something out of it.
The mechanic
Arrives knowing what stopped, when, what the machine did in the minutes before, and what to check first. The last repair of the same thing is one scan away.
The engineer
Gets the recording of the event that is hard to catch: the inputs and outputs around the stop, the rung that held it, the alarm that came first.
The production manager
Sees where the output went: how many stops, how long, which ones repeat, what an hour of them costs.
The owner
Checks the use on one machine, with numbers from the plant, before deciding anything bigger. If it did not help, it cost nothing.
The four weeksDay 1 to the decision
What happens, week by week
- Day 1. We connect LK On to the machine's PLC network (or to a few of its signals), set up LK Up on our laptop and import your equipment list or repair log in whatever shape it has. Together we write down two or three goals, with numbers that come from your plant, not from us.
- Week 1, the baseline. The device records every stop, every alarm and the machine's history, and shows its program live. Each stop gets three clocks: time to notice, time to answer, time to fix. Nothing is judged yet.
- Weeks 2 and 3. We read the records with you, 15 minutes a week: which stops repeat, what the machine did before each one, what to check first. Your mechanic calls maintenance with one touch, closes the job with one touch, and the record writes itself.
- Week 4. Your numbers against week 1, the three clocks and what an hour of downtime costs you. You decide whether it stays. Either way the system is moved onto a computer you own and the laptop goes back to us.
What is whatToday · by hand · in progress
What the device does today, what we do by hand, what is in progress
| Recorded by the device from day 1 | Stops, alarms, up to five years of history, the operator panel, the program live as a ladder with the values on it. These are released features; the same ones the LK On page calls today. |
|---|---|
| Read by us, by hand, in the first weeks | Which stops repeat, what preceded each one, what to check first. We take it from the device's own records and write it in plain words for the mechanic, every week, together with you. |
| In progress, release soon | The supervisor on the device that does this reading itself: findings in plain words, a health score per mechanism, the link that sends stops and run hours into LK Up. The pilot is where it learns from a real machine. Nothing in the pilot depends on it. |
| Never | No control of the machine from our side, no writes unless you switch them on, no safety functions, no cloud. We do not promise to prevent any particular failure or to name a cause; we show what the machine did and what to look at. |
From youSix things
What we need from you
- One machine with an Ethernet port to its PLC, or access to a few of its signals (a tower light is enough; the wiring is done on site).
- One contact person who knows the machine and can say what a stop costs.
- Your equipment list or repair log in any form: a spreadsheet, a binder, a CMMS export. We import it.
- Your cost of an hour of downtime, even roughly. Week 4 is counted in it.
- 15 minutes a week to go through what the system found and say whether it is right.
- Permission to use anonymous numbers and a quote afterwards.
What it costsWritten where the button is
Nothing during the pilot. Afterwards, at cost or free.
| During the four weeks | Nothing. The device, the maintenance system and the laptop are ours. |
|---|---|
| Goals met | LK On stays with you at our cost price. LK Up is free, always. |
| Goals missed | LK On stays with you free. Either way you come out ahead. |
| The laptop | Goes back to us. We move LK Up and its data onto a computer you own before we leave. |
| Your data | Stays on your plant network the whole time. Export to CSV, Excel or JSON whenever you like. |
The goals are two or three measurable things we write down with you on day 1, with your numbers: the longest of the three clocks shorter than in week 1, repeat causes visible with their evidence, early findings your mechanic confirms as real.
Line down today?A different order of things
If a panel is dead right now, the pilot is not the first step
The pilot is for a machine that runs and keeps stopping. A dead operator panel is a different day: the 10-minute triage guide comes first, then LK Go, the free app, puts a temporary screen on an iPhone or iPad the same day (reading is free; running the machine from the phone is Pro, $59.99 one-time), and line-down messages to us are answered first. Once the line runs again, that machine is often the best one to pilot on.
FAQFair questions about the pilot
Fair questions about the pilot
Do we need an engineer on our side for the pilot?
No. We connect the device, set up the maintenance system on our own laptop and import your equipment list. You name one contact person and give us 15 minutes a week. Every message your operators, mechanics and managers see is written in plain words; if one makes you ask what it means, that is our mistake and we rewrite it.
Does it touch the PLC program or control the machine?
No. The device reads. It never changes the PLC program, and writing to the machine stays off unless you switch it on yourself. It is not a safety device and is never used for safety functions. It works on your plant network with no internet and no cloud.
What if the machine's PLC cannot be read?
The device reads Allen-Bradley Logix, SLC-500 and MicroLogix, PowerFlex drives, Siemens S7, Modbus TCP and RTU and OPC UA. A machine with no readable PLC can still be watched through its tower light or a few signals wired to the device's inputs; the wiring is done on site and is agreed on day 1.
What does LineKeeper get out of a free pilot?
A real machine. The supervisor on the device, the part that reads the records itself and says what changed, is in progress; a pilot is where it learns from a production machine instead of a simulator. We also ask for permission to use anonymous numbers and a quote. That is the whole deal.
Where does our data go?
It stays on your plant network: on the device and on the laptop we bring. Nothing goes to a cloud. At the end of the pilot we move the maintenance system and its data onto a computer you own, and you can export everything to CSV, Excel or JSON at any time.
Can we just preorder the device instead?
Yes. LK On is on preorder, 7″ $800 and 10″ $900 one-time, with a full refund before shipping and 30 days money-back after delivery. The pilot is for a plant that wants proof on one machine before deciding anything bigger.
Name your machineA real engineer answers
Which machine keeps people asking what happened?
Start a pilot
Tell us the machine, its PLC and panel if you know them, and roughly where the plant is. We reply with two or three questions and a date; nothing is charged, nothing is signed.