What is the IT/OT convergence problem in manufacturing?

IT/OT convergence refers to the integration of Information Technology (IT — business systems, ERP, databases, networks) with Operational Technology (OT — PLCs, SCADA, machine controllers, OPC UA servers). Traditionally, these systems operated in isolated silos. IT/OT convergence enables machine data to flow into enterprise analytics, ERP systems, and cloud platforms — enabling real-time visibility and data-driven decision-making.

OPC UA MES Integration for IT/OT Engineers

Q: Does Shopfloor Copilot support custom OPC UA node mapping?

Yes. The OPC Studio semantic mapping engine uses a YAML configuration file to map OPC UA node identifiers to named semantic signals (e.g., ns=2;i=5001 → production_count). Semantic signals are then bound to standard MES signals (station.output_count, line.oee_availability) used across the platform. Mappings are validated on startup with detailed error reporting.

Also see how Shopfloor Copilot serves other roles:

🏭 Plant Manager 📊 Operations Director

The Technical Architecture

Shopfloor Copilot is a Python-native stack deployed entirely on-premise via Docker Compose. Key components from an IT/OT perspective:

OPC Studio — standalone OPC UA client container with asyncua. Connects to any OPC UA server (compatible with Siemens, Beckhoff, Bosch, Schneider, Kepware OPC UA servers). Subscribes to nodes, stores values to PostgreSQL time-series tables.
Semantic mapping engine — YAML-defined mappings from raw OPC UA node IDs to named semantic signals. Validated on startup. Supports line.*, station.*, and custom signal namespaces.
PostgreSQL 16 — all production data in a standard relational schema. Full SQL access. Backup via standard pg_dump. Schema documented in API reference.
FastAPI REST — 24+ API endpoints. JWT authentication. All screens call internal REST APIs — external integration uses the same API surface.
No cloud dependencies — all processing on-premise. No data leaves the facility network.

IT/OT Integration Capabilities

🔌 Native OPC UA Client

asyncua-based OPC UA client. Supports UA/TCP, certificate auth, anonymous sessions. Browse server namespace, subscribe to nodes, handle reconnection automatically.

📄 YAML Semantic Mapping

Map OPC UA node IDs to semantic signal names in plain YAML. Validation on load. Live reload without container restart. Station-type-aware default signal profiles.

🗄️ Full PostgreSQL Access

Standard PostgreSQL with documented schema. SQLAlchemy ORM models included. Write your own SQL queries or connect BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Grafana) directly.

🔗 FastAPI REST Integration

24+ REST endpoints for all platform data. JWT bearer auth. Swagger/OpenAPI docs auto-generated. Webhook-ready architecture for ERP/CMMS push events.

🐳 Docker Compose Deployment

Single docker-compose.yml defines all 7 services. Bind-mounted source code — deploy file changes without rebuilding images. Configure via environment variables.

🤖 Local LLM (Ollama)

Ollama LLM container for AI Q&A and root cause analysis. No external API calls. Choose your model. ChromaDB vector store for RAG knowledge base — all on-premise.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the IT/OT convergence problem?

IT/OT convergence integrates Information Technology (ERP, databases, networks) with Operational Technology (PLCs, SCADA, OPC UA servers). Traditionally siloed, convergence enables machine data to flow into enterprise analytics and ERP — enabling real-time visibility and data-driven decisions.

Does Shopfloor Copilot support custom OPC UA node mapping?

Yes. The OPC Studio semantic engine uses YAML to map OPC UA node identifiers (e.g., ns=2;i=5001) to named semantic signals (e.g., production_count), which bind to standard MES signals used across the platform. Mappings are validated on startup with detailed error reporting.

Get the Technical Documentation

Contact us for the full API reference, OPC UA setup guide, semantic mapping YAML schema, and Docker Compose reference architecture for your integration project.

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OPC UA MES Integration — Built for IT/OT Engineers Who Need Full Control