What this is 🧩
Production Entities are how Next Plus represents the physical world inside the MES.
They allow you to configure machines, stations, lines, or any other production resource and connect them to workflows, sessions, and data.
If you want accurate traceability, machine context, or scalable automation — Production Entities are the foundation.
This article is mainly for Editors, Admins, and Integrators, but Operators will benefit from understanding the concept at a high level.
Let's Define a Production Entity
A Production Entity is a digital representation of something that exists on your shop floor, such as:
Machine – CNC, Test Equipment, oven, press
Station – Assembly station, inspection station
Line – A logical group of stations
Virtual entity – Logical or aggregated resource
⚠️ There is no single “correct” type — what matters is consistency and clarity.
Production Entities do not represent what you make (that’s a Part), and they do not represent how you work (that’s a Workflow).
Instead, they answer the question:
Where and on what platform did this production happen?
Why Production Entities matter
Without Production Entities:
Sessions are disconnected from machines
Machine data has no clear production context
Scaling automation becomes hard and fragile
With Production Entities, you can:
Link sessions to specific machines or stations
Collect and store machine or parameter data correctly
Trigger logic based on where work is executed
Maintain clean traceability as your factory grows
💡 Think of Production Entities as the connector between digital processes and physical reality.
How Production Entities fit into the Next Plus model
Production Entities can participate in Next Plus in two different (and complementary) ways.
Understanding this distinction is critical for designing clean, scalable models.
1️⃣ Standalone Production Entities (machine-first model)
In this model, Production Entities exist independently of workflows.
You connect Next Plus directly to:
Machines
Stations
Equipment
Data sources (PLC, OPC-UA, logs)
What this enables:
Continuous data collection (logs, parameters, states)
Machine-level visibility without running a workflow
BI and analytics based purely on machine behavior
Example:
Machine A sends temperature and runtime data to Next Plus
No workflow is required
Data is stored, structured, and visualized in BI dashboards
💡 Use this model when:
You want machine monitoring
You collect data continuously
You need operational or performance analytics
2️⃣ Workflow-linked Production Entities (process-first model)
In this model, a Production Entity is used as a step inside a workflow.
How it works:
An Editor adds a Production Entity step to a workflow
The workflow is published
An Operator starts a Session
During execution, the session reaches the Production Entity step
Data is collected in the context of that session
What this enables:
Contextual data collection (per unit, per operation)
Full traceability between:
Operator
Workflow step
Production Entity
Collected data
Automation and triggers based on machine + process context
Example:
Workflow: “Assembly + Test”
Step 5: Test on Machine B
Operator reaches the step
performs Check In/Checkout of units from session or workorder into the machine.
Test results are collected from Machine B
Data is stored as part of the session
💡 Use this model when:
Machine data must be tied to a specific operation
You need per-unit or per-step traceability
Data should affect workflow logic or quality decisions
Best practices 💡
Model reality, not exceptions
Start with how your factory actually works today.Be consistent
Decide early whether entities represent machines, stations, or both.Avoid over-modeling
Don’t create entities “just in case” — add them when they serve a purpose.Think long-term
Production Entities are hard to change later. Design for scale.
Common questions / FAQs
Do Operators need to manage Production Entities?
No. Operators usually use them implicitly when running sessions.
Creation and configuration are handled by Editors or Admins.
Is a Production Entity required?
Not always — but it becomes essential when:
You collect machine data
You run the same workflow on multiple machines
You need reliable traceability or automation
Can one workflow run on multiple Production Entities?
Yes. The same workflow can be executed on different machines or stations, while still keeping data separated and traceable.
Related articles 📚
✨ Key takeaway:
Production Entities are not just configuration objects — they are the bridge between your factory floor and your digital processes. Model them thoughtfully, and everything else in Next Plus becomes clearer, cleaner, and more powerful.