For Manufacturers · Shop-floor networks
Shop-floor Wi-Fi that works
A plant is a harder place for wireless than any office. When the Wi-Fi drops, scanners stop, tablets freeze and people walk back to a desk to finish the job. Here’s why it happens and what a network built for the floor looks like.
The problem
Why plant Wi-Fi fails
Most plant networks were never designed. They grew one access point at a time, each one added when somebody complained.
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The building fights back
Steel racking and machines absorb the signal before it reaches the far bay.
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Office gear on a plant floor
Consumer access points were placed where an office would need them, not where the forklifts are.
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One network for everything
Office laptops, production machines and visitors’ phones all share one flat network.
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Nobody is watching
A dead access point is found by a scanner that stops scanning, halfway through a pick.
The fix
What a working setup looks like
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A site survey first.
We measure the signal where people actually work before any hardware is chosen.
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Business-grade access points.
Placed for the floor, the racking and the dock, not copied from an office plan.
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Separate networks.
One for the office, one for production machines and one for guests.
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Monitoring.
Problems show up on our screen before your people have to call about them.
Security
Keeping production separate from email
The laptop that clicks a phishing link should never be able to reach the PC that runs a machine. On a flat network it can, and whatever arrives in the office inbox can travel straight onto the floor.
We segment the machine network from office IT and work with your equipment vendor for anything inside the machine itself.
That wall is one of the controls that matters most against ransomware. Ransomware protection for manufacturers →
How we do it
From survey to a managed network
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Step 1
Survey
We walk the building with test equipment and map where coverage is strong, weak or missing, including the corners people have given up on.
What you get A written picture of your coverage today.
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Step 2
Plan
We choose where each access point goes, how the three networks are divided and what, if anything, you already own can stay.
What you get A plan and a parts list you approve before work starts.
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Step 3
Install
Cabling through our partner, scheduled around production. We mount and configure the access points and test from the floor, not the office.
What you get Coverage checked where the work happens.
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Step 4
Manage
The network is looked after as part of Fully Managed IT: watched, updated and adjusted when the floor layout changes.
What you get One team for the office and the plant.
For the office side of the same work, see network and Wi-Fi support.
Where to start
Where to start
The choice is yours.
- Want to know where your plant’s coverage stands? Book my free IT risk review →
- A plant of 15 to 70 people who want the office and the floor looked after together. Our Fully Managed IT Support Program →
- Worried about what a flat network means for ransomware? Ransomware protection for manufacturers →
What success looks like
Nobody talks about the Wi-Fi.
Because it reaches every corner of the floor.
- Scanners and tablets stay connected to the far wall.
- The machine network is off limits to office laptops.
- Visitors get online without touching your systems.
Questions about shop-floor Wi-Fi
Do we need to replace all our access points?
Not always. The survey says which ones are in the wrong place, which are past their useful life and which can stay.
Can you work around our production schedule?
Yes. Installs are scheduled with you, around runs and shifts, so the floor keeps moving while the work gets done.
Who handles cabling?
Our cabling partner does the runs, and we manage the work: the plan, the schedule and the testing afterwards.
Can guests and vendors get Wi-Fi without touching our network?
Yes. They join a separate guest network that reaches the internet and nothing else.
Walk the floor with us.
Book a free IT risk review and we’ll look at where your coverage drops and how your networks are divided. Or start with a few questions about your tech.