Pressure 01
2days lag
Production tracking still on paper
By the time yesterday's run sheet is keyed into Excel, the line lead has already lost the morning to chasing the numbers. Management sees OEE two days late.
Solutions · MES · arc.lite
Retire paper, see OEE live, start at RM 0 · arc.lite MES.
arc.lite is the free entry-tier Arcstone MES Malaysian factories use to retire paper work orders, capture downtime reasons at the source and put live OEE on the floor and the boardroom screen on the same shift. Touch-screen terminals on the line, simple operator login, PLC and SCADA wired in where you have them. Daxonet, Arcstone's ASEAN implementation partner, has the terminals on your floor and the operators trained inside two weeks.
- Free entry tier
- Live OEE end of week 1
- EN · BM · 简体中文 training
- Arcstone ASEAN partner
Integrates with
PLC
SCADA
ERP
Excel
What changes after week 1
Six floor outcomes you read on the OEE board.
Not feature lists. The shifts your line lead, your factory manager and the customer auditor feel within the first 30 days on arc.lite.
Digital work orders day 1
Paper sheets retired in week 1. Operator scans the work order, the terminal logs Run and Stop with timestamps.
Real-time OEE on the floor
Line lead and factory manager read the same OEE on a browser. No more "what was yesterday like" at the morning meeting.
Downtime captured at the source
Operator hits Stop and picks a reason from a short list. Pareto chart writes itself · no clipboard, no transcription.
Operator-friendly touch terminal
4-digit pin login, big buttons, icons. New operator productive in under an hour. Works in EN, BM or 简体中文.
Free to start · zero RM
No license fee for the core production-tracking edition. Operator seats included. Pay only for optional install help and terminals.
Upgrade path to arc.ops
Same database, same login, same terminals. Move to the flagship arc.ops when the floor is ready for SPC, planning and genealogy.
Capability 01 · Work orders
Paper retired in week one · the operator scans, the line records itself.
Operator logs in on the touch-screen terminal with a 4-digit pin. The work order is a barcode on the dispatch sheet · scan it, hit Run. Stop with a downtime reason from a short pick-list, or log a scrap entry with a reason. The terminal records the run-stop log, the operator id, the reason and the timestamp · in seconds, not at end of shift.
- ✓Touch-screen operator interface · 4-digit pin, icon-led buttons, scanner-friendly. New operator productive in under an hour.
- ✓Run-stop log per work order · timestamps, operator id, downtime reason, scrap entry, changeover marker.
- ✓Trilingual UI · English, Bahasa Melayu and 简体中文 · pick the language per shift to match the floor.
Side by side
How does arc.lite compare to paper and Excel?
Honest scorecard based on what most Malaysian SME factories run today.
Capability
Paper
Excel
arc.lite
Digital work-order tracking
✕
~
✓
Real-time OEE on the floor
✕
✕
✓
Downtime reason capture
~
~
✓
OEE calculation
✕
~
✓
Customer audit traceability
~
~
✓
Upgrade path · planning · genealogy
✕
✕
✓
Free entry tier
What does the free tier cost a Malaysian factory?
From
RM 0
Per month · forever
No license fee
Core production-tracking edition is free for as long as you run it. No time-limited trial. No surprise bill at month 13.
Operator licenses included
Unlimited operator seats at the free tier. 12-line factory or 80-line factory · same RM 0.
Pay only for setup help
Optional Daxonet implementation, terminal hardware, IIoT gateways for older PLCs. Fixed-price quotes after the line walkthrough.
Free tier covers digital work orders, downtime capture, real-time OEE, browser dashboards, audit export. Paid items are quoted on the line walkthrough · expect terminals from RM 1,800 each, IIoT gateway RM 2,500 to RM 4,500 per gateway, Daxonet rollout based on the line count. Numbers based on Daxonet's typical SME factory deployment in Malaysia.
The Daxonet rollout
Live on the floor end of week one. Signed off, shift by shift.
Four signoff cards · the way an ISO 9001 procedure document reads. Each step ends with the operator, line lead or factory manager signing the floor is on the system.
Line walkthrough
Walk the floor with the line lead. Sticker the machines that need terminals. Quote PLC and IIoT gateway scope on a fixed price.
✓Signed · Line lead
Terminals + wiring
Mount terminals at the line. Set up arc.lite on a small server at the factory. Wire OPC-UA, Modbus or the Arcstone IIoT gateway where the floor needs it.
✓Signed · Maintenance
Two-hour operator session
Two hours per shift, hands-on at the terminal. EN, BM or 简体中文 per shift. Operators run a real work order before the trainer leaves.
✓Signed · Shift lead
OEE on the board
Floor on the system. Browser dashboard live for line lead and factory manager. First OEE Pareto reviewed at the end-of-week meeting.
✓Signed · Factory manager
FAQ
Questions Malaysian factory managers ask before signing.
What is arc.lite and what does the free tier actually include?
arc.lite is Arcstone's free entry-tier MES (Manufacturing Execution System) for SME and mid-market factories. The free tier includes the digital work-order engine, operator touch-screen interface, downtime reason capture, real-time OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) calculation, browser-based dashboards for line lead and factory manager, and an audit export for customer audits. Operator seats are unlimited at the free tier · you do not pay per operator. The paid items are optional Daxonet implementation help, terminal hardware, PLC or SCADA gateway hardware, and the upgrade path to arc.ops when the factory is ready for advanced quality, planning and IIoT analytics. There is no time-limited trial · the free tier stays free for as long as you run it.
How much does the terminal hardware actually cost per machine?
Pricing is scoped to your size, modules and integrations. Daxonet quotes fixed-price after a short scoping call so there are no surprises. Most clients reach payback within the same project window.
Will arc.lite read from our existing Mitsubishi, Siemens or Omron PLCs?
Yes. arc.lite reads from the line via three paths. The first is direct PLC connection over OPC-UA, Modbus TCP or EtherNet/IP for modern controllers · Mitsubishi Q-series, FX5, Siemens S7-1200 and S7-1500, Omron NJ and NX, Allen-Bradley CompactLogix and ControlLogix, Beckhoff TwinCAT. The second is an Arcstone-supplied IIoT gateway that retrofits older Mitsubishi A-series, FX-series, Siemens S7-200 and S7-300, Omron CJ and CS · the gateway sits on the bus and exposes the tags. The third is a manual operator entry for stand-alone machines (older injection moulders, manual presses, hand-fed packing lines) where the operator hits Run and Stop on the terminal and arc.lite computes OEE from the run-stop times. Daxonet does the line walkthrough, tags the machines and quotes a fixed-price PLC scope before signing.
When should we upgrade from arc.lite to arc.ops, and what changes?
Stay on arc.lite as long as the factory is happy with digital work orders, downtime capture and shop-floor OEE. Upgrade to the flagship arc.ops when the factory needs one of these · full quality management with SPC (Statistical Process Control), inspection plans and non-conformance routing; advanced planning and finite-capacity scheduling against the production calendar; lot or serial-number traceability with full genealogy for the customer audit; IIoT analytics with predictive trends across machines; or full ERP integration with D365 Finance and Supply Chain Management or AutoCount Accounting. The upgrade is in place · same database, same terminals, same operator login. Daxonet quotes a fixed scope for the upgrade with no rip-and-replace.
Will customer audits accept arc.lite as the source of traceability?
Yes for most automotive Tier 1 / Tier 2, electronics, food, and FMM-style audits at the SME and mid-market level. arc.lite produces a timestamped run-stop log per work order with the operator id, the downtime reason, the changeover marker and the scrap entry · exported to PDF or Excel for the auditor's pack. ISO 9001:2015 inspectors accept arc.lite's record as objective evidence of process control. When the audit asks for full lot or serial-number genealogy across multiple processes (typical of pharma GMP, automotive PPAP at full Tier 1 level, or aerospace AS9100), upgrade to arc.ops · the genealogy module is in arc.ops, not arc.lite. Daxonet briefs the auditor's checklist against the arc.lite output before the audit so there are no surprises.
Can we roll arc.lite out across multiple factories or just one site?
Multi-factory rollouts are common · Daxonet has wired arc.lite into multi-site groups in Klang Valley, Penang FTZ, Iskandar and Pasir Gudang. Each factory runs as a separate site with its own line, machine and operator master · the group-level dashboard rolls up OEE, downtime and work-in-progress across all sites in one view. The free tier supports unlimited sites · the only multi-site cost is the optional implementation help and the terminal hardware per site. Daxonet sequences the rollouts one factory per fortnight for a typical 3 to 5 site group, with the group-level dashboard live at end of the first site.
What language is the operator training delivered in?
Operator training is delivered in English, Bahasa Melayu or 简体中文 (Mandarin) per shift · pick the language that matches the floor. The training is hands-on at the terminal, not classroom · two hours per shift, one shift at a time, on the actual machines the operators run. The terminal interface is touch-screen with icons and short labels, configured in the language the floor speaks. Daxonet's MES consultants are bilingual EN+BM and EN+CN and run the training in the language the operator answers in.
Where does the factory data live, and is the floor data sovereignty acceptable?
Default deployment for arc.lite in Malaysia is on-premise on a small server at the factory · the floor data does not leave the building. The browser-based dashboards run inside the factory network. The Arcstone-cloud option is available for groups that want a multi-site dashboard hosted in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur · Singapore region for regional groups, KL data centre for groups that prefer Malaysian residency. PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act 2010) consent and access controls are configured at install. Daxonet handles the IT discussion with your factory-floor IT team and signs the data-flow diagram before kickoff.