If You Can’t See It, You Can’t Fix It: Why Factory Floor Visibility Still Falls Short

The following is the outcome of a candid conversation with a life sciences expert on the hidden cost of poor data visibility and why mobile access on the factory floor isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Most pharma manufacturers say they’re digitizing, but when you zoom in, they’re not even collecting the right data in the right places.

We recently sat down with a manufacturing tech lead at a major automation solutions provider, to talk about one thing: visibility.

Not buzzwords.

Not another layer of dashboards.

We’re talking about what happens when your factory floor can’t see what it’s doing.

And yes, he had some thoughts to share.

So, What’s Actually Broken?

Here’s his take:

“There’s a huge lack of real-time visibility across manufacturing facilities for operations, quality and maintenance departments Many facilities operate with historical data and some facilities are not properly integrated thereby losing visibility of AT/IT systems such as MES, DCS, SCADA, LIMs, etc., Even where facilities are fully integrated and connected, few are viewing systems or consuming and analysing data in real time." The result?

You only find out something’s gone wrong after the batch is done. Sometimes when QA spots a deviation. Sometimes in an FDA inspection. Worst case, after the product hits the market.

The Cost Of ‘Invisible’ Data

Missed temperature thresholds. A recipe running off-spec. Equipment overdue for calibration. Paper logs that weren’t filed properly.

These are small things, until they’re not.

"I’ve seen a £1 million batch saved because an operator observed that the wrong batch file was in operation on a mobile cart mid-batch cycle ."

It’s not about having more screens. It’s about giving the right people the right access at the right time.

What Good Looks Like

Let’s break it down:

Connected infrastructure: a secure, connected factory network
IT-OT collaboration: data isn’t just an IT problem. Ops needs to own visibility too
Mobile access: carts, pods, terminals that let people interact with data where work is happening‍
Simple context switching: check DCS / SCADA, then LIMS, then MES, without walking across the building

“The cart isn’t just a trolley. It’s a mobile visibility point.”

What Pharma Gets Wrong and How To Fix It

Most life sciences teams look at what ‘the big guys’ are doing and try to copy-paste.

That’s not the play.

“Don’t blindly follow. Define what visibility means for your environment. What KPIs are you chasing? What decisions need to be made faster?”

If you don’t know what you’re measuring, no software stack will save you.

Start with use cases.

Start from your bottlenecks.

Then pick the right tools and devices.

A Note on Compliance

Old-school thinking says, "Don’t touch anything, it’ll break validation."

The expert disagrees.

“The FDA and other regulatory bodies are digitally trained now. They’re expecting you to use data, not ignore it.”

That includes:

Batch integrity
Audit trails
Digital sign-off
Environmental logs

And yes, it includes mobile visibility.

So What’s Next?

This isn’t about buying a magic cart.

It’s about rethinking access; who sees what, where, and when.

If the answer is "only when QA checks it," you're already too late.

“Visibility on the factory floor isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s survival.”

Final Thought

If your DCS, MES, LIMS, SCADA, and environmentals don’t talk to each other, or worse, can’t be accessed when they’re needed...you’re flying blind.

Let’s fix that.

Talk to our team about mobile visibility.

Why Kinetic-ID?

Kinetic-ID designs purpose-built mobile workstations, terminals, and visibility hubs for high-compliance environments like life sciences manufacturing. Our systems are engineered for 24/7 uptime, with secure swappable batteries, seamless device integration, and medical-grade certification where it matters.

Whether it’s a cleanroom, MES environment, or QA checkpoint, our carts help bring critical data directly to the point of work, without compromising compliance, hygiene, or runtime.

We’re not just selling carts. We’re building visibility infrastructure you can trust.

See how our ID-Flow Series works in cleanroom and pharma.

Frequently Asked Questions

‍What does factory floor visibility really mean in life sciences? It means being able to access and act on real-time data from MES, LIMS, DCS, SCADA, maintenance, and more, directly at the point of work. ‍
Why is mobile access important on the factory floor? Because data only matters if the right person can act on it. Mobile carts or terminals help teams fix problems in the moment, not hours later. ‍
What are the risks of poor visibility? Deviations go unnoticed, compliance gets compromised, and valuable products could be lost. Visibility gaps cost money and trust. ‍
Does mobile visibility break GMP compliance? Not at all. In fact, the FDA expects digital traceability, and mobile visibility supports stronger compliance, not weaker. ‍
How do we start improving visibility in our facility? Start with a use case. Identify where delays or errors come from. Then work backwards to map the data and tools needed at that point of work.