oee.ai can also be used “headless”, so that companies create the frontend themselves in order to provide the user with a uniform user interface even for several, technically different applications. With this concept, users no longer have to work with multiple systems, which reduces complexity for them and may also save them double entries.
The concept of “headless” refers to an architecture or implementation of software in which the user interface (also known as the “front-end”) and underlying functionality and data processing (the “back-end”) are separated and operate independently of each other. Communication between levels is carried out via APIs.
The concept has been spreading for several years, for example, in content management or shop systems for e-commerce. This concept is also attracting more and more interest in industrial applications.
Headless in a production environment
In the production environment, it is not uncommon for employees to have to satisfy the data requirements of various systems at one workplace. A classic example would be committee data. These are used both to calculate OEE and are often also required in a quality management system (QMS). In a well-developed IT environment, this would be done by an interface in the background. However, manual double entry is still common in production reality. There are essentially two reasons for this: Either the effort of connecting the two systems has been spared so far or the amount of data is different for both systems, but neither of the two front ends of the systems fully collects the data. In these cases, the employee must enter the data into both systems. With the headless concept, a further software layer would be used, which collects all data in a uniform look and feel and distributes it in the background to the applications — in use with headless.
Benefits of using headless
For a company, the headless concept comes with the additional effort required to develop and maintain the front end. However, even in the scenario of use in industrial production, this is offset by three significant advantages.
- Flexibility and adaptability: Headless enables a flexible architecture that can be used to respond quickly to changing user requirements and technological advancements.
- Integration of third-party services: The headless architecture makes it easy to integrate third-party services and APIs. This opens up opportunities to work with partners such as oee.ai, use external services and integrate new functions without extensive changes to the overall system.
- Improved user experience: Separating front-end and back-end enables better adaptation to user needs and faster implementation of user interface improvements.
Where does the frontend come from?
If you want to take advantage of a headless architecture, as already indicated above, a frontend must be created for the user on their own responsibility. This is usually done by using development frameworks and libraries such as React, Angular, or Vue. A low-code programming environment such as Node-RED or OutSystems often plays a major role in these architectures. The detailed design of the tech stack is a strategic and very company-specific task that requires detailed consideration.
Consider headless integration of manufacturing analytics into your IT environment. We have implemented various scenarios with various customers and we are happy to share our experiences with you. Please feel free to contact us at info@oee.ai.
Auteur: Linus Steinbeck