What is Production data acquisition (PDA)?

Good decisions require good information. To control the profitability of manufacturing processes, values relating to performance and costs within the framework of the manufacturing processes are required. This information is obtained at various levels and divided into organizational production data (e.g., personnel data, order data) and technical production data (machine data, process data). Data can be collected in various ways: It can be written down, determined mechanically, or recorded digitally.

The term production data acquisition (PDA) refers to the IT solution that ensures that the data collected is connected digitally and can be applied systematically for planning, controlling, and monitoring purposes. The more seamless the data availability (and the more error-free), the better a PDA system can be used to optimize the profitability of production. For this reason, the introduction of PDA is usually associated with measures to close the existing gaps in digital data acquisition (see MDA).