Factory networks grow one urgent fix at a time. Years later, nobody is sure how it all connects. These are the five signs we see most often before a plant asks for a refresh.
1. Nobody has a current network diagram
If the only map of the network is in one person's head, every fault and every change is a guess. A refresh starts by mapping what is there and drawing the diagram.
2. Fiber and cables are unlabeled
Unlabeled fiber turns a five-minute fix into an afternoon of tracing. At one factory we refreshed, 20 distribution points had to be traced and tagged before the new design could begin.
3. The network slows down or drops for no clear reason
Broadcast storms and loops in an unstructured network cause slowdowns that come and go. A structured layout with managed switching removes them.
4. Faults take hours to find
When cables are unlabeled and the diagram is missing, finding the fault takes longer than fixing it. Labeled cables and an up-to-date diagram mean a fault can be traced and resolved.
5. Every change risks a stoppage
If the plant runs around the clock, any network work feels risky. The answer is planned cutovers in the evenings, outside production hours, with testing before sign-off.
What a refresh looks like
For an agro-industrial group, LMI refreshed the networks of five factories between 2023 and 2026: mapping, a structured design, a fiber backbone with managed switching and UPS power, evening cutovers, and fiber testing before the client signed off at every factory. Read the full story in our case study, Network refresh across five factories.
Planning work at your site? Book a free site survey or email lori@onelmi.com.