Machine Tracking Isn’t Just for High-Volume Production — It Might Matter Most in Job Shops

Walk into most manufacturing facilities and mention “machine tracking,” and you’ll often hear the same assumption:

“That’s for production shops — the ones running high volume.”

It’s an understandable misconception.

When people think of tracking machine uptime, they picture a production floor filled with CNCs running nonstop — one job, thousands of parts, predictable cycle times.

But here’s the truth: real-time machine tracking delivers just as much — and often even more — value in high-mix, low-volume environments.

Let me share an example.

A Visit to Positrol Workholding

I recently visited Positrol Workholding in Cincinnati, Ohio — a long-time Machine Tracking customer.

If there’s ever been a company that breaks the mold of “typical” production, it’s Positrol.

Their own website says it best:

“Positrol is an engineering firm first, so special applications are part of the day-to-day. This creates an environment where Positrol can develop new products and industrial workholding solutions for various industries.”

That means nearly every project is unique. Every setup is different. And very few jobs repeat.

Their president, Dave, told me something that stuck with me:

“We’re lucky if a customer orders two of the same thing.”

For Positrol, every order is essentially a prototype. They design, build, and test workholding systems that are often one-of-a-kind.

So how does machine tracking help in a place like that?

Visibility Where It’s Hardest to See

In a high-mix, low-volume environment, the challenge isn’t keeping machines running on long cycles — it’s keeping the whole process moving efficiently.

When every setup is different, it’s incredibly easy for setup times to quietly stretch. A fixture change takes longer. A part program needs a tweak. A tool path needs review.

Before you know it, half the shift is gone.

Without real-time data, that lost time hides in the noise of “busy.” Everyone’s working hard — but productivity can slip without anyone noticing until the week’s over.

That’s where uptime tracking comes in.Machine Tracking helps Positrol’s team see what’s actually happening — when spindles are running as expected, and when they’re not.

It’s not about chasing utilization percentages or OEE scores.It’s about awareness — knowing where the hours go, so leadership can have the right conversations and take the right actions.

The Value of Real-Time Insight

For job shops like Positrol, the insights from Machine Tracking create three major advantages:

1. Catch Setup Creep Early

When setups start running long, it’s rarely intentional. Real-time visibility helps identify those drags before they become the norm. Teams can quickly see which machines are waiting and why.

2. Balance Labor and Equipment

In smaller shops, labor is one of the biggest constraints. Machine Tracking highlights when machines are idle but operators are tied up elsewhere — a key indicator of where scheduling or workflow can improve.

3. Build a Culture of Awareness

In a job shop, productivity is about rhythm and communication. Having uptime visible in real time helps align everyone — operators, supervisors, and engineering — around what’s running, what’s waiting, and what needs attention.

Why “Low Volume” Doesn’t Mean “Low Value”

If anything, high-mix, low-volume shops need visibility more than production lines do.

In a production shop, a single downtime event might affect hundreds of parts. In a job shop, lost time during setup or part changeover may seem smaller — but across dozens of jobs a week, those inefficiencies add up quickly.

When margins are tight and labor is limited, that visibility becomes a competitive advantage.

For Positrol, uptime data isn’t a report they pull later — it’s a real-time field of view into how their shop is performing minute by minute.

The Bigger Lesson

Machine Tracking was never designed just for high-volume manufacturing. It was designed for real-world manufacturing — where mix, complexity, and people all play a role in getting parts out the door.

Whether you’re running a production line or a job shop that rarely repeats a job, the goal is the same: keep machines running as expected, keep setups efficient, and help your team make decisions with confidence.

That’s what real-time visibility delivers.

And that’s why companies like Positrol — where no two jobs look alike — find so much value in it.

Bottom line:

Machine Tracking isn’t just for high-volume. It’s for any shop that wants to see what’s really happening — and make smarter, faster, more confident decisions because of it.