Line Cameras on the Plant Network: What IT Needs to Know

Key takeaways

• A zone of its own: keep cameras apart from the office network and from the PLCs.
• Wired beats wireless: one cable for data and power wherever you can.
• Video is heavy, events are light. Ask what leaves the line: a stream, or events and short clips.
• Short clips, erased on a timer, and only for the purpose agreed.
• Works council and privacy checks come first, before the first camera goes up.

A line camera is an OT device that happens to see. Give it a network zone of its own and wired power and data. Before the first install, decide where its video is processed and how long any clip is kept.

Fabrico, OEE and light MES software with AI cameras, uses the camera clip as evidence for a stop. The operator confirms the reason in one tap. Where video is processed, how long clips are kept and the works agreement are agreed per plant with Fabrico's technical team. This guide lists what IT should plan and ask.

Why do line cameras need IT planning?

Because video can swamp a plant network that was built for PLC data. Video analytics is heavy on bandwidth and sensitive to delay. That makes it a natural job for a computer close to the line.

One vendor's field report shows the risk. One vision vendor's first pilot covered 4 workstations with 8 devices. It needed 40 Mbps, and the plant link had 10. The fix was a self-contained node with the camera, a GPU and storage on board. It ran the model on the device and let only encrypted events leave the floor.

Cameras are also networked computers. They need the same zone rules, updates and password care as any other OT device.

Which network setup does a line camera need?

• Its own zone. A separate VLAN or network zone per line or per plant, with one controlled path to the processing node.
• Wired Ethernet with power over the same cable (PoE), so there is no extra power supply at the camera.
• Outbound only. The camera node sends data out; nothing from the internet connects in.
• Time sync. Clip times must match the stop times from the PLC, so use the plant's time server.
• Fixed addresses or reserved ones, so the camera inventory stays readable.
• Physical care: a stable mount, steady lighting and a lens that can be cleaned on a food line.

Our guide to IEC 62443 zones and conduits shows how to draw the zone and its single conduit.

Where should video be processed: on the line or in the cloud?

Most honest designs split the work. Frames are processed close to the line. Events, short clips and KPIs go upstream. The cloud is useful for model updates, dashboards across plants and search.

So ask every vendor two questions. Where are the frames processed? And what exactly leaves the line? The answers decide your bandwidth, your privacy work and your firewall rules.

Worked example: bandwidth for one line

Sample line (illustrative numbers, not a customer). A packaging line has 4 cameras. Each camera would send 4 Mbit/s if it streamed its video. Check the real figure on your camera's datasheet. The shift is 8 hours, or 28,800 seconds.

Streaming: 16 Mbit/s x 28,800 seconds = 460,800 Mbit, or 57,600 MB a shift. It takes 16 Mbit/s of the uplink all the time.

Events plus clips: the 20 clips are 300 seconds of video at 4 Mbit/s, or 150 MB. The events add 0.6 MB. That is about 151 MB a shift, roughly 380 times less than streaming.

On a plant link like the one in the field report, the first design would not fit. The second would barely be noticed.

What privacy rules shape the camera setup?

In Europe, the rules on workplace video are strict, and they affect the design, not only the paperwork.

• EDPB Guidelines 3/2019: employees mostly do not expect to be watched by their employer. Employers should not rely on consent. Footage should be erased, ideally automatically, after a few days. Keeping it beyond 72 hours needs more justification.
• EU AI Act: AI that infers emotions at work is banned since 2 February 2025. AI that monitors workers' performance is high risk, with those duties applying from 2 December 2027.
• Germany: under section 87 of the works constitution act, the works council co-decides on any device that can monitor behaviour or performance. A camera that records nothing still needs a works agreement.

The design rule that follows: measure the process, never the person. Our guide to production line cameras without surveillance covers this in depth.

What should IT ask a camera OEE vendor?

1. Where are frames processed, and what leaves the line?
2. What is stored, for how long, and who can see it?
3. Are faces or people blurred before anything is stored?
4. Which hosts and ports do the cameras and the node use?
5. How are cameras and nodes updated, and who approves updates?
6. What is the measured bandwidth per camera on a pilot line?

Where does Fabrico fit?

Fabrico is a computer vision enabled Manufacturing Performance Platform. OEE and light MES come first. The camera is a witness for the stop, not a judge of people.

• A camera clip as evidence for a stop, next to the machine signal.
• The operator confirms the reason in one tap; the camera suggests, the person decides.
• OEE live by line and shift, never by named operator.
• A pilot on one line, so IT and the works council review a small scope first.

The processing site, the clip period and the works agreement are settled for each plant before the first install. See the product on the computer vision OEE page. Our guides to connecting line cameras to downtime codes and computer vision vs PLC data show how clips and signals work together.

There is no free plan and there are no tiers: each plant gets a quote.

Frequently asked questions

How much bandwidth does a line camera need?

It depends on what leaves the line. Streaming video takes the camera's full bitrate, all the time. Sending only events and short clips takes a small fraction of that. Ask the vendor for the measured figure per camera, and check it on your pilot line before you scale.

Should production line cameras be on a separate VLAN?

Yes, in most plants. Put the cameras in their own zone, away from the office network and the PLCs, with one controlled path to the processing node. That limits what an attacker could reach, and it keeps video traffic away from machine control.

Do OEE cameras need a works council agreement?

In Germany, yes. The works council co-decides on any device that is able to monitor behaviour or performance, even if it records nothing. Other countries have their own rules. Plan the agreement, a privacy impact check and signage before the first camera goes up.

How long can production line camera clips be kept?

The EDPB guidelines say footage should be erased, ideally automatically, after a few days. Keeping it longer than 72 hours needs more justification. Agree the period with your data protection officer, and keep clips short and tied to the stop they explain.

Can line cameras run over Wi-Fi?

They can, but wired is safer for a production line. Wi-Fi shares its capacity with tablets and scanners, and a moving forklift can block the signal. Use a cable with power over Ethernet where you can, and keep Wi-Fi for devices that move.

Plan your first camera line with us

Bring one line's layout and your network rules. We will show where a camera helps and what each stop it explains is worth.

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