Connectors
PLC and SCADA, checkweighers, inline moisture and colour sensing, metal detection and X-ray, MES, cameras and meters: what is read, what can be written, and how allow-lists and limits are declared.
Documentation
Everything needed to run, extend and audit the platform.
Documentation is provided to design partners with the deployment. This page describes what it covers so a bakery can judge the depth before signing anything.
Illustrative scenario: Plant run · one bread line, flour-lot change at the silo · shared oven. Not a measured run.
Getting started
The first hour
- Inventory the line. Systems, tags, feeds and the access each needs.
- Bring up the edge node. Plant-edge runtime, connectors in read-only mode.
- Declare the policy. Level per loop, allow-lists, limits, approvers.
- Open the review console. See predictions beside your own checks in observe mode.
Reference
Reference sections
The agent loop
Sense, reason, act with human checkpoints: how a run is planned, how the policy engine evaluates each write and how exceptions escalate.
Review console
Approving, correcting and annotating recommendations; how corrections become training events.
Audit log and genealogy
The immutable record of every reading, recommendation, write, approval and release, and how it maps to HACCP, FSMA, BRCGS and ISO 22000 records.
Model management
Versioning, per-plant validation, evaluation gates in CI, rollback, and the router that picks the model for each step.
Autonomy policy
Declaring the level per loop, the tag allow-list, rate and magnitude limits and the named approvers.
Bakesim
Twin domains, reconciliation against real runs, profile and envelope search, and how synthetic scenarios are validated.
Deployment
Plant-edge runtime, cloud or private-cloud training loop, on-prem option, tenant isolation.
Developers
Every action is a record
There is no SDK to download yet. What design partners get is the integration surface: connectors, an autonomy policy declared per loop, and an audit record for every reading, recommendation, write and approval. This is the shape of one record, illustrative.
What the surface gives you
- Connectors to PLC and SCADA, checkweighers, moisture and colour sensing, MES, cameras and meters, with declared allow-lists and limits
- An autonomy policy per loop: level, tags, rate and magnitude limits, named approvers
- Citations on every recommendation to the recipe, spec or procedure it relied on
- Model versions named in every record, with rollback by version
- Export of the audit log and lot genealogy to your quality system
// one write, as the audit log would hold it
{
"run": "run_scn_01",
"step": "deposit.trim",
"agent": "agent.makeup_deposit",
"level": "bounded",
"action": { "tool": "plc.write_setpoint", "tag": "DIV1.TRIM" },
"limits": { "max_step": "declared per tag", "per": "declared per tag" },
"evidence": ["checkweigher.read", "depositor.read_feedback"],
"citation": "spec:SANDWICH-800 declared weight v3 §2",
"policy": "permitted",
"models": { "weight": "versioned", "policy": "versioned" },
"human": null,
"outcome": "inside spec · minimum safe margin"
}
Run timeline
Reading a run record
Every Doughex run is an ordered, inspectable sequence. This is run_scn_01, an illustrative scenario: Plant run · one bread line, flour-lot change at the silo · shared oven. Scenario complete · every stage inside spec · one human approval at the oven.
run_scn_01
scenario · not measured
SUCCEEDED
-
01
order.receive
SUCCEEDED
0.8 s
Plant Orchestrator · Pulled the product spec, the recipe, the HACCP plan with its bake kill-step and metal-detection control points, the allergen status of the line and the new flour lot's certificate from MES and the lab system; locked the target envelope for the run.
-
02
twin.simulate
SUCCEEDED
38 s
Plant Orchestrator · Simulated 24 candidate profiles across mix, proof, deposit and oven on the Bakesim as-baked twin for the new flour lot; ranked them on colour and moisture margin, weight margin, energy per unit and takt, and discarded every candidate that thinned the bake kill-step margin.
-
03
mix.dose
SUCCEEDED
12 m 40 s
Dose-and-Mix · Adjusted hydration and mix energy for the new lot's absorption so dough temperature and development landed on target; dough state was handed to the proofer with its predicted rise curve.
-
04
proof.hold
SUCCEEDED
58 m
Ferment-and-Proof · Predicted the rise curve from inline height, temperature, humidity and CO2, then trimmed proofer humidity and dwell so rise and volume landed on target instead of running fast on the fresher lot.
-
05
deposit.trim
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Makeup-and-Deposit · Fused checkweigher readings with dough state and divider feedback and trimmed the divider in real time so portion weight sat at the minimum safe margin above the declared weight, with the underweight guardrail armed.
-
06
approve.human
APPROVAL
1 m 36 s
Plant Orchestrator · The twin's lowest-energy candidate wanted a zone-three temperature outside the site's bounded envelope. Held for the shift process engineer, who approved the step with a tighter colour alarm.
-
07
bake.zone
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Bake-and-Cool · Ran the oven against the twin's colour and moisture prediction; stepped zone temperatures and band speed toward the minimum-energy profile while predicted crust colour and crumb moisture stayed inside spec and the core-temperature kill step was verified on every reading.
-
08
inspect.line
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Defect-and-Inspect · 12 camera streams at oven exit, cooler exit and packing at the plant edge: colour, shape, holes, cracks, foreign-body and seal checks on every unit; two pale-top rejects were attributed to a draught at zone one and the oven agent was notified.
-
09
handle.pack
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Robot-and-Handling · Robotic depanning, tray transfers and packaging handling paced to the line, with rejected units diverted off the belt and the safe zone around each cell monitored.
-
10
release.genealogy
SUCCEEDED
1 m 05 s
Quality-and-Conformance · Lot released: flour lot, recipe, mix and proof setpoints, portion weights, oven profile, kill-step readings, inspection rejects and every human decision written to the genealogy and checked against spec and the HACCP plan.
Tool calls
Reading the tool log
Every tool invocation, argument and result is written to an immutable, human-readable log, and every reasoning step is expandable. Nothing about a run is hidden from the plant. The log below is the scenario run, not a measured one.
- 04:40:02mes.read_order({ line: "BR-2", product: "SANDWICH-800", flour_lot: "F-3312" })
- 04:40:02ok spec locked · HACCP plan v6 · CCPs: bake kill step, metal detection
- 04:40:03lab.read_results({ lot: "F-3312", test: "flour_certificate" })
- 04:40:03ok protein and absorption read · lot accepted at the silo
- 04:40:04twin.simulate({ candidates: 24, horizon: "shift" })
- 04:40:42ok best profile #7 · kill-step margin held · lowest energy per unit
- 04:40:43policy.evaluate({ profile: 7, level: "bounded" })
- 04:40:43ok 8 writes permitted · 1 write requires human approval
- 04:40:44plc.write_setpoint({ tag: "MIX1.ENERGY", basis: "lot absorption + dough temp" })
- 04:53:24ok dough temperature on target · development inside window
- 04:53:25plc.write_setpoint({ tag: "PRF1.DWELL", basis: "rise curve + humidity" })
- 05:51:30ok rise and volume on target · proof not running fast
- 05:51:31plc.write_setpoint({ tag: "DIV1.TRIM", mode: "min_safe_margin" })
- 05:51:31ok portion weight at minimum safe margin · underweight guardrail armed
- 05:51:33approval.request({ action: "oven.zone3", reason: "outside bounded envelope" })
- 05:53:09ok approved by the shift process engineer · tighter colour alarm set
- 05:53:10plc.write_setpoint({ tag: "OVN1.ZONE3_T", mode: "min_energy" })
- 05:53:10ok predicted colour and moisture inside spec · kill step verified
- 05:53:11vision.stream({ cameras: 12, models: ["colour_shape", "foreign_body", "seal"] })
- 06:21:48reject: pale top · unit 2231 · attributed to draught at zone one
- 06:21:49defect.attribute({ event: "pale_top", cause: "oven.zone1_draught" })
- 06:21:49ok oven agent notified · second reject at 06:23:12 · zone one corrected
- 06:21:50robot.execute({ cell: "DEPAN-1", mode: "guarded", pace: "line" })
- 06:21:50ok depanning and tray transfer paced · rejects diverted · safe zone clear
- 08:14:20mes.release_lot({ lot: "BR2-3312", genealogy: "full" })
- 08:15:25ok lot released · scenario complete
Reasoning trace
Goal, plan, thought, action, observation, exactly as the orchestrator would record it.
GoalStart flour lot F-3312 on bread line BR-2, hold development, r…
Start flour lot F-3312 on bread line BR-2, hold development, rise, weight, colour and moisture on target through the change, and release the lot with full genealogy.
PlanSimulate the whole profile on the twin first. Lead with the mi…
Simulate the whole profile on the twin first. Lead with the mixer so the proofer gets dough with a known rise curve and the divider gets dough with a known density. Verify the bake kill step continuously. Let the oven chase minimum energy only inside the bounded envelope; hold anything beyond it for a person.
ThoughtThe standing recipe overshoots portion weight and runs the ove…
The standing recipe overshoots portion weight and runs the oven hot to protect against lot variability. With continuous dough-state, weight and colour estimates the margins can sit at their minimum safe values. The saving is giveaway and energy, not safety margin: the kill step is never a candidate for optimisation.
Actiontwin.simulate(candidates=24) → profile #7: minimum safe weight…
twin.simulate(candidates=24) → profile #7: minimum safe weight margin, kill-step margin unchanged, lowest predicted energy per unit.
ObservationProfile #7's zone-three temperature sits outside the site's bo…
Profile #7's zone-three temperature sits outside the site's bounded envelope. The policy engine routes that single write to the shift process engineer and permits the other eight.
ActionExecute profile #7 at the bounded level: mixer, proofer and di…
Execute profile #7 at the bounded level: mixer, proofer and divider writes proceed; the zone-three write waits.
ObservationApproval granted at 05:53:09 with a tighter colour alarm. Two …
Approval granted at 05:53:09 with a tighter colour alarm. Two pale-top rejects at oven exit were attributed to a draught at zone one and corrected by the oven agent.
OutcomeScenario complete. The lot released with flour lot, setpoints,…
Scenario complete. The lot released with flour lot, setpoints, kill-step readings, inspection events and the human decision in the genealogy. No measured plant result is claimed; this is the run the platform is designed to execute.
Operations
Runbooks
Edge node loss
What the plant sees, what keeps running (everything, on existing control), how the node rejoins and how the gap is recorded in the audit log.
Model rollback
Rolling a loop back to a previous model version, re-validating against the plant's checks and recording the reason.
Level change
Moving a loop between observe, recommend, approve to apply and bounded, the gates required and who signs.
Limits
Platform limits and defaults
| Item | Limit or default |
|---|---|
| Writes | Only to tags on the plant's allow-list, inside declared rate and magnitude limits, at the declared autonomy level |
| Critical control points | Read and verified, never written: bake kill step, metal detection and X-ray rejects, allergen changeover |
| Release decisions | Prepared by the conformance agent, taken by a person |
| Cameras per line | Design target of 8 to 24 synchronised streams |
| Edge decision latency | Design target of under 100 ms for rejects, 1 to 5 s supervisory intervals for proof, bake and deposit |
| Tenant isolation | Per-plant data, memory and models; nothing trains across customers |
Autonomy
Five levels, set per loop
A bakery does not go from manual to bounded control in one step. Doughex makes the level explicit per loop, auditable and reversible at any time, and some decisions never leave the person.
| Level | What the agent does | What the person does | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observe | Predicts rise, weight, colour, moisture and defects; writes nothing | Runs the bakery as today; compares predictions to QA checks | First phase with every design partner |
| Recommend | Proposes mix, proof, deposit and oven moves with the evidence behind each | A process engineer or baker approves or corrects each one | After accuracy is proven against the baseline |
| Approve to apply | Prepares the write; applies it only on a named person's approval | Approves per move; reviews the shift record | Once recommendations are trusted |
| Bounded | Writes low-risk oven, depositing and inspection setpoints inside explicit limits | Approves anything above the limits; reviews exceptions | After the food-safety and ROI gates agreed up front |
| Exceptions | Escalates anything outside its envelope, CCP-adjacent moves and release decisions | Always decides these; the agent never does | Permanent |
Guardrails
An agent that can move a setpoint needs a leash
Doughex writes to production equipment in a food plant. Every capability is scoped, every write is policy-checked, every output is cited, and every action is written to an append-only audit log the plant owns.
- Bounded action space. Each agent can only write to an explicit tag allow-list, inside per-tag rate and magnitude limits, at the autonomy level the plant has set.
- Critical control points are read, never written. The bake kill step, metal detection and X-ray rejects, allergen changeover and release decisions stay with the HACCP plan and the people who own it.
- Policy engine before every write. Autonomy level, interlock state, product, allergen status, shift and operator presence are evaluated before a setpoint moves.
- Grounded and cited. Every recommendation carries a citation to the recipe, spec or procedure it relied on. Retrieval is tenant-isolated and permission-aware.
- Immutable audit log. Append-only, exportable and retained on the plant's own storage, aligned to HACCP, FSMA, BRCGS and ISO 22000 record-keeping.
- Hard fallback. If the edge node, the network or a model stops, the line keeps running on its existing PLC and SCADA control and interlocks.
- Tenant and IP isolation. Recipes, customer specs and tolerance models never cross a customer boundary. On-prem deployment available.
Assurance posture
| Item | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type I | Cloud control plane | QUEUED Roadmap, first 6 months |
| SOC 2 Type II | Cloud control plane | QUEUED Roadmap, 6 to 12 months |
| HACCP · FSMA · BRCGS · ISO 22000 · allergen | Grounding and record-keeping | RUNNING Design basis for retrieval and the audit log |
| Per-tenant isolation | Data, memory, models | RUNNING Design rule |
| On-prem deployment | Recipe-sensitive bakeries | RUNNING Design option |
Doughex supports your food-safety records. It is not a certification and it does not replace your HACCP plan.
Integrations
It speaks plant, not cloud
Doughex reads and writes through the systems already on the floor. No parallel historian, no new HMI, no rip-and-replace. Connectors are built against each design partner's stack first; long-tail integrations are out of scope for the first release.
PLC and SCADA of mixers, proofers, dividers and depositors, ovens, coolers and slicers
Setpoint reads, guarded writes, interlocks untouched
Checkweighers, inline moisture and NIR, thermal cameras, dough height, temperature and humidity
Continuous product and process state
Metal detectors and X-ray systems
Read and verified; reject interlocks stay the plant's
Orders, recipes, product specs, lot genealogy, allergen status
Targets in, release records out
Multi-camera stations at oven exit, cooler exit, slicer and packaging
Frames, defect events, reject commands
Plant and oven-level gas and electricity meters
Hard constraints for the oven profile and schedule
Isaac-driven depanning, tray transfer and packaging cells
Perception and motion for pans, trays and packs
SSO and role-based access; SOC 2 on the roadmap
Named approvers, scoped roles
FAQ
Straight answers
The questions plant directors, process engineers and quality managers ask in the first meeting.
Only at the autonomy level your plant has set, and only to an explicit allow-list of low-risk loops inside explicit limits. Every design partner starts in observe mode, where Doughex predicts and writes nothing. Recommend mode follows, where a process engineer approves each move. Bounded autonomy on oven, depositing and inspection loops comes after the food-safety and ROI gates agreed up front.
Critical control points are not optimisation variables. The bake kill step, metal detection and X-ray reject interlocks, allergen changeover and release decisions stay with your HACCP plan and your people. Doughex verifies readings, writes them to an immutable audit log and attaches them to the lot genealogy. It supports HACCP, FSMA, BRCGS, ISO 22000 and allergen records; it is not a certification and does not replace your plan.
Doughex sits above your existing automation as a supervisory layer. If it stops, the line keeps running on its current PLC and SCADA control and the interlocks it already has. A Doughex outage degrades the bakery to the way it runs today, not to a stop.
The first phase is observe mode on one line: Doughex reads your sensors, PLC history, QA checks and MES while you run the line as usual, and we measure its predictions against your own checkweigher, colour and moisture checks. Recommendations start when accuracy is proven against that baseline, and improve as plant-specific history and engineer corrections accumulate.
Recipes, product specs, tolerance models and customer specs are tenant-scoped and never used to train another customer's models. Retrieval is multi-tenant isolated and permission-aware. On-prem deployment is available for bakeries protecting sensitive recipes or private-label specs.
You are, the same as with any control strategy. That is why every write is policy-checked, bounded, logged and reversible, every output carries a citation to the recipe or procedure it relied on, and anything above your threshold waits for a named approver. The audit log records the request, the reasoning, the limits applied and the human decision.
As a design partner, on one line, with one hard metric: giveaway in grams per unit, energy per unit through the oven, downgrade and waste from under- or over-bake, or foreign-body and defect escapes. We instrument the line in observe mode, measure the baseline, move to recommend mode when accuracy is proven, and expand only when the number holds.
Full multi-module autonomy across the whole bakery, long-tail integrations beyond the design partners' stacks, and self-serve onboarding. The first release is one wedge workflow, its connectors, the agent loop with human checkpoints, the review console and the food-safety audit log.
Get started
Get documentation access
Documentation ships with a design-partner deployment. Ask and we will walk you through it first.