To access Control Plane, users must be within a workspace context where the feature flag is enabled.
Open your workspace in Sight Machine.
Select Control Plane from the workspace sidebar navigation.
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First-Time Setup
If the workspace has no facilities, machine types, or machines yet, Control Plane presents a setup selection screen with two options:
Guided Setup — Walk through creating a Facility, Line, Machine Type, and Machine step by step (~5–10 minutes). Select START SETUP to begin.
CSV Upload — Import facilities, lines, machine types, machines, and tags from CSV files. Best if you already have structured data. CSV templates are available for download from this screen. Select Import Data to begin.
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After initial setup is complete (or if the workspace already has assets), Control Plane opens with two panels:
Left panel: A navigation tree showing your manufacturing hierarchy
Right panel: Details and editing area for the selected item
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Understand the Hierarchy
Control Plane organizes your manufacturing assets in a hierarchy:
Facility └── Machine Type └── Machine └── Tags |
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If your facility uses production lines, machines can be organized within lines:
Facility └── Line └── Machine Type └── Machine └── Tags |
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Each level represents a different scope of your manufacturing operation:
Level | What It Represents | Example |
|---|---|---|
Facility | A physical plant or factory location | Detroit Plant, San Jose Facility |
Line | An optional production line within a facility | Assembly Line 1, Packaging Line |
Machine Type | A category of similar machines | Washer, Filler, Conveyor |
Machine | An individual machine, always grouped under a machine type | Washer-01, Filler-A |
Tags | Data points collected from a machine | Temperature, Pressure, Speed |
📝Note: Lines are optional. Every machine must belong to a facility and a machine type, but it does not need to be assigned to a line. Use lines when your facility has a clear production line structure; skip them if machines are organized differently or shared across lines.
Switch Between Views
Control Plane offers three views, accessible from the tab bar in the header:
Overview: Displays and lets you edit the properties of the selected facility, line, machine type, or machine (name, display name, description, location, and other details)
Tags: Displays and lets you edit the tag list for the selected scope (all tags under a facility, line, or individual machine)
Layout: Opens the Environment Builder directly within Control Plane, showing the visual line layout for the selected facility. Use this to see how machines are connected and arranged on the production floor.
Select the Overview, Tags, or Layout tab to switch between them.
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Use Breadcrumb Navigation
As you navigate deeper into the hierarchy, breadcrumbs appear at the top of the detail panel showing your current path. Select any breadcrumb to jump back to that level.
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Search the Hierarchy
Use the search bar at the top of the navigation tree to find assets by name. As you type, the tree filters to show only matching facilities, lines, machine types, and machines.
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💡 Tip: Start by exploring the hierarchy tree to familiarize yourself with how your manufacturing assets are currently organized. You can expand and collapse levels by selecting the arrow icons next to each item.
Use the Layout View
The Layout view embeds the Environment Builder directly within Control Plane, giving you a visual representation of your production floor layout for a selected facility.
Select a facility in the navigation tree.
Select the Layout tab.
The Environment Builder DAG appears, showing machines and lines arranged visually.
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Interacting with the layout:
Select a machine or line on the DAG to open a side drawer with the Overview panel for that asset. You can edit properties directly in the drawer — changes sync back to the visual layout.
Close the drawer by selecting the close icon in the drawer header.
When you select a machine in the navigation tree, the Layout view automatically centers on and highlights that machine in the DAG.
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📝 Note: The Layout view is available when a facility is selected. Selecting the company root or a machine type that spans multiple facilities does not display a layout.
Concurrent Editing
Control Plane detects when two users edit the same asset and prevents accidental overwrites. Here is how it works:
When you open an asset, Control Plane tracks the version you are working with.
When you save, Control Plane checks whether another user has saved changes to the same asset since you opened it.
If someone else saved changes to the same asset, your save is blocked and a notification appears:
"This draft was recently updated by [user] on [date/time]. Your changes cannot be saved until you load the updated draft."
You have two options:
Load Updated Draft: Reload the latest version of the asset. This discards your unsaved changes and loads the version saved by the other user. You can then make your edits on top of the latest state.
Cancel: Dismiss the notification and remain on your current view. Your unsaved changes are still visible but cannot be saved until you load the updated draft.
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⚠️ Warning: There is no automatic merge of conflicting changes. If two users edit different fields of the same asset simultaneously, the second user to save must load the updated draft and re-apply their changes.