Getting started

What Started shows which machines are running, which are stopped and why. It gets that from two places:

Operators, who scan a QR sticker on the machine and tap why it stopped. No account, no app to install.
Machines, which send a small web request (a ping) every minute through a PLC, gateway or script.

You can start with either one. Most plants start with stickers and connect machines later.

1. Create your plant

Sign up with your work email and confirm it. Then name your plant. What Started takes the plant's time zone from your browser; days, shifts and reports all follow the plant's local time.

The form also asks for the plant's usual hours: Mon–Fri, 8 to 5 (one day shift with a 60-minute lunch) or 24/7. New machines start on those hours. Change them any time in Settings → Shifts; see Shift schedules.

2. Add machines

If your plant has several lines or departments, add them first under Settings → Areas, like Stamping or Assembly. The board then groups machines by area, and the board, TV and reports can show one area at a time.

On the home page of the app, add each machine with a name operators know it by, like Press 4 or CNC-12, and pick its area. To add many at once, use Settings → Import and export with a spreadsheet saved as CSV. Export your machines there to change many at once in a spreadsheet.

3. Put a sticker on each machine

Click a machine and make a QR sticker. Print it and stick it where operators stand. See Print a QR sticker.

4. Connect a machine (optional)

If a machine has a PLC or gateway that can make web requests, give it a ping token so What Started knows it is alive and running without anyone tapping. See Send pings from a machine.

5. Watch the board

Switch the home page from Table to Board to see every machine as a tile, colored by status. TV mode is for a screen on the floor; it refreshes by itself.