Softwr

Manufacturing · head to head

PROGNOST Systems vs Sight Machine

PROGNOST Systems logo

PROGNOST Systems

Manufacturing

SIL 3 rated online monitoring and diagnostics for reciprocating compressors

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sight Machine logo

Sight Machine

Manufacturing

Enterprise manufacturing data platform that builds a plant data model rather than a dashboard

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: PROGNOST Systems nothing about price is published, and because the system is instrumented per machine train, there is no per-point comparison that lets a buyer benchmark it against general-purpose condition monitoring.; Sight Machine onboarding is a data engineering project measured in months per plant, so value arrives long after the contract starts and the internal sponsor needs the patience and budget to survive that gap.
  • They diverge on capability: PROGNOST Systems covers Segmented vibration analysis, Sight Machine covers Unified plant data model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PROGNOST Systems and Sight Machine actually diverge.

Attributes where PROGNOST Systems and Sight Machine differ
AttributePROGNOST SystemsSight Machine
PlatformsWindows, On-premiseWeb, API

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Manufacturing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in PROGNOST Systems

  • Segmented vibration analysis
  • Dynamic rod position
  • Online pV diagram
  • Dynamic rod load
  • SIL 3 machine protection
  • Damage pattern library
  • PROGNOST-Predictor
  • Remote expert service

Only in Sight Machine

  • Unified plant data model
  • Broad ingestion
  • Cross plant benchmarking
  • Root cause analysis
  • Natural language querying
  • Cloud data platform delivery

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PROGNOST Systems

  • A refinery hydrogen recycle compressor where an unplanned trip costs more per day than the monitoring systemnot Sight Machine
  • Replacing a separate protection system and a separate condition monitoring system with one SIL 3 rated installationnot Sight Machine
  • Gas transmission stations needing valve and rider ring wear diagnosis without opening the machinenot Sight Machine
  • A plant moving reciprocating compressors from time-based overhaul to condition-based intervals with evidence a regulator will acceptnot Sight Machine

Sight Machine

  • A corporate operations team that cannot compare plant performance because every site defines a stoppage differentlynot PROGNOST Systems
  • A manufacturer whose historian data is plentiful but has never been modelled into anything a business can querynot PROGNOST Systems
  • A group standardising manufacturing reporting into a cloud data warehouse alongside finance and supply chain datanot PROGNOST Systems
  • A quality organisation investigating a defect that appears at several plants with different equipmentnot PROGNOST Systems

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

PROGNOST Systems

  • Nothing about price is published, and because the system is instrumented per machine train, there is no per-point comparison that lets a buyer benchmark it against general-purpose condition monitoring.
  • Installation requires proximity probes, rod position sensors and pressure instrumentation on the machine, which usually means a planned outage and mechanical work before any data exists.
  • The value is concentrated in reciprocating compressors; for general rotating equipment across a whole plant it is a far more expensive route than a broad vibration programme.
  • SIL 3 certification brings the configuration into functional safety scope, so changes to thresholds and logic go through management of change rather than being adjusted by a reliability engineer.
  • The company is small and German-based, so response times and spares logistics for remote sites depend on a partner network rather than a global direct service organisation.

Sight Machine

  • Onboarding is a data engineering project measured in months per plant, so value arrives long after the contract starts and the internal sponsor needs the patience and budget to survive that gap.
  • It assumes the instrumentation already exists, so a plant whose machines produce no usable data gets nothing from a data platform and needs to solve connectivity first with a different class of product.
  • Pricing scales with plants and data volume and is never published, which puts it out of reach for single site manufacturers regardless of how relevant the capability sounds.
  • It is not an MES and does not control or execute anything, so it sits on top of the operational systems and adds a layer to maintain rather than replacing one.
  • Success depends on a central team that owns definitions and enforces them, and in groups where plants retain autonomy the standardisation the platform provides gets quietly ignored at site level.

Pricing, plan by plan

PROGNOST Systems

On request
  • PROGNOST-NT$undefined/year
    • Priced per machine train as an instrumented system
    • Sensors, proximity probes, rod position and pressure instrumentation included in scope
    • Installation typically requires a machine outage for probe fitting

Sight Machine

On request
  • Sight Machine$undefined/year
    • Enterprise manufacturing data platform
    • Per plant onboarding and modelling services
    • Cross site analytics and benchmarking

Which should you pick?

Choose PROGNOST Systems if

  • You need segmented vibration analysis.
  • You work on Windows, On-premise.
  • You also want dynamic rod position.
PROGNOST Systems review

Choose Sight Machine if

  • You need unified plant data model.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want broad ingestion.
Sight Machine review

Questions people ask

Is PROGNOST Systems or Sight Machine better?
Neither clearly leads. PROGNOST Systems starts at On request and Sight Machine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PROGNOST Systems or Sight Machine?
PROGNOST Systems starts at On request and Sight Machine at On request.
Does PROGNOST Systems or Sight Machine run on more platforms?
PROGNOST Systems runs on Windows, On-premise. Sight Machine runs on Web, API.
What is PROGNOST Systems best used for?
PROGNOST Systems is most often used for a refinery hydrogen recycle compressor where an unplanned trip costs more per day than the monitoring system, replacing a separate protection system and a separate condition monitoring system with one sil 3 rated installation, gas transmission stations needing valve and rider ring wear diagnosis without opening the machine, a plant moving reciprocating compressors from time-based overhaul to condition-based intervals with evidence a regulator will accept. Of those, a refinery hydrogen recycle compressor where an unplanned trip costs more per day than the monitoring system and replacing a separate protection system and a separate condition monitoring system with one sil 3 rated installation are not what Sight Machine is typically brought in for.
What can PROGNOST Systems do that Sight Machine cannot?
PROGNOST Systems covers Segmented vibration analysis, Dynamic rod position, Online pV diagram, Dynamic rod load. Sight Machine covers Unified plant data model, Broad ingestion, Cross plant benchmarking, Root cause analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PROGNOST Systems: Does it replace the compressor protection system?

It can. PROGNOST-NT is SIL 3 rated for machine protection, which is the main reason sites choose it over advisory-only monitoring.

Sight Machine: Is this an OEE product?

It can produce OEE, but buying it for OEE alone is expensive. The reason to buy it is cross plant data standardisation.

PROGNOST Systems: Can it be retrofitted to an existing compressor?

Yes, but fitting rod position and internal instrumentation generally needs a machine outage.

Sight Machine: Does it need a historian?

It reads from historians, control systems and MES. Some source of machine data is a prerequisite.

PROGNOST Systems: Does it work on centrifugal machines?

PROGNOST offers products for general rotating equipment, but the differentiated diagnostics are for reciprocating compressors.

Sight Machine: How long does a plant take to onboard?

Plan in months per plant, depending on how many sources and how inconsistent the existing definitions are.

PROGNOST Systems: Is it available on new Burckhardt machines?

Yes, Burckhardt Compression offers PROGNOST-NT as a factory-fitted condition monitoring option.

Sight Machine: Who is the buyer?

A corporate manufacturing, quality or digital function. It is rarely a plant level purchase.

Share

Related pages

More on PROGNOST Systems

More on Sight Machine

Keep looking

Other head to heads