Abstract: Information related to the manufacturing processes and machinery of a production plant (20) is collected by at least one information system, measurement unit, or production control unit (21, 22, 23, 24, 25), and sent (20) to a remote service unit (10), where it is collected and analyzed. The internal information network of the production plant (20) and the information network of the service unit (10) are isolated from the Internet by firewalls (F10, F20). The information is transferred bidirectionally via the firewalls (F10, F20) in a secured format. Information is transferred from Information systems (21, 22, 23, 24, 25) to a service system server (26). A service unit (10) has a data analysis unit (12) and a data bank (13). In the system there is established between the production plant (20) and the service unit (10) a secured communications connection.