An information collecting system includes a first device including a counter, a second device that collects data from one or more sensing devices in response to a command from the first device, and a third device including a time-measuring unit that manages time. The first device adds, to the data collected by the second device, a first count value output from the counter at a timing when the second device collects the data, to generate a first data set. The third device adds, to the first data set, a correspondence relationship between a time output from the time-measuring unit and a second count value output from the counter of the first device.

An information collecting system includes a first device including a counter, a second device that collects data from one or more sensing devices in response to a command from the first device, and a third device including a time-measuring unit that manages time. The first device adds, to the data collected by the second device, a first count value output from the counter at a timing when the second device collects the data, to generate a first data set. The third device adds, to the first data set, a correspondence relationship between a time output from the time-measuring unit and a second count value output from the counter of the first device.

A method for operating cycle-oriented control software for controlling processes, wherein the software executes within a runtime environment on a computer system and uses two independent time bases: a first time base derived from a hardware timer, and a second time base provided by a another timer is transmitted via a network communication, and the second time base is provided via telegrams with time stamps, where a receive routine assigns time stamps to a receipt time and stores them in a buffer, an evaluation routine recognizes and compensates interrupts that disrupt the safe time base, the past values of the first time base are stored in a cyclical buffer that an interrupt handler periodically updates, the evaluation routine checks the time differences between the telegrams and corrects the second time base if required, such that reliable and safe time measurement are ensured, even in the event of system management interrupts.