@LiamBaker0490 I've found the process-start line, so our Python entries can be divided into two sessions. I still can't link the PLC acknowledgement to a specific attempt.

Keep source order, label the sessions and leave that acknowledgement unassigned. Comparing the timestamps alongside them should establish the combined order.

Those clocks disagree. Why would putting their timestamps beside the sessions establish an order across systems without an offset or matching exchange?

You're right; I went too far. Timestamps suggest matches. Keep source order and mark cross-system links uncertain unless evidence supports them.

I'll leave it unassigned. A tidy timeline would be nice, but the nearest timestamp would still be a guess.

My merged log fooled us after a machine clock adjustment. Keeping the original source order let us untangle our confidently wrong interpretation.

@TheoBrown0932 Can monotonic timestamps fix the clock issue across these systems, or are they only comparable within a process?

Inside a running process. Machines and restarts don't automatically share that clock, so keep a session ID and wall-clock reference too.

@LiamBaker0490 I'm thinking of a stable job identifier plus a separate identifier per attempt. Is that the distinction our reused display label is missing?

Yes. Job for the work, attempt for each try. Record both with your event source and session.

Can your PLC exchange carry that identity? Python IDs won't label another system's records by magic.

I can't see a correlation field in our export. I'll need the interface owner's input, and that won't retroactively identify the entries I already have.

Your application grouping still helps. Just show where the cross-system identity link stops, so readers don't fill it in themselves.

@LiamBaker0490 What replaces started and done? I'd have picked those too.

@DanielBrooks0826 Request recorded, acknowledgement received, completion reported, each with its source. Timeout means your wait ended; it doesn't establish the robot's final result.

Splitting the application sessions helps. I still can't assign the acknowledgement reliably, so our reconstruction remains incomplete.

Clearer sessions help, and you're right that they don't supply the missing acknowledgement link.