Industrial operations are often based on critical quality measures obtained for technical process control and/or to determine the value of raw materials and product streams. Process Analytical Technology (PAT) monitoring is applied to characterise, for example, raw materials, semi-finished as well as finished products. There is an active interest in approaches for “smart” online, real-time industrial sensor applications, especially where industrial operations involve high sample throughput and/or may involve hazardous substances demanding automation. State-of-the-art sample preparation procedures and equipment can deliver key performances indicators, often supplemented by sensor data that are used as proxy quality measures which helps to ensure measurement representativity and optimal process/product control. We here illustrate this industrial front-line arena by an example in which PAT accelerometer data are used for real-time monitoring of the efficiency of the automated grinding sample preprocessing process.