This paper presents an integrated approach for remote real-time monitoring of manufacturing operations. It is enabled by using virtual 3D models driven by real sensor data. The objectives of this research are twofold: (1) to significantly reduce network traffic for real-time monitoring over the Internet: and (2) to increase the controllability of manufacturing systems from anywhere in a decentralised environment. Particularly, this paper covers the principle of the approach, system architecture, prototype implementation, and a case study of remote control of a robotic assembly cell. Compared with camera-based monitoring systems, our approach only consumes less than 1% of its network bandwidth, feasible and practical as a web-based portable solution. (C) 2011 CIRP.