A method for monitoring an automation system comprising a plurality of components, comprising: rendering, by a processor, an image from a three-dimensional scene representing at least part of the automation system on the basis of position data and viewing direction data, and displaying the image on a display unit shall make it possible to monitor the automation system on a comparatively small display device while displaying all relevant information. To that end, the components are distributed over a plurality of floors of the automation system and the components are arranged in the three-dimensional scene on one of said floors, respectively, an input element associated with the floors is provided, wherein a vertical distance between two adjacent floors in the three-dimensional scene is changed depending on an input at the input element, and wherein material paths between components of the automation system are represented as lines in the scene, wherein at least one line represents a material path between said adjacent floors, and wherein when the vertical distance between said two adjacent floors in the three-dimensional scene is changed, the length of the line is also changed accordingly.