Top 5 Characteristics of A Highly Effective MES

Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are the foundation of almost all smart manufacturing, Industry4.0, and digital projects in the 21st century.

Since it is the foundation of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing, a manufacturing execution system (MES), is essential. It also offers enhanced cybersecurity.

Like the Industrial Internet of Things, the MES allows for a wide range of capabilities. These include data gathering and analysis to ERP interfaces and production application applications.

This system includes order management, production scheduling, line scheduling, and quality management. Recipe management, performance monitoring, corporate intelligence, rich descriptive analytics, and diagnostic analytics are just some of the many manufacturing applications.

How to be Successful with MES

An MES must have several distinctive qualities to make it a success. These are the most important aspects to consider when evaluating MES options.

MES Database

A robust database is essential to ensure that the shop floor has all information.

Each piece of data that is connected to manufacturing processes within the four walls of a factory, from the receiving dock up to the shipping dock requires a database entry.

Materials, suppliers, and customers. Procedures, equipment, labor, quality maintenance, deviations, incidents.

It is also important to ensure that the database can hold a variety of data. Some data will include time-series data that is collected from industrial operations frequently.

Do not Forget the Historical Component

A historical component is required to handle time-series data in the MES. The MES database should have an object-based relational table for transaction and event data. This will allow shop floor data to be accessed quickly.

The MES database must also have a data lake component or warehouse that allows historical data to be accessed and allows for a variety of analyses using a star schema. The IoT is triumphant of the entire MES system.

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Property of the MES Database Functionality

An MES must include execution sections that contain orders, production, consumption, and scheduling. It must also have integrated ERP integration capabilities. It must be compatible with other information systems and have the ability to link automation and control systems through the IIoT.

Monitoring Performance and Manufacturing

An MES must also offer enterprise manufacturing information and performance monitoring through real-time dashboards or other displays. It must provide historical and current analytics as well as descriptive and diagnostic analytics. All of it is part of the big picture.

Scalability

MES should be able to scale to multiple locations for businesses that have hundreds or fewer employees. There should not be any disparity in the capabilities, as even the smallest facilities require a complete solution.

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Highly Successful MESs must Work in A Variety of Physical Architectures.

Therefore, systems that reside in the production plant no longer exist. The IIoT can perform its function on-site.

The MES remains in the cloud. The cloud may contain different parts of the MES or separate databases. Transactions, dashboards, and analytics may be offered to employees across the organization via MES applications.

Configurable

It is impossible to create a bespoke MES system. The system should be customizable and based on pre-built templates and apps. It should be easy to customize.

Almost all features of the MES system must be customizable. This includes screens, apps, dashboards, and reports as well as analytics. An MES system should not have any custom code. It should only contain pre-made apps and templates.

Flexibility in MES

The manufacturing facilities of intelligent manufacturing and Industry4.0 environments are constantly changing.

Permanent equipment moving or adding. Processes can be altered or introduced. These modifications must be handled by the MES. These types of modifications can be managed by MES with enough flexibility. This could be modifications to the database model, plant model, individual apps, dashboards, or analytics.

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Designers Design MES Systems that Work for Certain Industries and in Certain Ways.

Even though certain industries (e.g. pharmaceutical industries) may have specific needs, a successful MES must be able to meet these requirements. Alternative manufacturing processes must be adopted by production businesses in Industry 4.0.

Hybrid production is a way to break down the traditional barriers between batch or process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing. Flexibleness is key for most businesses that use different methods.

Conclusion

Your MES should be comprehensive and be able to perform all tasks. It must also be scalable to make it an Industry 4.0 solution.

It must be strong enough for all manufacturing tasks, while also being able to configure across the board. It should offer significant capabilities and benefits while being extremely adaptable to changes in the production environment.

Your MES must also be able to handle a wide range of distributed architectures that are all cloud-based. The MES provides a solid foundation for growth.

Ask prospective vendors to determine if the system can meet your requirements.

The MES is the foundation of the fourth industrial revolution. It is also the foundation for nearly every smart manufacturing, Industry4.0, and digital transformation project.