Design of MES

The goal of a digital Manufacturing Execution System is to create a common digital infrastructure where work centres, production lines, machines and operations software packages can communicate to one another.

Definition of MES

Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are software systems that are used to manage and optimise the production processes in a manufacturing facility. MES typically includes a suite of applications and tools that are used to control and monitor the various stages of the manufacturing process, from the initial receipt of raw materials to the final delivery of the finished product. MES systems are designed to provide real-time data and analytics on the status of the production process, as well as to facilitate collaboration and communication among different teams and departments within the organisation. MES can also be used to automate certain tasks and processes, such as scheduling and resource allocation, to improve efficiency and productivity. Overall, MES helps manufacturers to better control and manage their production processes, which can lead to improved product quality and increased profitability.

Manufacturing Execution System used in all types of manufacturing: continuous, batch and discrete processes. MES is equally beneficial for mechanised production lines as well as for manual assembling/fabrication work cells.

Benefits

There are several benefits to implementing a manufacturing execution system (MES). Some of the key benefits include improved efficiency and productivity, better quality control, increased flexibility and agility, reduced waste and improved performance, and enhanced visibility and traceability.

Improved efficiency and productivity: By automating many of the tasks involved in manufacturing, an MES can help to improve efficiency and productivity. For example, it can help to reduce the amount of time spent on manual tasks such as data entry and reporting, and it can help to ensure that production processes are running smoothly and without disruptions.
Better quality control: An MES can help to improve quality control by providing real-time visibility into production processes and by allowing manufacturers to quickly and easily identify and address potential quality issues. This can help to reduce the number of defects and improve the overall quality of the products being manufactured.
Increased flexibility and agility: An MES can help to increase the flexibility and agility of a manufacturing operation. By providing real-time visibility into production processes, an MES can help manufacturers to quickly and easily respond to changes in customer demand or production schedules. This can help to reduce lead times and improve customer satisfaction.
Reduced waste and improved performance: MES can help to monitor and control the production process in real-time, which can help to identify and address any issues that may cause waste or inefficiencies. This can help to improve the overall performance of the production facility.
Enhanced visibility and traceability: An MES can provide detailed, real-time visibility into production processes, allowing manufacturers to track and trace the movement of products and materials throughout the production process. This can help to improve supply chain management and ensure that products are being produced in accordance with quality and regulatory standards.

Overall, the use of MES can help production facilities to improve their operations and remain competitive in a global market.

Real time visibility of entire manufacturing business

Accurate OEE calculation for manufacturing capacity analysis

Leverage Machine Learning to predict future state

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a standardised efficiency calculation for production equipment (the best YouTube video on OEE is from 4.0 Solutions here).

OEE is the only KPI that can be used to compare effectiveness of different machines. For instance, one machine makes chain pins (a blade cuts rods to certain lengths) and another one makes chain links (more complex: batch, quince and shot peening processes). Calculating OEE for these machines allows comparison of efficiency of these machines, even though these are very different in their nature.

Additionally, due to standardisation of OEE it can be rolled up to ad-hoc groups. The number of machines can be grouped into OEE of a production line. The number of production lines can be grouped into OEE of an area. The areas' OEE can be grouped into a site. The site OEE allows the executives to understand the capacity of the sites.

So, Overall Equipment Effectiveness is one of the important metrics to assess “health” of the manufacturing operations. For accurate health assessment OEE must be calculated digitally and preferably on all levels of the business: cell (machine), production line, area, site.

Analysis of OEE components helps identify problematic areas to target for efficiency improvements. If any of the components is low it indicates the following:

Low Availability: maintenance issue, engineering issue, OEM issue
Low Quality: tooling issue, raw material issue
Low Performance: operational issue, incorrect rates

Off-the-shelf vs Custom

Off-the-shelf manufacturing execution systems (MES) are pre-made software applications that are available for purchase and use without any customizations. These systems are designed to be general-purpose, and can be used in a variety of different manufacturing environments. However, because they are not tailored to a specific manufacturing process, they may not offer all of the features and functionality that a particular company needs.

Custom MES, on the other hand, are designed and developed specifically for a particular company and its manufacturing processes. This allows the MES to be tailored to the specific needs of the company, and to provide the exact features and functionality that are required. Custom MES has advantages when integrating with other systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Maintenance Systems (CMMS) or Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). However, custom MES are typically more expensive to develop and maintain than off-the-shelf MES.

DESIGN OF MANUFACTURING EXECUTION SYSTEM

Design and architecture of digital MES is the most important step for the business implementing MES. The MES is the main interpreter of machine’s data for operations. As the business grows the “interpreter” needs to satisfy the growth changes, so MES needs to be flexible and adaptable. Hence, the architecture of digital MES must be open and free of proprietary protocols and vendor-locked software packages.

Components of open architecture MES are usually common technologies and open protocols. For example SQL databases to persist data, internet protocols for connectivity, MQTT for industrial integration.

Implementing best practises for custom MES design helps to the end users to reduce cost on the following stages:

- Development of custom MES
- Maintenance of the system
- Future expansion of the system

In the picture above suggested architecture helps reduce cost of development by introducing Unified Namespaces* (UNS) methodology. The UNS is based on open pub/sub technology MQTT. The UNS interacts with all layers of the automation stack, defined by ISA-95 standard. The costs are reduced by eliminating the need of development and maintenance of discrete connection between layers of the automation stack.

ERP, MES and machines interact with each other via the common infrastructure. ERP consumes data from the machines and MES system via UNS for real time updates. When the MES consumes Product Codes, Quantity, Bill of Material, etc from ERP for Work Order management.

* Unified Namespaces (UNS) terms and methodology were introduces by Walker Reynolds, president of 4.0 Solutions, to designate a concept that allows real-time processing and traffic of contextualised, normalised, and aggregated information at manufacturing enterprises. Learn more about the approach as 4.0 Solution YouTube channel.

Digital MES usually include the following four (4) core primary functional capabilities:

- Work Order management
- Production Run Scheduling
- OEE calculation via Availability, Quality and Performance
- Downtime tracking

Implementation of MES

An implementation of an MES typically involves installing the software on computers or other devices that are connected to the manufacturing equipment, as well as configuring the system to meet the specific needs of the manufacturing process. Typically, there is a main server which is storing data from other computers and devices. Off-the-shelf MES has pre-defined user interface when user interface of custom MES is open for customisation and can be integrated with minimum operation disruption. The MES is also integrated with other systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Maintenance Systems (CMMS) or Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), to provide a more comprehensive view and control of the manufacturing process.

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Email to alex@controlx.au

* hero image is provided by Drazen Zigic on Freepik

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