MES – The 11 key functions of an industrial digital transition
The MES or Manufacturing Execution System is not just another concept aimed at bringing together a few more or less standardised functionalities for industrial IT departments that are short of projects!
On the contrary, it is an extraordinary toolbox for the industrialist who wants to take the trouble to analyse his business and its constraints, understand the limits of what a software, however intelligent, can bring to his organisation and set up a project team which, step by step, will provide workshops with the tools to better control their production. Production will thus have access in real time to useful information enabling them to take the necessary actions to perform …
But let us return for a moment to the definition of the MES and its functional coverage.
There are generally two types of computer systems on the production floor:
– A management system often composed of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and a CAM (Computer Aided Production Management) software.
– A supervision system allowing the piloting of production tools.
The MES generally aims to bridge the gap between these two systems by providing significant added value through the implementation of tools for the execution and monitoring of production orders.
The MESA (Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association) to classify and delimit the functional coverage of MES according to the following 11 functions:
– Data collection and acquisition
– Performance analysis
– Product traceability and genealogy
– Scheduling
– Document management
– Flow of products and batches
– Personnel management
– Quality management
– Management of preventive and curative maintenance
– Resource management
– Process management
As we will have understood, the MES is therefore a set of tools to respond to the many important issues facing industrialists today. The speed with which factories must be able to adapt their manufacturing processes to remain competitive forces them to take the step towards Industry 4.0. The connected factory is no longer a utopia, but a necessary step if we want to remain in control of our performance rather than being subjected to daily hazards!
For Synthetis, publisher of the Cockpit 4.0 software, the heart of M.E.S. lies in the real-time management of your activities.
Of course, managing your workshops requires receiving information in real time. This information must be able to be interpreted quickly in order to make the right decisions. The impact of your decisions must be immediately measurable to anticipate deviations and focus on priority problems.
The objective of Cockpit 4.0, a modular M.E.S. production management solution, is to:
– Give operators the appropriate tools to control their production.
– Provide management with the means to act and anticipate.
– Present management with a synthetic vision to project itself in the long term. Since each plant is unique, Cockpit 4.0 is configured to adapt to your production organisation in a step-by-step approach.