More manufacturers are talking about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as they look to do more with their operations data. To address this, technology vendors are highly focused on software that helps their manufacturing customers achieve these goals.
Considering this clear trend, the questions are: Should companies keep the MES software they have now and what role does MES have in a rapidly advancing technological world?
To answer those questions, let’s reflect on the evolution of MES and manufacturing over the last 20 years.
At its core, MES is a software program created to oversee and enhance production operations. MES plays a role in boosting efficiency, resolving production line issues swiftly and ensuring transparency by collecting and analyzing real time data.
Essentially, MES software is designed to work inside of a manufacturing environment and be leveraged by operators, supervisors and management to capture and review key production data with the goal of constant improvement. A well-designed MES should enhance productivity, lower conversion costs and increase product quality.
Early MES misalignments and corrections
Years ago, when I started working in manufacturing, MES was still a relatively new concept for most companies. While many people had heard about MES and the significant benefits, they lacked the understanding of how to implement it to drive ROI.
It’s hard to imagine now, but I can still remember several customer sites where the key shop floor system of record were Excel spreadsheets or paper-based records. Many companies had invested in automation and controls, but few were taking advantage of the available electronic data and continued to rely on operators to manually record information.
In the late 2000s, things started to change, as it seemed like everyone was talking about MES. If you were not implementing a new production-related software system, you were falling behind your competition. A big part of this push saw companies upgrading or adopting ERP systems to connect to the shop floor to leverage that data for business decision-making. Business leaders realized that the days of siloing data were in the past. And they were right! And they saw MES as a way to solve those problems by providing access to real-time data.
Unfortunately, many companies struggled deploying MES solutions. The problem was a lack of understanding on what they wanted to get out of the MES. Implementation programs often failed because there wasn’t a clear vision on what the new system needed to do and how it was going to benefit everyone using it.
Adding to this was the fact that early versions of MES software could be complex and anything but user friendly. This meant that the first impression of MES for many in production operations was not great, creating a need to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to make MES easier to work with and provide value.
Create distinct ROI goals for production software
For this to happen with MES — or any production-related software — we realized users need to have a clear picture of what they need to achieve when implementing an MES and how it can deliver specific ROI. In response to this, our next wave of MES projects focused on being more user-friendly. This resulted in a smoother process for operators to adopt the software and allowed for plenty of time to develop and deploy the MES while also providing a measurable ROI.
A major factor helping with this is that many MES vendors began focusing on ease of use and development. Starter kits arrived on the market to help kick start client projects.
The response on the factory floor to this second wave of MES was much more successful. The difference was a more process-driven approach with a model-driven MES.
This drove a focus on understanding the uniqueness of each client and then leveraging the tools to provide them with a truly game-changing solution that enabled plant personnel to focus on making great products rather than spending time manually recording data. The amount of data collected with these MES projects was astounding and it was now all at the manufacturer’s fingertips.
This also helped us point users to the biggest problem areas in the factory for them to focus on. As a result, many of these programs achieved specific ROI goals, such as increasing yield, reducing scrap and increasing product quality.
Dan Purcell is senior account manager at Actemium Avanceon LLC, a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA). For more information about Avanceon, visit its profile on the CSIA Industrial Automation Exchange.
