Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association International (MESA, also known as MESA International) [1] is a worldwide not-for-profit community of manufacturing companies, information technology hardware and software suppliers, system integrators, consulting service providers, analysts, editors, academics, and students. MESA's goal is to help member companies improve business results and production operations through application and implementation of information technology and best management practices.
MESA was initially founded, in 1992, [2] to promote Manufacturing Execution Systems, its acronym and reach was later broadened to Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association to include a wider scope of functions in the entire Manufacturing enterprise value chain and the integration of plant floor devices and control systems into enterprise systems and business intelligence for higher levels of automation, visibility, optimization and orchestration of manufacturing processes.
In 2012, MESA merged with WBF (World Batch Forum), [3] the standards organization responsible for B2MML and BatchML.
In 2012, MESA also signed on with the Open O&M group. An initiative of multiple industry standards organizations to provide a harmonized set of standards for the exchange of Operations & Maintenance (O&M) data and associated context. OpenO&M is an open, collaborative, effort composed of diverse groups of relevant organizations and subject matter experts. The members of OpenO&M initiative are ISA, MESA, MIMOSA, OAGi, and the OPC Foundation. ( [4] )
In 2014, MESA International signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Open Applications Group, Inc. (OAGi) making it easier for both organizations to work together and bring value to their common set of stakeholders, and formalizes the ways in which each organization can contribute to the other's committees and working groups to bring specific expertise to key initiatives. ( [5] )
In 2016, MESA releases the first formal definition of Smart Manufacturing in its paper “Smart Manufacturing – The Landscape Explained” which explains the relations and scope of initiatives including Industrial Internet of Things, and Industrie 4.0.( [6] )
In 2017, MESA signed an MOU with The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). Under the agreement, the two organizations will work together to align efforts to maximize interoperability, portability, security and privacy for the industrial Internet. Joint activities will include: identifying and sharing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) best practices; realizing interoperability by harmonizing architecture and other elements; collaborating on standardization; and collaboration in the areas of industrial analytics and asset performance management. ( [7] ).
Also in 2017, In an effort to promote greater understanding of Smart Manufacturing (SM) technologies, the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) International and the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII) announce an agreement that will provide CESMII-member access to valuable education that MESA has developed. ( [8] )
MESA members participate in and contribute to a number of activities:
MESA includes member organizations such as:
People participating in MESA are typically in roles such as:
MESA works with a number of related organizations in its work to advance best practices for Operations and Maintenance, including:
The Object Management Group (OMG) is a computer industry standards consortium. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a range of technologies.
Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader definition takes into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system-to-system performance.
The OPC Foundation is an industry consortium that creates and maintains standards for open connectivity of industrial automation devices and systems, such as industrial control systems and process control generally. The OPC standards specify the communication of industrial process data, alarms and events, historical data and batch process data between sensors, instruments, controllers, software systems, and notification devices.
OpenAccess is a proprietary API controlled by the OpenAccess Coalition that aims to facilitate Interoperability of electronic design automation software among the members of that coalition.
Enterprise integration is a technical field of enterprise architecture, which is focused on the study of topics such as system interconnection, electronic data interchange, product data exchange and distributed computing environments.
OpenO&M is an initiative of the following industry standards organisations:
Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are computerized systems used in manufacturing to track and document the transformation of raw materials to finished goods. MES provides information that helps manufacturing decision-makers understand how current conditions on the plant floor can be optimized to improve production output. MES works as real-time monitoring system to enable the control of multiple elements of the production process.
François B. Vernadat is a French and Canadian computer scientist, who has contributed to Enterprise Modelling, Enterprise Integration and Networking over the last 40 years specialising in Enterprise Architectures, business process modelling, information systems design and analysis, systems integration and interoperability and systems analysis using Petri nets.
James G. "Jim" Nell is an American engineer. He was the principal investigator of the Manufacturing Enterprise Integration Project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and is known for his work on enterprise integration.
Physical security information management (PSIM) is a category of software that provides a platform and applications created by middleware developers, designed to integrate multiple unconnected security applications and devices and control them through one comprehensive user interface. It collects and correlates events from existing disparate security devices and information systems to empower personnel to identify and proactively resolve situations. PSIM integration enables numerous organizational benefits, including increased control, improved situation awareness and management reporting. Ultimately, these solutions allow organizations to reduce costs through improved efficiency and to improve security through increased intelligence.
Enterprise interoperability is the ability of an enterprise—a company or other large organization—to functionally link activities, such as product design, supply chains, manufacturing, in an efficient and competitive way.
MTConnect is a manufacturing technical standard to retrieve process information from numerically controlled machine tools. As explained by a member of the team that developed it, "This standard specifies the open-source, royalty-free communications protocol based on XML and HTTP Internet technology for real-time data sharing between shopfloor equipment such as machine tools and computer systems. MTConnect provides a common vocabulary with standardized definitions for the meaning of data that machine tools generate, making the data interpretable by software applications." A simple, real-world example of how this tool is used to improve shop management is given by the same author.
PackML is an industry technical standard for the control of packaging machines, as an aspect of industrial automation.
Medical device connectivity is the establishment and maintenance of a connection through which data is transferred between a medical device, such as a patient monitor, and an information system. The term is used interchangeably with biomedical device connectivity or biomedical device integration. By eliminating the need for manual data entry, potential benefits include faster and more frequent data updates, diminished human error, and improved workflow efficiency.
Smart Grid Interoperability Panel or SGIP is an organization that defines requirements for a smarter electric grid by driving interoperability, the use of standard, and collaborating across organizations to address gaps and issue hindering the deployment of smart grid technologies.
Health Level Seven International (HL7) is a non-profit ANSI-accredited standards development organization that develops standards that provide for global health data interoperability.
The INTEROP V-Lab is a network of organizations, which links scientists, research centers, representatives of industry, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The members come from several European countries as well as China and represent 250 scientists and 70 organizations.
The Industrial Internet Consortium rebranded as the Industry IoT Consortium in August 2021. The Industry IoT Consortium is a program of the Object Management Group (OMG).
The industrial internet of things (IIoT) refers to interconnected sensors, instruments, and other devices networked together with computers' industrial applications, including manufacturing and energy management. This connectivity allows for data collection, exchange, and analysis, potentially facilitating improvements in productivity and efficiency as well as other economic benefits. The IIoT is an evolution of a distributed control system (DCS) that allows for a higher degree of automation by using cloud computing to refine and optimize the process controls.
EEBUS is a protocol suite for the Internet of things that aims to standardize the interface between electrical consumers, producers, storages and (logical) managing entities. It builds on Internet Protocol and related standards and is meant to be highly generic, cross-domain applicable, open, and free to the public. While its main area of application is the Energy demand management, data exchange, and control of appliances it is also specified for Home automation. A business logic is not specified by EEBUS. The EEBus Initiative e.V. is the non-profit association that manages and supports the standardization of EEBUS.
