Manufacturing execution system

Last updated December 12, 2024

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.^[1] MES works as real-time monitoring system to enable the control of multiple elements of the production process (e.g. inputs, personnel, machines and support services).

MES may operate across multiple function areas, for example management of product definitions across the product life-cycle, resource scheduling, order execution and dispatch, production analysis and downtime management for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), product quality, or materials track and trace.^[2] MES creates the "as-built" record, capturing the data, processes and outcomes of the manufacturing process. This can be especially important in regulated industries, such as food and beverage or pharmaceutical, where documentation and proof of processes, events and actions may be required.

The idea of MES might be seen as an intermediate step between an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) or process control system, although historically, exact boundaries have fluctuated. Industry groups such as Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association were created in the early 1990s to address the complexity, and advise on the execution of manufacturing execution systems.

Manufacturing execution systems, known as MES, are software programs created to oversee and enhance production operations. They play a role in boosting efficiency resolving production line issues swiftly and ensuring transparency by collecting and analyzing real time data.

MES effectively manage production resources like materials, labor, equipment and processes. Their features include tracking production, quality management work order handling, inventory control, data analysis and reporting. These capabilities empower businesses to streamline their production processes.

These systems often integrate with ERP systems to align the company's business operations with its production activities. This integration fosters information flow across departments enhancing efficiency and productivity. Organizations like MESA International provide guidance in implementing and advancing MES systems to help companies navigate the intricacies of manufacturing operations.^[3]

Benefits

"Manufacturing Execution Systems [help] create flawless manufacturing processes and provide real-time feedback of requirement changes",^[4] and provide information at a single source.^[5] Other benefits from a successful MES implementation might include:

Reduced waste, re-work and scrap, including quicker setup times
More accurate capture of cost information (e.g. labour, scrap, downtime, and tooling)
Increased uptime
Incorporate paperless workflow activities
Manufacturing operations traceability
Decreased downtime and easy fault finding
Reduced inventory, through the eradication of just-in-case inventory^[6]

MES

A wide variety of systems arose using collected data for a dedicated purpose. Further development of these systems during the 1990s introduced overlap in functionality. Then the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association International (MESA) introduced some structure by defining 11 functions that set the scope of MES. In 2000, the ANSI/ISA-95 standard merged this model with the Purdue Reference Model (PRM).^[7]

A functional hierarchy was defined in which MES were situated at Level 3 between ERP at Level 4 and process control at Levels 0, 1, 2. With the publication of the third part of the standard in 2005, activities in Level 3 were divided over four main operations: production, quality, logistics and maintenance.

Between 2005 and 2013, additional or revised parts of the ANSI/ISA-95 standard defined the architecture of an MES into more detail, covering how to internally distribute functionality and what information to exchange internally as well as externally.^{[ citation needed ]}

Functional areas

Over the years, international standards and models have refined the scope of such systems in terms of activities^{[ citation needed ]}. These typically include:

Management of product definitions. This may include storage, version control and exchange with other systems of master data like product production rules, bill of material, bill of resources, process set points and recipe data all focused on defining how to make a product. Management of product definitions can be part of product lifecycle management.
Management of resources. This may include registration, exchange and analysis of resource information, aiming to prepare and execute production orders with resources of the right capabilities and availability.
Scheduling (production processes). These activities determine the production schedule as a collection of work orders to meet the production requirements, typically received from enterprise resource planning (ERP) or specialized advanced planning and scheduling systems, making optimal use of local resources.
Dispatching production orders. Depending on the type of production processes this may include further distribution of batches, runs and work orders, issuing these to work centers and adjustment to unanticipated conditions.
Execution of production orders. Although actual execution is done by process control systems, an MES may perform checks on resources and inform other systems about the progress of production processes.
Collection of production data. This includes collection, storage and exchange of process data, equipment status, material lot information and production logs in either a data historian or relational database.
Production performance analysis. Create useful information out of the raw collected data about the current status of production, like Work In Progress (WIP) overviews, and the production performance of the past period like the overall equipment effectiveness or any other performance indicator.
Production track and trace. Registration and retrieval of related information in order to present a complete history of lots, orders or equipment (particularly important in health related productions, e.g. pharmaceuticals).

Relationship with other systems

MES integrates with ISA-95 (previous Purdue Reference Model, “95”) with multiple relationships.

Relationship with other Level 3 systems

The collection of systems acting on the ISA-95 Level 3 can be called manufacturing operations management systems (MOMS). Apart from an MES, there are typically laboratory information management system (LIMS), warehouse management system (WMS) and computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). From the MES point of view, possible information flows are:

To LIMS: quality test requests, sample lots, statistical process data
From LIMS: quality test results, product certificates, testing progress
To WMS: material resource requests, material definitions, product deliveries
From WMS: material availability, staged material lots, product shipments
To CMMS: equipment running data, equipment assignments, maintenance requests
From CMMS: maintenance progress, equipment capabilities, maintenance schedule

Relationship with Level 4 systems

Examples of systems acting on ISA-95 Level 4 are product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), human resource management (HRM), and process development execution system (PDES). From the MES point of view, possible information flows are:

To PLM: production test results
From PLM: product definitions, bill of operations (routings), electronic work instructions, equipment settings
To ERP: production performance results, produced and consumed material
From ERP: production planning, order requirements
To CRM: product tracking and tracing information
From CRM: product complaints
To HRM: personnel performance
From HRM: personnel skills, personnel availability
To PDES: production test and execution results
From PDES: manufacturing flow definitions, design of experiments (DoE) definitions

In many cases, middleware enterprise application integration (EAI) systems are being used to exchange transaction messages between MES and Level 4 systems. A common data definition, B2MML, has been defined within the ISA-95 standard to link MES systems to these Level 4 systems.

Relationship with Level 0, 1, 2 systems

Systems acting on ISA-95 Level 2 are supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), programmable logic controllers (PLC), distributed control systems (DCS) and building automation systems (BAS). Information flows between MES and these process control systems are roughly similar:

To PLCs: work instructions, recipes, set points
From PLCs: process values, alarms, adjusted set points, production results

Most MES systems include connectivity as part of their product offering. Direct communication of plant floor equipment data is established by connecting to the PLC. Often, plant floor data is first collected and diagnosed for real-time control in a DCS or SCADA system. In this case, the MES systems connect to these Level 2 systems for exchanging plant floor data.

Until recently, the industry standard for plant floor connectivity has been OLE for Process Control (OPC), but it is now moving to OPC Unified Architecture (OPC-UA); meaning that OPC-UA compatible systems will not necessarily run only on Microsoft Windows environment, but can also run on Linux or other embedded systems, decreasing the cost of SCADA systems, and rendering them more open, with robust security.

Related Research Articles

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real time and mediated by software and technology. ERP is usually referred to as a category of business management software—typically a suite of integrated applications—that an organization can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities. ERP systems can be local-based or cloud-based. Cloud-based applications have grown in recent years due to the increased efficiencies arising from information being readily available from any location with Internet access.

Open Platform Communications (OPC) is a series of standards and specifications for industrial telecommunication. They are based on Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) for process control. An industrial automation task force developed the original standard in 1996 under the name OLE for Process Control. OPC specifies the communication of real-time plant data between control devices from different manufacturers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manufacturing resource planning</span> Defined as a method for the effective planning of all resources of a manufacturing company

Manufacturingresource planning is a method for the effective planning of all resources of a manufacturing company. Ideally, it addresses operational planning in units, financial planning, and has a simulation capability to answer "what-if" questions and is an extension of closed-loop MRP.

A warehouse management system (WMS) is a set of policies and processes intended to organise the work of a warehouse or distribution centre, and ensure that such a facility can operate efficiently and meet its objectives.

Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than its individual users. Enterprise software is an integral part of a computer-based information system, handling a number of business operations, for example to enhance business and management reporting tasks, or support production operations and back office functions. Enterprise systems must process information at a relatively high speed.

Manufacturing process management (MPM) is a collection of technologies and methods used to define how products are to be manufactured. MPM differs from ERP/MRP which is used to plan the ordering of materials and other resources, set manufacturing schedules, and compile cost data.

DELMIA, a brand within Dassault Systèmes, is a software platform designed for use in manufacturing and supply chain professionals. It offers various tools encompassing digital manufacturing, operations, and supply-chain management, including simulation, planning, scheduling, modeling, execution, and real-time operations management.

A manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM), also referred to as the manufacturing BOM, contains all the parts and assemblies required to build a complete and shippable product.

ANSI/ISA-95, or ISA-95 as it is more commonly referred, is an international standard from the International Society of Automation for developing an automated interface between enterprise and control systems. This standard has been developed for global manufacturers. It was developed to be applied in all industries, and in all sorts of processes, like batch processes, continuous and repetitive processes.

Apache OFBiz is an open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. It provides a suite of enterprise applications that integrate and automate many of the business processes of an enterprise.

A warehouse control system (WCS) is a software application that directs the real-time activities within warehouses and distribution centers (DC). As the “traffic cop” for the warehouse/distribution center, the WCS is responsible for keeping everything running smoothly, maximizing the efficiency of the material handling subsystems and often, the activities of the warehouse associates themselves. It provides a uniform interface to a broad range of material handling equipment such as AS/RS, carousels, conveyor systems, sorters, palletizers, etc. The primary functions of a WCS include:

Process development execution systems (PDES) are software systems used to guide the development of high-tech manufacturing technologies like semiconductor manufacturing, MEMS manufacturing, photovoltaics manufacturing, biomedical devices or nanoparticle manufacturing. Software systems of this kind have similarities to product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. They guide the development of new or improved technologies from its conception, through development and into manufacturing. Furthermore, they borrow on concepts of manufacturing execution systems (MES) systems but tailor them for R&D rather than for production. PDES integrate people, data, information, knowledge and business processes.

Manufacturing operations management (MOM) is a collection of systems for managing end-to-end manufacturing processes with a view to optimizing efficiency.

An enterprise appliance transaction module (EATM) is a device, typically used in the manufacturing automation marketplace, for the transfer of plant floor equipment and product status to manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the like.

Plant floor communications refers to the control and data communications typically found in automation environments, on a manufacturing plant floor or process plant. The difference between manufacturing and process is typically the types of control involved, discrete control or continuous control. Many plants offer a hybrid of both discrete and continuous control. The underlying commonality between them all is that the automation systems are often an integration of multi-vendor products to form one system. Each vendor product typically offers communication capability for programming, maintaining and collecting data from their products. A properly orchestrated plant floor environment will likely include a variety of communications, some for machine to machine (M2M) communications – to facilitate efficient primary control over the process and some for Machine to Enterprise (M2E) communications – to facilitate connectivity with Business Systems that provide overall reporting, scheduling and inventory management functions.

Enterprise control is the ability to combine control, intelligence and process management to enable business optimization that is inclusive of business and production operations. It combines the strength of both business processes and production operations processes. It is the deliberate act of synchronizing business strategy with operational execution in real-time to enable closed loop business control across an enterprise.

PackML is an industry technical standard for the control of packaging machines, as an aspect of industrial automation.

Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association International 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.

Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA), or the Purdue model, is a 1990s reference model for enterprise architecture, developed by Theodore J. Williams and members of the Industry-Purdue University Consortium for Computer Integrated Manufacturing.

Warehouse execution systems (WES) are computerized systems used in warehouses and distribution centers to manage and orchestrate the physical flow of products from receiving through shipping. Warehouses are storage facilities for raw materials and parts used in manufacturing operations; distribution centers (DCs) are facilities that store and distribute finished goods to retail locations, consumers, and other end customers.

References

↑ McClellan, Michael (1997). Applying Manufacturing Execution Systems. Boca Raton, Fl: St. Lucie/APICS. ISBN 1574441353.
↑ NetSuite.com (2023-02-08). "ERP vs. MES Systems". Oracle NetSuite. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
↑ "What is Manufacturing Execution System (MES)? [2024 Update] - ProManage Cloud". 13 February 2024.
↑ Meyer, Heiko; Fuchs, Franz; Thiel, Klaus (2009). Manufacturing Execution Systems: Optimal Design, Planning, and Deployment. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 9780071623834.
↑ Vinhais, Joseph A. (September 1998). "Manufacturing Execution Systems: The One-Stop Information Source". Quality Digest. QCI International. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
↑ Blanchard, Dave (March 12, 2009). "Five Benefits of an MES". Industry Week. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
↑ Johann Eder, Schahram Dustdar (2006) Business Process Management Workshops. p. 239