Manufacturing Execution Systems Software (MES)

Overview

Manufacturing execution systems (also referred to as MES) help manufacturers manage and optimize production activities from order launch to completion. They handle workflow management and shop floor control after an order has been planned and scheduled and are usually offered as a module within a greater ERP software or MRP software system. 

Manufacturing execution systems provide automation of three key production components: labor, materials, and equipment. To manage labor, these systems allow factory floor employees to record their time spent on each job. This data then provides plant managers with visibility into employees' productivity and the ability to assign labor costs for job costing purposes. 

More advanced shop floor control software will allow managers to use resource planning to track the progress of materials throughout the production process as well as measure asset productivity and equipment utilization. The end goal is to generate a Work-In-Process (WIP) Report, which uses job numbers, labor codes, and production counts to maintain job tracking throughout the process. Such a report can be difficult to generate if a shop is not using manufacturing software and managing production manually.

Important Considerations

• Does the system offer extensive quality analysis (QA) tools such as statistical process control (SPC)? Quality management, scrap and downtime reporting, and defect tracking will prove critical in measuring and eliminating rework.
• Will the system easily integrate with your factory floor? Machine monitoring sensors, shop floor data collection terminals (SFDC), and supervisory control and data acquisitions (SCADA) systems will need to be implemented to measure cycle-time.
• Will the system be easy-to-learn for your production personnel? The accuracy and efficiency of tools like labor time clocking will rely in part on employees’ understanding of the software.