Aptean Process Manufacturing OEE 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

When we first looked at a system to support gathering performance metrics on our plant floor, we had a few different options; Factory MES was what I would call an "out of the box solution" that presented industry standards and supported the plant floor. If the plant floor was not going to engage in entering information and utilizing the system, we were not going to be able to deliver metrics to Management in the plant or at corporate. This system delivered a tool that engaged our Operators. We were not looking to build our own system with a SCADA-based solution, so this option fit our needs. We still struggle with the overwhelming amount of data that is being collected by FMES and how best to marry that up with other data. However, the Performance-based KPIs are there, easy to use, easy to drill into details, and are real-time to both the operator and to the supervisor in the plant and elsewhere in the company. If we were to have a "do-over", we would absolutely still select Factory MES as our tool of choice; but during implementation we would require more supervision to be part of the initial team. Their engagement, second to the Operator engagement, is key to driving results. We are getting there, more of an evolution though.

This software implementation has been the single biggest success in my 15 years at the company. The ROI is undeniable. The opportunity for culture change is very big. It can really change the approach and focus of your manufacturing employees and management to look for and act on accurate actionable data. The outputs clearly show where your resources should be focused for efficiency gains. Its critical to postion the project correctly as a culture shift driven by and for manufacturing, not a mangment tool to flog manufacturing. That step is key to adoption and adoption is key to ROI.

Factory is pretty easy to use for the operators and is improving with every version.