Efficiency drives profitability, and manufacturing waste significantly hampers both. But investing in a manufacturing execution system, or MES software, transforms this challenge into an opportunity for improvement.
In this how-to MES guide, we’ll detail everything you need to know about this software, its benefits, and how integrating it with Fishbowl can streamline your manufacturing operations.
What does MES stand for?
A manufacturing execution system — or MES solution — is a technology that optimizes manufacturing processes for enhanced efficiency and quality. It integrates data from various sources, like equipment, workforce, and production orders, into a cohesive system. This integration provides a clear and comprehensive view of your manufacturing operations, enhancing your ability to:
- Manage workflows
- Rectify bottlenecks
- Maintain consistent production quality
- Improve inventory control
The essential MES functions
MES functions differ in objective and scope depending on their manufacturing environment, but every solution should have these core elements.
Data collection
Data collection forms the cornerstone of any MES, but it varies based on the complexity of your chosen solution. In more advanced setups, MESs automatically aggregate data through integrations with other platforms, like manufacturing inventory management software. For example, an MES could automatically pull data on raw material quantities from your inventory system, updating production schedules in real time. This integration reduces manual data entry and enhances accuracy, enabling more informed decision-making during the manufacturing process.
Quality control
MES solutions offer real-time access to production data, letting you monitor and maintain consistent product quality. They efficiently track metrics like the first-time-right score, which gauges the accuracy of initial production without requiring rework. If this score decreases, your MES quickly alerts you, enabling prompt corrective measures to uphold quality standards.
Product tracking
MESs enhance raw material tracking through sensors and data analytics. For industries like food and beverage, where compliance is crucial, these systems enable precise monitoring of materials throughout every production stage. In a beverage manufacturing setup, an MES might track the temperature and storage conditions of ingredients, ensuring they meet quality standards from receipt to final product packaging.
Performance analysis
Leading MES solutions continuously analyze your manufacturing process, alerting you to deviations from set productivity benchmarks. If your production target is 100 units per hour but suddenly drops to 80, the MES promptly notifies you, enabling quick resolution.
Maintenance management
Advanced MES platforms help with maintenance management by offering insights such as equipment usage patterns and wear-and-tear indicators. This information helps in scheduling maintenance activities strategically to minimize production disruptions. If the system detects unusual vibration levels or increased energy consumption in a machine, for instance, it signals a need for maintenance before these issues escalate into significant failures.
Top 6 benefits of using a manufacturing execution system
MESs bring numerous advantages to your organization, enhancing visibility, agility, and inventory accuracy. Let’s take a closer look at the top six benefits.
Improves visibility
An MES collects data from various sources, such as order processing systems and inventory management tools. And if your operations include smart machinery, integrating these assets with your MES provides an increasingly comprehensive view of your operations.
Consider an MES integrated with smart machinery in a packaging line. The MES collects and analyzes production data across different stages, from raw material intake to final packaging. If it identifies a recurring pattern where you consistently overuse packaging materials by 10% due to incorrect product size settings, the system prompts an adjustment. By recalibrating the machine based on MES insights, you reduce material overuse and align production with inventory levels.
Ensures error-free production
Implementing an MES standardizes your operations by establishing a unified framework for all production activities. It ensures consistency by delivering real-time, uniform guidelines and procedures across different shifts and teams. For example, you can use an MES to automatically update production protocols based on the latest best practices and compliance requirements, ensuring every team member follows the same updated procedures. This uniformity in process execution is critical in minimizing production errors.
Enhances operational agility
Rapidly changing customer demands and unexpected material shortages can derail manufacturing operations. But with an MES, you can respond swiftly to these challenges.
An MES lets you quickly understand the resources at your disposal by offering visibility into your human and material resources, workflows, and productivity levels. If customer demand for a product surges unexpectedly, you’ll immediately know your material and workforce capacity, letting you adjust production schedules to meet the increased demand.
Boosts inventory management accuracy
Effective stock management hinges on precise inventory control, and MES solutions elevate inventory management by providing granular insights into raw material usage and the status of semi-finished goods. It can track material consumption in real time for a specific product line, letting you anticipate and reorder supplies before shortages occur to maintain continuous production.
Increases traceability and compliance
In many industries, tracing the origin of materials and products isn’t just best practice — it’s a regulatory requirement. By acting as a centralized repository for all inventory data, MES technology can improve your traceability capabilities, keeping you compliant and protecting your brand’s integrity.
For instance, an MES can accurately document each component’s journey in the pharmaceutical sector, from raw materials to the final product. This comprehensive tracking is crucial for meeting health and safety regulations, providing compliance assurance, and maintaining customer and shareholder trust.
Improves organizational communication
An MES streamlines communication across your organization by providing a singular source of truth. It bridges knowledge gaps between factory workers, maintenance staff, and executive decision-makers, ensuring all departments can access the same real-time data.
If your production targets or manufacturing schedules change, an MES can instantly communicate these updates to all relevant parties. This information synchronicity fosters better coordination, quicker problem-solving, and improved operational efficiency.
3 challenges of implementing a manufacturing execution system
When introducing an MES, understanding potential roadblocks is key to a successful implementation. Let’s look at three major challenges you might encounter and best practices for overcoming them.
1. Implementation and integration
Deploying an MES solution involves extensive setup and customizations to align with your specific needs. The process can span weeks, requiring you to configure and integrate the system with your existing applications. And if your chosen MES doesn’t offer compatible integrations with your core business software, creating custom integrations can be costly and time-intensive.
To overcome this, meticulously plan the implementation process and make sure you allocate enough time and resources. Working with MES providers who offer solutions with pre-built integrations, like Fishbowl, can also simplify implementation.
2. Business process adaptation
Introducing an MES into your manufacturing operations can initially be disruptive, potentially meeting resistance from staff accustomed to existing processes. This makes proactive change management strategies key. Providing comprehensive training, demonstrating the benefits the MES provides, and having open discussions to help staff understand its positive impact can smooth the transition.
Involving team members in the planning and implementation stages is also critical, as it fosters ownership and engagement with the new system. Regular feedback sessions and support structures can further help address any concerns or challenges.
3. Data security risks
Centralizing business data with an MES makes it more accessible, but it also becomes a more attractive target for cybercriminals. This makes prioritizing data security during implementation critical to protect sensitive information.
Enhance your cybersecurity framework by implementing advanced security measures such as encrypted data transmission, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits. Educate your team about cybersecurity best practices, like strong passwords, and consider partnering with security experts for continuous monitoring and support to protect your data as you transition to and use your new MES.
How do MESs and ERPs work together?
An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a powerful business management solution that streamlines various organizational facets into one unified platform. ERPs typically use a modular architecture, enabling customization with specific modules tailored to your organization’s needs.
MES and ERP technologies function as complementary systems. While an ERP consolidates all business processes into one system, an MES bridges the gap between your manufacturing operations and the ERP. This connection enables your MES to provide detailed insights into manufacturing processes, machinery, and workflows, enhancing the data richness and operational understanding within the ERP system.
Things to consider when choosing an MES software
The right MES looks different for each organization and sector, but the following factors remain universally important.
Business requirements
Begin by asking yourself what your specific MES needs are. List the must-have features followed by the nice-to-haves. If your manufacturing process relies heavily on real-time data, for instance, ensuring the MES can provide live updates is essential. This approach helps you eliminate platforms that don’t meet your essential criteria, narrowing your search to the most suitable options.
User-friendliness
Evaluate the system’s usability and learning curve. Arrange a demo and include decision-makers, C-suite executives, and end-users like floor managers and machine operators. If the system’s interface is intuitive and straightforward for the floor staff who’ll use it daily, it’s likely a good fit.
Scalability and flexibility
Look for solutions that can grow and adapt with your business, not just ones that meet your current needs. A cloud-based MES, for example, can quickly scale to accommodate increased production demands and new machinery without significant system overhauls, unlike more rigid on-premise solutions.
Integration capabilities
Examine how well the MES integrates with existing business technologies, looking especially closely at your ERP system. The ideal platform should seamlessly connect with all your key business technologies to streamline workflows.
Imagine you’re using a specific ERP for supply chain management. If your MES identifies a production bottleneck, it should instantly relay this information to your supply-chain-managing ERP. This lets the ERP quickly update order timelines, alert customer service for proactive outreach, and modify purchase orders as needed.
Manufacturing management made easy with Fishbowl
Maximizing production efficiency is essential for enhancing operational efficacy and profitability, and it doesn’t have to be challenging. Discover Fishbowl, the cloud-based inventory management system that simplifies your core business operations. Fishbowl integrates stock, warehouse, and sales operations into a single platform, providing real-time insights into every business aspect.
Further enhance your operations with Fishbowl Manufacturing, which seamlessly connects materials, workforce, and workflows across your manufacturing process. By centralizing these functions, Fishbowl Manufacturing removes the complexity of using multiple systems, offering a powerful tool for precise decision-making and increased agility in production processes.