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The heart of your plant’s manufacturing operations is the Manufacturing Execution System (MES). After all it is responsible for streamlining and automating all of your manufacturing processes. And if the heart is not performing like it once did, it may be time to consider intervention.  

Consider these 10 warning signs that it is time to upgrade your Manufacturing Execution System software.

10 Signs Your MES Software Needs an Upgrade  

1. Neglected maintenance or obsolescence

Did you take the age-old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” a little too far? If your current MES software is years behind the latest update, then it is time to ditch the saying and consider implementing a new MESAn outdated MES forces you to live with known bugs, causes compatibility issues, exposes you to security risks, and prevents you from taking advantage of the latest technology advancements to maintain industry best practices. 

2. Loss of local knowledge (i.e. your “champion” or knowledgeable users are gone)   

Many organizations have that one person who is the “goto” expert for their MES that everyone relies on for troubleshooting and questions. But what happens when that person leaves the organization?  

If your current MES doesn’t have a champion or you are struggling to find a new one, then you should consider implementing an MES software that does not require an expertModern systems are built to be intuitive and user-friendly so employees from the shop floor to management can take control and benefit from the system. 

3. Integrating with new plants is difficult or impossible

As your business grows, your MES should too. If your current MES does not have the ability to network and integrate with an existing infrastructure (whether it is ERP or production equipment) it is preventing growth and scalability.  

With an updated MES software, there is the flexibility to support new and old technology as well as adapt to diverse manufacturing environments. 

4. Lack of system performance is preventing growth 

If your MES is experiencing the following…  

  • Slow to respond 
  • Dwindling capacity 
  • More limitations than capabilities 

…you should take that as a sign that it is time to say goodbye.  

New manufacturing execution systems are designed for performance and scalability. They leverage the latest hardware and software to quickly perform control and monitoring functions, visualize results, annunciate real-time alarms and present production metrics as actionable data. 

5. Inability to leverage new technology

Technology always advances to make things better, faster and cheaper, but if you can’t take advantage of these technologies because your current MES is based on outdated and restrictive technologies. As technology ages, it becomes harder to keep operational and integrate with new technologies. It also places your production at risk for unplanned downtime. 

6. Unable to meet changing customer requirements

Production quantities ramp up and dwindle down. Parts go through engineering revisions, the production process changes, and there are more demands for detailed data to provide production insight and support root cause analysis. 

These are foreign concepts to traditional systems which are usually hardcoded with custom solutions. Modern MES systems leverage a webpage to configure and support it. They are user-configurable so the plant can address these ever-changing demands. 

7.  Not adaptable to manufacturing methodologies

Traditionally, manufacturers custom build MESs to the product they’re producing and the method of manufacturing. Does your organization use different MESs for different environments? Does your current solution support sequence and batch style production? How about conveyed versus cell style manufacturing? 

New manufacturing execution systems include all the flexibility necessary to adapt to these diverse requirements in a single solution. New MESs can adapt to sequenced or batch production and be integrated across the organization so you can easily move resources as the production demand ebbs and flows. 

8. Implementing workarounds to accomplish tasks

There is a right and a wrong way to change operational processes. A traditional hard-coded MES forces you to perform workarounds which can introduce holes in the process and lead to mis-built or non-conforming parts.  

By implementing a modern system, it is possible to enable the plant to make changes on the fly, so the control and monitoring plan achieves the behavior you intended without sacrificing the product being produced. 

9. Difficulty collecting the right data

Traditionally, data collection was a hard-coded feature. Today, organizations benefit from collecting many data points and often change what data they collect based on results they are achieving. Traditional systems are difficult to add more data items to and can cause the system to slow down, making it more prohibitive than helpful.  

If this is your MES, what would be better is a system that makes it easy to add data (one that leverages an easily-accessible database, not an OPC). This way, data collection is not a bottleneck for your organization. 

10. Cannot easily report collected data

An outdated MES only presents data in rigid pre-determined formats. So, what happens when you need to look at data in a different light, or cross-reference and incorporate new data items? It simply cannot be done which causes a lack of production insight and difficulty producing a root cause analysis.  

A modern MES software solution has flexible reporting that users can modify to be contextual to the viewer. 

What to Look for in an MES Software:

1. A System Able to Handle Complex Tasks

With a sophisticated MES, you’ll have to ability to take more control over your manufacturing operation. With sequencing or batch orders manufacturers can construct a complete, complex, build-to-order product or pick-and-pack product as needed. 

2. Self Error-Proofing  

With error-proofing MES software, there is no worry about whether parts have been put together incorrectly. Error-proofing identifies what parts needs to be put on to the product and then scans them to verify the correct component was chosen 

Throughout the plant, stations can also be set up to continuously verify the product is being put together correctly with parts necessary. If a part from the product is ever taken off the line from a previous station, future stations will be able to notice the part is missing.  

 

3. Data Collection

Having data traceability provides manufacturers with a history to keep track of their regulated parts. By collecting in-depth data on every product that leaves the plant, government regulations can be met as well as recall compliance. For instance, if there’s ever a recall on an airbag from an automotive plantdata can be reviewed to see what the parameters were set to avoid problems in the future.  

4. Pack and Ship Accuracy

Keeping track of containers is vital to keep production flowing. If the wrong container is shipped out, it interrupts the manufacturing process. Utilizing the right MES will keep track of containers from pack to ship — and for extra assurance, if there’s ever a problem with a container being shipped out, an audible error alert will sound 

5. Defect Reporting

A good MES software will store process data to enable the ability to see reports of past product installationsFrom this data, information can be pulled to find jobs that were done incorrectly, I.e., particular torque within perimeters 

It’s important that your MES is not a weak point in your organization. If your plant is in need of a new MES software, consider calling on a partner to help you explore a new Manufacturing Execution System 

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