A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is software that monitors, controls, and connects the complex data on the factory floor. It allows manufacturing companies to always have an eye on their production line as well as have a more effective execution of their day-to-day operations.
An MES provides guidance on how production managers can transform raw materials into products. The company uses electronic works order routing and supplying production lines to create traceable records of manufacture within a factory.
Having such technology can instantly boost productivity and output. It can increase customer satisfaction, improve regulatory compliance, and can improve supply chain visibility. Aside from these benefits, there are also specific ways in which an MES can give advantages to various industries.
MES is used across various industries and is usually seen in many discrete and continuous process manufacturing industries including semiconductors and electronic equipment. Incorporating MES software within these manufacturing industries can elevate the way an industry works. Read more about these industries below and how MES is shaking them up.
Construction Industry
Almost anywhere in the world, countries need to build more housing to house their growing populations. As demand for housing grows, the government and the construction industry are looking toward offsite modular construction or factory-built housing. Building houses in factories and assembling them on-site could be more productive, cost-efficient, and fast.
MES is helping to facilitate this change by tackling manufacturing data analytics. The construction industry demands a standardized operating model that could adapt to the demand cycles in the economy and MES is the software that can quickly do this while still maintaining the industry’s best practices. MES enables quality control and real-time traceability throughout the entire manufacturing process. Often, the modern construction offsite manufacturing process can also be faster and more coordinated with the use of MES.
Clothing and Textile Industry
The clothing and textile industry is buyer-driven with big retailer brands determining where and what to produce according to the consumer’s demand. Customer relationships are built by delivering quality products at the right season and at the right price. However, most work in this industry comes from manual labor which doesn’t always guarantee availability and efficiency.
To meet customers’ expectations, MES software is utilized to enforce effective workforce management. Having an MES gives real-time visibility of the shop floor so that progress and work could be tracked. Moreover, MES collects data through the whole sewing production process to give supervisors real-time information regarding the work that is currently being done.
Automotive Industry
The automotive industry is one of the most demanding industries when it comes to putting manufacturing efficiency, productivity, and innovation into the spotlight. They must meet their consumer’s expectations with their ready-made products that are made up of a thousand elements. The whole industry is basically an integrated chain of manufacturers and suppliers who work cohesively to produce everything within the set time frame. One single part of a vehicle that does not arrive on time, or is not produced at the highest quality can produce downtimes and waste.
MES has been a huge help when it comes to quality control and making sure that every part of the production process is done properly. An MES software’s central database ensures that materials are tracked and cataloged per batch. MES also archives data from the automation system to provide accurate information that the company could need in an instant or for documentation purposes.
Electronics Industry
As technology further advances, the more that demand increases for the products within the electronic industry. With thousands of components sourced and manufactured from various countries, this also brings the challenge of accounting for all of them in case of product recalls or warranty claims. Moreover, manufacturers need to be quick and adapt to the trends as today’s latest technology might be tomorrow’s outdated one.
Manufacturers in the electronics industry maximize the use of their MES software solutions by using it to improve product quality. It standardized production processes to reduce downtimes and faulty products. Moreover, MES software enables the manufacturer to manage components and track them in case a product needs to be recalled. MES also helps companies adapt and restructure their production process according to the latest trends and tech innovations.
Food Industry
The food industry, specifically the food manufacturers, needs to cater to the huge public demand for “farm to fork”. More than any other industry, they must see the waste that they can produce (in materials, machines, and employees) and find ways to reduce them for a more efficient food manufacturing process. The industry is also more sensitive to time constraints as food has high safety standards and a variety of shelf life.
MES software strives to keep the food manufacturing process on track without delays, downtimes, and waste. A smart factory that is integrated with MES also tracks the shop floor to have insight into the productivity and performance of both humans and machines. There are also sensors that monitor product conditions and can alert manufacturers if there are any problems to reduce waste. With a centralized dashboard, the MES can show manufacturers any information they need regarding yields, shift outputs, product analysis, and more.
Start Your Smart Factory Journey
Although we have only listed five industries, MES has the ability to make a better manufacturing industry, no matter what industry it is. MES can streamline processes and give manufacturers a way to gain insights and valuable data from their shop floor. The system can greatly boost productivity on the production line and reduce waste to make the manufacturing process more efficient.
Case in point, we built LiveTracking™ as an internal tool to drive and sustain performance improvement projects in manufacturing. It is a fast-tracked MES software that is cloud-based to give manufacturers real-time data and insights on their shop floor no matter where they are. Get in touch with us and plan your Smart Factory roadmap through LiveTracking™’s cutting-edge technology.
