Effective Execution

Manufacturing execution systems should not be adopted simply because there is a gap in visibility, but to improve operational performance and ultimately reduce costs, says Mogan Swamy.

Globalization has forced many, if not all, manufacturers to continuously improve their performance. A conceptual response to this, has led to the application of methods and techniques such as Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. In practice, however, it is the advent of information technology, to support these theoretical approaches and complement the improvement of performance, by making plant floor information visible at the business end, which has given rise to manufacturing execution systems (MES) – also sometimes referred to as manufacturing operations management (MOM).

The most basic definition of MES is information technology (IT) solutions that support the primary production processes in a manufacturing plant. Even though the system normally refers to the software that manages and monitor work-in-process on the factory floor, one must not forget that this software, to be effective, must importantly bear an additional but complementary task: it has to support collaborative manufacturing strategies that integrate disparate data streams from the hardware component in the system, from the company’s supply chain, factory floor and enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

In short, a comprehensive MES would enable the ERP systems and production equipment control or SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) applications, to “talk” to each other. In layman terms, products that are to be manufactured can be scheduled against an organization’s total production capacity.

This can be achieved in two ways; firstly, the MES can integrate production and material requirements with inventory management, and procurement, which then generates a schedule that specifies when required materials should be ordered. Next, the MES software can be used to schedule tasks by facility, work center, machine, and/or employee skill set. The software can also be used for workflow management, and quality analysis.

On the shop floor, the information required to “feed” the production process to the business side of things is provided for by machine monitoring sensors and shop floor data collection (SFDC) terminals.These then transmit the production data from the factory floor to the MES software.

The software can also include supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) features that collect data from these machine-mounted sensors. Sometimes, the MES can be designed for use with manual SFDC terminals, whereby users enter information such as job numbers, labor codes, and production counts.

All this information is then transmitted to a central computer for processing. This, in turn, uses softwarebased algorithms to send real-time instructions to devices such as programmable logic controllers (PLC) along the manufacturing line, to correct for any discrepancies or deviations in key production performance indicators.

In essence, the ability of MES applications to support both real-time production control as well as data collection and reporting, should improve asset productivity, reduce order-to-ship times, and eliminate costly rework.

In essence, parts three to five are used to describe workflows between B2MML applications and ERP Systems in typical manufacturing operations activities.

However, even though these standards set a common mode of communication between the ERP and MES, the interactions between enterprise activities and control activities can become very complex when production models are expected to be very agile and flexible.

For example, in the production model “Engineer to Order”, information exchange is synchronous and almost in real time. In this model, products are designed and engineered to drive the planning at the enterprise level, but the definitions at the ISA-95 could change during execution.

In such a case, change requests would be sent back to engineering or planning, which then puts the execution on hold waiting for the changes to be reflected in its planning. These results in wasted time as a new set of operations are then communicated to the shop floor to complete the work orders. The aerospace industry offers one of the best examples of such an application.

Seamless flow

An automated interface between the ERP and MES can lead to a lot of advantages. Important information becomes accessible at the right time and the right place. This is mandatory if Total Quality or Best Practices management is to be implemented in the enterprise: it would require a fast and flexible factory-wide reporting system that could provide effective data, which could be easily assimilated to system efficiencies, downtime and product tracking.

The point is to tap useful knowledge from the enterprise, but at the same time, assist the business with identifying improvement possibilities utilizing the automated interface. This could allow key personnel to analyze and act on opportunities to refine the workflow, maximize overall equipment effectiveness, and to correct problems before they impact the business.

However, for the automated interface to succeed, it would have to rely heavily on the information aspects of the MES in the enterprise, primarily in the context and content of data that needs to be exchanged.The intent is to move away from individual manual entries, which can be subjective and inaccurate, and difficult to rectify, to a factory-wide automated reporting system.

This would entail automatic inputs from sensors across the factory, through a framework of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) into supervisory computers, which then could be sent out across the network as useful knowledge. But to acquire the data automatically, a SCADA system would be required. The SCADA system can be installed on several servers, with industrial touch-screen client PCs connected as clients. Sitting atop the SCADA system would be the MES, which would perform the tasks of collecting, collating and analyzing data from multiple input sources, and providing high level reporting.

These data from multiple disparate sources can be transformed into manageable information for productivity analysis, data mining, querying and reporting. The information is presented in a business context rather than merely plant-centric, making it easy for anyone in the company, to select the information that is needed to make better business decisions.

The business benefits arising from these decisions appear to focus on improvements in three main areas: asset efficiency, operating margin and revenue growth. However, asset efficiency directly impacts on operating margin and ultimately revenue growth. It is a key area for financial loss within any plant and, therefore, the area where significant changes can impact bottom-line results, significantly.

Asset efficiency is directly related to manufacturing dead-time. This could result from machine stoppages, reduced run rates or even producing a poor quality product. The causes can be many, but the primary difficulty is determining the “effective” production time of both man and machine on the factory floor.

For instance, the changeovers from one product to another require machine modifications and manpower to change a product run. This can create significant idle periods until the changeover is complete and the line becomes fully operational again. Another example would be when equipment breaks down, instead of upgrading or scheduling regular pre-emptive maintenance reviews, the company embarks on reactive maintenance call-outs, which results in machine and manpower downtime as repairs are made.

Therefore, by monitoring operating time, run rates and production quantities, the MES can highlight particular points within the manufacturing process which could be tightened, improved or upgraded. A process of preventative maintenance can also be implemented using the MES.

The data capturing capabilities of the system can pin-point problems in the machinery and set up regular maintenance checks. If the machine needs to be taken down for servicing or repairs the MES can also indicate available employees and time slots to carry out the necessary checks, which minimize any impact on production.

Unlike asset efficiency where the impact of production on assets is closely scrutinized, in improving operating margins and revenue growth, the focus is on the effects of production. These can manifest due to the inefficiencies arising between the enterprise and the factory floor. Examples include unexpected surges in demand due to an advertising or marketing drive, energy use and waste reduction on the factory floor.

Companies can schedule batch campaigns of longer production runs in order to minimize changeover times: these would reduce waste and energy consumption (waste can take place when then there is a product change from one batch to another). Tools can also be scheduled to reduce unnecessary product line changes, and rework costs can be minimized by providing electronic instructions and collection of information to reduce the incidence of operator errors.

Energy consumption can be improved by switching off machines that are not required or, operating machinery during off-peak energy cost periods. Bridging the information gap between the ERP system and the plant floor is a prerequisite for an effective production strategy. If this flow of information is successfully achieved between the enterprise and the MES, the business benefits of an MES system can be tremendous.

Sense of direction

The acquisition of MES is nearly always driven by the need to transform factory floor key performance indicators (KPIs) into measures that support business strategies. It ensures consistent measurement, optimization and drive towards the same business goals all the way from the boardroom to the plant floor.

However, the integration of business applications to the MES requires the migration to a unified architecture that can be used to leverage real-time control applications on the factory floor. Thus, making the plant-floor assets an integral part of the enterprise’s digital system would eliminate variability on the plant floor and improve responsiveness to the business objectives.

But to connect and share data across the plant and the enterprise requires that programming and transmission be standardized. And it must be emphasized that the standardization of enterprise application programming interfaces have increasingly centered on the web and the favored lingua franca for these electronic exchange of data and programs has been XML.

The use of standards can help MES solutions to be custom designed to identify and remove variability in the manufacturing process. It can also be used to easily integrate with other business applications in the enterprise. But for the customized MES to be effective, which is to capture and analyze the root causes of plant-floor variability in real-time, its functionality must reside at the plant level. They can then be used to determine the root causes that lead to process variability and more importantly how to permanently eliminate those causes.

In fact, asset management can be defined as maintaining product equipment properly to deliver maximum performance and service life at minimal cost. It requires field devices and control systems, regardless of their manufacturer, to transmit information to the designated areas.

Moreover, these smart field devices must be able to gather and disseminate information about their operational status as well as their process. But the system would not be complete if there is no dedicated software to provide the necessary tools to analyze and display information coming from various field devices to help the operators or maintenance personnel.

A plant-wide view will have an even larger impact in improving economic efficiency by increasing plant availability, which comes directly from improving each, individual component’s availability.

This can only be achieved through the early detection of variances or irregularities in the equipment, and by providing condition-based real-time maintenance. A plant wide view is possible, by linking the smart field devices to the MES, which then gives the corresponding hardware on the plant floor, the intelligence and ability to respond to the appropriate inputs.

Business boost

The value of MES is in the results attributed to its utilization. Enterprises have to realize that strategic actions and technology enablers such as the MES, automate, standardize and improve the necessary business capabilities.

In this respect, a modular architecture would provide flexibility and enable the MES to be set up in many different ways, with individual enterprises creating their own KPIs. This is important both for initial integration of the MES, and for future development, as it means that the MES complements enterprise’s business rather than conflicts with it.

MES should not be adopted simply because there is a gap in functionality or visibility; it has to be adopted to improve operational performance and ultimately reduce costs. That is, the MES’ visibility and control should not be an objective in and of itself, but rather a strategic action along the way.

However, strategic actions can only be made a reality when the necessary business capabilities are in place. For example, a key business capability for improving performance and lowering costs is standardized business processes.

This means that companies must have a firm understanding of the difference between why and how the MES should be implemented: companies should not view the goal of the MES as the standardization of business processes; its real goal is to reduce the costs.

The intent is to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in the plant. But to be able to do that requires developing a closed loop between the MES and the ERP. The challenge, however, is getting the data from an asset, whether it is an instrument or equipment on the plant floor, and allowing that real-time data to flow all around the enterprise in a way that supports timely and accurate decisions by operationally organized people.

This requires an integration of sorts, to gather scattered knowledge and unify inconsistent actions by capturing information in a common repository. However, the magnitude of the data collected and its constant analysis presents a unique challenge to many systems, MES and ERP alike.

The problem, therein, is in the structure of the architecture of all these systems. They can be defined in a variety of ways and the challenge of integration is in getting data from a subject-oriented structure of control and information through a business structure that supports decision-making.

However, effective integration between the MES and the ERP will reduce the operating cost during the plant’s life cycle. These are achieved by monitoring the manufacturing downtime, the condition of the production process’s individual equipment, and providing timely information to the enterprise’s personnel to identify problems before any equipment is damaged. In addition, the MES can anticipate potential problems that would result in reduced product quality and an increase in overall production costs.

While the only output of such a system is data, this information can be used to correct a myriad of production problems that directly affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the manufacturing process. The aim is to increase total production output at a reduced cost per unit of output. MES and its counterparts at the enterprise level offer that possibility.

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Moving Over to MOM

Manufacturing operations management (MOM) is a much more appropriate term to use than manufacturing execution systems (MES), says Aberdeen Group.

There has been a lot of confusion over the past several years around what the definition is and differences are between MES (manufacturing execution system) and EMI (enterprise manufacturing intelligence). Furthermore, there is no clear understanding of how these relate with other newer terms such as manufacturing operations management, collaborative production systems, or manufacturing 2.0.

To further confuse the market, many of the vendors previously going to market with MES or EMI have had or are planning new releases with re-architected software and marketing messages that do not easily fit into any of the old buckets.

In an attempt to lend some clarity, Aberdeen now uses the term “manufacturing operations management platform” to help capture Best-in-Class companies’ new approach to managing manufacturing operations, and refers to MES only as a subset of systems that delivers a complete MOM platform.

Furthermore, it is generally true that as more and more software vendors release newer and newer solutions the old definition and understanding of MES is less and less relevant.

More than MES

In fact, as Aberdeen conducts further analysis of how these systems are deployed and the functionality they deliver, the ways that the Best-in-Class are delivering these systems looks very little like the original definition of MES. For this reason, the overall relevance and prevalence of the term MES in the market place is likely going to be reduced over the coming years.

A MOM platform is more than a single software application or set of functionalities and work flows. It involves the use of IT tools and best practices, conformance to standards, interoperability across the entire manufacturing technology stack and more.

Based on the how the Best-in-Class are differentiating from the Industry Average and Laggards the following points largely characterize an effective architecture for a manufacturing operations management platform:

• Functionality that spans production, inventory, quality, and maintenance management

• Functionality that focuses on improving collaboration between product development and engineering, procurement, and distribution

• Real-time interoperability between MOM and PLM, SCM, QMS, and ERP

• IT tools such as BPM, SOA, and Event Management are leveraged

• ISA-95 standards are adhered to

• A roadmap should be put in place for consolidating plant level systems to a single MOM solution extending across the manufacturing network

Aberdeen Group (www.aberdeen.com) provides fact-based research focused on the global technology-driven value chain.

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Moving into MES

Traditional process automation players are expanding their product portfolios with the addition of MES solutions.

In February 20009, Yokogawa announced the release of Real-time Production Organizer (RPO), a suite of manufacturing execution system platform packages that integrate the vertical production execution workflow across departments.

Based on the ISA-95 manufacturing execution model, RPO performs the definition, dispatch, execution, analysis, and tracking functions, thereby speeding up the Plan-Do-Check- Act cycle. RPO consists of five platform packages. Each package supports a Web service, making RPO ready for a service oriented architecture (SOA). Users can introduce these packages in stages. The packages are: Workflow Composer VP, Production Coordinator VP, Production Instructor VP, Production Supervisor VP and Production Tracker VP.

Satoru Kurosu, senior vice president and head of Yokogawa’s Industrial Automation Business, said: “The release of RPO marks another major milestone for Yokogawa’s VigilantPlant initiative. With RPO bridging the remaining gaps between production management and production control, our VigilantPlant solutions now cover customers’ needs at the device, control system and manufacturing execution system levels.

Optimum operations

Also in February, Emerson Process Management launched Syncade Smart Operations Management suite, a class of real-time production management software to improve plant operations and extend the value of its PlantWeb digital plant architecture by integrating real-time intelligent plant-floor data with procedural, off-line and transactional plant business processes, decisions and asset management.

Emerson says Syncade is aimed to be a replacement for the traditional client-server, program-intense MES software of the past decade. It uses the modular, scalable Microsoft.NET framework-based software to deliver ISA95 Level 3 standardsbased functionality, and comprises a family of software modules that provide integrated solutions in four functional areas: resource management, operations optimization, integrated information, and quality and compliance.

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