Benefits of MES (Manufacturing Execution System)

The MES functions that have the greatest impact on the operation and evolution of the company’s performance is, in fact, the availability of real-time data, such as order status, equipment status, inventory visibility, prioritization of work orders, information for plant management, messaging, order tracking, and real-time shop floor data collection. The benefits of MES are too much nowadays.

All the benefits arising from the implementation of an MES system are very difficult to quantify or attribute to an isolated factor, but if we only look at the data provided in real-time, we will have enough information to identify the significant advantages of the application in the daily life of the industry.

Benefits of MES

With the definition of what an industrial automation system is, we can then present some benefits achieved with its implementation:

1) Increased Productivity

One of the most significant benefits achieved with industrial automation is the improvement and increase in productivity. The automation applied to automatic machines allows the achievement of faster production cycles with greater efficiency and repeatability.

A worker or person cannot do a specific job over and over with perfect precision, but an industrial automation system can do that job with the same result. This is possible because the main computer system is equipped with instructions to carry out the work with maximum precision.

2) Cost Reduction

An industrial automation system can reduce installation costs, as it can offer a quick return on investment through increased productivity and efficiency. With an automated and self-operated system, human workers will no longer be needed to carry out extra activities as many of these automated systems are specially designed to perform different production methods without any instruction from human operators.

Another contributing factor to cost savings is the fact that most automated systems are designed to save electricity when not in use.

Added to this is the fact that industrial automation not only simplifies labor-intensive tasks and reduces labor costs, it also minimizes the creation of materials and waste.

3) Quality Improvement

Automated machines can deliver consistent and repeatable results. When manufacturers use industrial automation, they eliminate the quality control issues involved with human error. With industrial automation, processes can be carefully regulated and controlled so that the quality of the final product is more consistent.

Thus, if the industry produces food, automation guarantees the mixing, heating, and waiting times in the manufacture of the product. If, on the other hand, it is an industry that needs to produce accurate and consistent welds, robots in operation will make standard welds maintaining uniformity and quality. See that the result is a reduction or elimination of process errors and consequently an increase in quality.

4) Security

The design of an industrial automated system must have the premise of safety. This is because organizations are fully designed to reduce accidents. In Brazil, we also have a regulatory standard that requires machine manufacturers to strictly follow safety practices.

Industrial machines are generally designed to work in extreme temperature environments, explosive locations, castings, chemical processes, and other environments that pose potential hazards to human workers. In these places where there are health risks in the handling and production of products, industrial automation systems can provide maximum safety, as in addition to operating with pre-programmed movements, they can eliminate the need for human contact.

5) Competitive Advantage

To survive in today’s global economy, companies must remain increasingly competitive. Time and again, industrial automation has given manufacturing companies the ability to stay in tune or even outpace their competitors.

Robotic cells, for example, can provide companies with the tools they need to decrease cycle times, improve quality and reduce costs. As such, industrial automation enables companies to remain stronger in the face of economic turmoil and external threats.

6) Accuracy

Precision is one of the main benefits of industrial automation. This is because all the variables involved in production processes are measured by the main computer, which usually has a built-in artificial intelligence program. This program ensures accuracy and time to production. Without this kind of computer program, it would be impossible to maintain good accuracy and timing. While the system is in use, different types of sensors and processors are also used for monitoring the entire process to maintain accuracy. Thus, the probabilities of failures in the production line are reduced as much as possible.

7) Remote Monitoring

Remote monitoring is one of the most advanced benefits in recent years. This is because remote operation and control systems are increasingly integrated into most industrial automation systems. These systems allow an operator to monitor and control (if necessary) production processes from a certain distance.

Maintaining its tradition of quality and innovation, developed the MES-DA – a complete system for managing the factory floor, following the trends of industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing, integrating the digital universe into the production process. Through it, it is possible to manage, in real-time, the status of the machines, OEE index, time and reason for the stoppage, production orders, quantity produced, and scrapped.

The MES-DA also has a set of reports and comparative analyses that are fundamental for decisions on the shop floor, such as OEE, start, and end of production, setup, stops reasons for the stoppage, quantity produced, scrap, and rework.

Conclusion

Manufacturing management helps keep equipment operating at best performance and provides the advantage to increase margins, cut costs and compete at a higher level.

Digital Quality Operations Management provides everything you need to organize your equipment, procedures, and personnel on a mission to maintain and continually improve product quality.