As a manufacturer, continuous improvement and waste reduction are integrated into your everyday processes and need to be supported across all departments of your organization.

Luckily, modern manufacturing technology has made it simpler to achieve these goals and enhance productivity within your company. One such system is an MES System. The MES market is very popular, and is expected to reach $21.7 billion by 2024, thanks to the software solutions it presents that help manufacturers better gather, read, and use data.

What’s an MES System?

An MES, also known as a Manufacturing Execution System, is a digital system that connects and then monitors all machines and employees on your factory floor. This system is used to track the process of a manufacturing project step-by-step, from the introduction of unprocessed materials to the final product.

Via this system, an operator can ensure production operations are being executed properly and within the correct time frame. This system also allows you access to data that will help ensure that your previous optimization efforts are working fully, allowing you to more efficiently achieve continuous improvement goals.

All in all, using this system allows a manufacturer to get a true picture of how their factory floor is working, and whether or not processes need to be changed or equipment upgraded in order to optimize the line of production. An MES system can even show you where optimization may be lacking, and propose changes for an operator to consider.

How Does It Work?

An MES is used to improve a manufacturer’s control over their production process in a variety of areas to improve efficiency and productivity. To do so, an MES works in real time and monitors multiple aspects of a production line.

An MES has many main functions: data collection, scheduling, resource management, and performance analysis. These core functions all work in tandem to provide an overview of your current processes. An MES system can even be linked to multiple factories at once, and link back to the same headquarters to issue details to one main source.

By working from the factory floor, an MES can track all processes and outline them in detailed, high-level reports. At the same time, it can issue out commands to workers on the factory floor, allowing them to instantly receive instructions based on your optimization efforts and entirely cut out the need for a middleman.

Advantages of MES Systems

Get Real-Time Data to Improve Accuracy

Real-time data gives you more accurate and up-to-date figures for how your production floor is operating, allowing you to develop more realistic continuous improvement goals. Real-time data also allows you to be apprised of disruptions as soon as they occur, making them easier to address and assess.

Reduce Costs

With an MES, you can reduce costs in terms of waste and production disruptions by recording where they are present on your factory floor. Discovering cost inefficient areas, which are reported in real time, allows for rapid changes to be made to keep your production line profitable. A management team can use reports from an MES system to optimize as soon as necessary.

Minimize Downtime

Factories can lose between 5% and 20% of their total productivity to downtime. An MES system allows you to see exactly where and how downtime is being created, helping you eliminate these inefficiencies and improve on time delivery metrics.

Decrease Waste

An MES system allows your company to figure out where wasted materials are coming from. Seeing as 7.6 billion tons of industrial waste are produced every year, this is critical to Lean Manufacturing initiatives. To do this, an MES system analyzes all finished products to detail where materials are being inefficiently used. Similarly, it can halt production if it detects excessive waste.

Reduce Inventory

Storing excess costs money—usually 15% of an item’s total cost. An MES system can show you where and how inventory should be cut down to eliminate unnecessary waste and associated costs. 

Overall, an MES system is a highly innovative and industry-tailored solution for manufacturers to increase efficiency within their production floors. By utilizing its features and data reporting tools, manufacturers can better achieve short- and long-term goals while also saving money.