An MES or Manufacturing Execution System implementation can refer to a number of different systems. It might be an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) tracking system, an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) integration for better in-process inventory visibility, or MES can also be a catch all term for a full manufacturing process and business system integration.

Simplifying Manufacturing Execution System Deployments

Since the definition of MES can be is so broad, at Corso Systems we often start an MES project with a small scope of work. This way we can learn and document the moving pieces of your operation. We’ll find where all of your data lives, then digitize and integrate your various data sources. We’ll then build tools for your team to manage and utilize the MES functionality. Finally and most importantly, we can start to instill the cultural values in your team to support your MES endeavors.

MES and automation can be touchy subjects for people who are used to “the way things have always been done”. But, MES and automation don’t have to be scary topics—and they don’t have to take away jobs. In most cases, we have found that the people who were initially reluctant to automation become the biggest fans of MES once they see what’s possible on the other side. Instilling the cultural mindset to support these technological changes is a key piece of the puzzle.

To that end, we decided to share three pathways to MES implementations to provide quick wins on the business side—and with a low amount of feather ruffling to help smooth out the cultural shift. For a deeper dive into MES as a whole, please check out our Manufacturing Execution Systems Guide.

We picked our example integrations based on a variety of factors:

• The data likely already exists, so you can use the new tool with an existing business process

• The integration will benefit at least three users—and provide a customer-focused benefit

• Since everything can be tracked in software, there’s no need to install equipment or experience downtime

With those criteria in place, let’s dive into the second integration you can do right now to start gaining value from a manufacturing execution system!

Improve Your Quality Team’s Quality of Life with Track and Trace

When most people think of Manufacturing Execution Systems through the quality lens, their first association is Statistical Process Control or SPC. While SPC is a powerful tool and can provide a great deal of quality improvements, it can be a complicated technology to integrate. And to set it up correctly for getting the most value requires detailed process knowledge.

Track and Traceability—or Track and Trace for short—is an often initially overlooked, yet very powerful tool in the MES arsenal.

Most manufacturing operations use raw materials. For example, sheet metal for making appliances, pipe for making pipe fittings, or ingredients in food and beverage manufacturing. In most cases, these raw materials will arrive from a supplier with a lot number. Then, you will likely consume these materials in your process and generate your own lot numbers for in-process work and finished materials.

At its core, a Track and Trace system will account for every lot number across all of your products. This will quickly help you pinpoint quality issues related to raw materials or the in-process materials you produce. You can also use it to find any other affected lots to triage a problem and find when and where the affected units were sold. When raw materials are introduced into the process, their lot numbers are tracked. As your goods move through the line, each operation is tracked and stored along with the relevant production information for that batch.

You Already Have Quality Control Samples and Analyses

Even if they are still just collected with pen and paper, most manufacturing facilities already have some sort of quality control sample and testing process in place. Since Track and Trace lives on top of existing processes, it can add value without additional work on the part of the quality team.

The only requirement for Track and Trace to provide value is the ability to track lot numbers throughout your supply chain and process. For example, if we are running a brewery, we would have grain, yeast, and hops as lot-tracked raw materials. A record of which lot numbers went into the mash tun will be recorded along with a lot number for the mash that’s produced. This would carry through lautering, where the same lot number will be applied to the wort. As hops are added, they are tracked along with the wort’s lot. Then, when fermentation is started and the yeast is pitched, this information will also be added to the record. Once you perform quality control checks on all of the product, you can begin to track down any issues—and find other affected batches if they used similar ingredients.

All of this data is added to the quality process and is easily trackable.

Three Users: Customer Service, Quality Team, Operations

With track and trace information at hand, it’s easy to manage quality and operations. Quality control checks happen frequently on raw ingredients in food and beverage manufacturing, and these can be separated by lot numbers until they are approved for production. Also, if an ingredient is later found to have an issue after it has been used in a product, those batches are easily quarantined before the ingredient affects any other batches. Operations can see in real-time what the Quality team is working with and will stay sync with paper or shared electronic files.

Customer Service Now Has Realtime Data to Give Out

As Operations produces batches, production information is readily available to the Customer Service team. They can inform customers of any slowdowns due to quality issues. This also greatly simplifies investigating impact from product recalls. Since you can now easily find all of the affected batches across the entire company, the Customer Service team can proactively reach out to affected customers as needed.

Wrapping Up

We hope our new series will inspire you to imagine new ways to use Manufacturing Execution Systems in your facility. If you missed it, please read the first post in this series: Benefit Your Bottom Line: Schedule Optimization.

Astute readers will notice that while we always highlight three users, two of them will always be Customer Service and Operations. The power of Manufacturing Execution Systems lies in tying different systems together so everyone has a thorough and detailed view of the operation in real-time. So, while the department where the integration is focused will obviously benefit, there will also be additional operational value—and with operational value comes customer facing value, too.

With the power of these integrations, your customer service team will now have real-time information to keep customers informed.

Additionally, the benefits from an MES are not limited to three users or departments, it simply means you will generally see at least three people or teams benefiting, if not more!

If you have any questions about how to implement these integrations into your operation, or you would like to see how we have helped other companies use them in the past to optimize their operations with Manufacturing Execution Systems, please contact us!