Articles

Manufacturing Execution Systems - Leveraging Data for Competitive Advantage
by J. Kall - Quality Digest Magazine

Part 1

The plant manager of an electronics manufacturer was pressing the third-shift production supervisor for some hard-and-fast answers. He needed to know why the last three runs off the back end of line 4 failed quality tests and had to be put back into the rework loop.

With this hot order on hand, suppositions wouldn't do. There were too many factors involved: Process problems related to equipment performance, uncalibrated instrumentation or a new supplier of a particular component in that particular lot were all possible causes.

A year ago, the plant manager would have faced serious productivity problems if he'd shut down the line to try to identify the problem. But with the plant's new manufacturing execution system (MES), which had been integrated into the supply chain management system, answers could be found in time to minimize downtime and scrapped product. By using relational databases to store and associate process and product data, which then could be compared against any single production order, the MES provided management with the information needed to quickly determine the exact cause of the problem on line 4.

Using information gathered by the MES, management traced the problem to a different component from a new supplier and immediately took corrective action. Purchasing tightened incoming supplier quality control and returned to the previous component. The problem was solved.

For our electronics manufacturer, the MES was the vital internal link of the supply chain, providing an automated feed between upper-level enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) systems and the plant floor control systems, coordinating both inbound and outbound supply chain logistics of manufacturing.

By automating the planning-execution-control loop while synchronizing and integrating all of the resources, methods, procedures and tools used to accomplish production, the MES provides the ultimate foundation for a plantwide continuous improvement program capable of achieving true Six Sigma manufacturing...

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Manufacturing Execution Systems - Leveraging Data for Competitive Advantage
by J. Kall - Quality Digest Magazine

Part 2 - From satisfying ISO 9000 requirements to increasing throughput, a well-designed MES can meet your information needs.

The mission statement of an MES deployment could be "to provide timely information access to plant associates in an actionable format, empowering the manufacturing enterprise to meet its goals."

In short, it provides immediately usable information to the right people at the right time to help them make timely, well-informed decisions. When all the various "islands of information" are connected and coordinated via an integrated MES, the efficiency of each function increases. An MES creates a series of synchronized and coordinated information links that results in tighter control over manufacturing activities and, ultimately, in first-time, end-product quality and production repeatability. Simultaneously, it establishes an automated system for documenting and distributing information procedures, not only satisfying ISO 9000's requirements, but also eliminating the confusion and errors that occur in paper-based systems.

For example, with respect to adherence to specifications, an integrated MES automates the process of matching customer specifications to part numbers, bills of material, material specifications, drawings, work instructions and routings. It identifies and documents deviations in the manufacturing process. It also time-stamps all entries concerning the order and automates order acknowledgment, providing documentation that the order has been correctly interpreted and entered. The MES then routes, tracks and fulfills the order through its manufacture, identifying any deviations or bottlenecks and automatically alerting appropriate personnel of potential delays, pertinent production information and quality results.

By automatically tracking and collecting all related production data and documenting each step in the manufacturing process from raw materials to finished goods inventory, the MES provides the ultimate foundation for a quality program, fulfilling ISO 9000 compliance requirements even when problems are encountered along the way. An MES links seamlessly to corporationwide document management systems, ensuring that procedures are followed (or executed) and everyone is using the latest critical documentation (instructions, work flow, material specifications and so on) relating to how work should be performed. In fact, an online, integrated MES satisfies the information requirements of almost all of ISO 9000's quality elements. It essentially automates any quality system's documentation requirements.

For example, meeting ISO 9000's supplier and purchasing components becomes easier with an integrated MES. Information can automatically be correlated and checked against the specifications, vendor certifications, vendor performance and incoming material quality...

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