MES (Manufacturing Execution System) is a software solution that monitors, controls and optimizes production in real time. It serves as an interface between the corporate management level (ERP system) and the production level (machines, systems, employees).
The main functions of an MES are order management, production data acquisition, material and inventory management and performance analysis. An MES also enables the traceability of production steps for safety and compliance.
The MES helps companies to make their production more efficient, transparent and flexible. There are various “off-the-shelf” solutions that usually have to be individually adapted to the needs and circumstances of the respective company, but there are also individual solutions that have evolved over time.
In recent years, we have been able to implement various projects in the field of MES, two examples of which we would like to present today.
One of our customers uses an MES to parameterize the production steps. These are summarized in recipes/product definitions and are stored in versions (validity period, production quantity).
The machines are connected via distributed relational databases. Our customer realized the management of the data separated into different process steps with Siemens WinCC.
The standard functionalities of the MES were adapted by Vialutions in a highly specialized manner and have been adapted and maintained by us for over 10 years in various plants throughout Europe.
Vialutions is also responsible for the complete development and support of the MES for another internationally active production company.
In the software solution implemented here, the MES controls over 100 pieces of equipment in the store floor. The MES also offers fully embedded SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) functionality, which makes it possible to monitor and visualize the parameters of the technological processes and the operation of the equipment.
The integration of production (machines and other sensors) ranges from a simple file interface to bi-directional full integration of prototype machines via Opc-UA (with e.g. Siemens SIMATIC S7 controller).
Among other things, the machines can request master and order data from the MES and supply information about production to higher-level systems for later evaluation and posting.
It is also possible to record process data continuously or per production operation, visualize it and store it in compressed form.
The software contains a workflow system that can be flexibly configured by the customer, allowing users to use the MES functions on Android handhelds with laser scanners in production, in a web browser or in a Windows interface.
We have been supporting these systems for over 15 years across several software generations. We constantly adapt the configuration and software to the requirements of production so that production does not have to adapt to the limitations of the standard software.
Production is THE unique selling point of a manufacturing company. Adapting this unique selling point to standard software makes little sense. Instead, individual software (e.g. in the form of adaptations to existing frameworks) should be used to adapt the solution to the requirements of production in order to be able to exploit all potential to the full.
Vialutions provides cross-industry support in the MES sector. The specialists at our Competence Center in Bayreuth use their many years of experience to address individual requirements. Our MES projects range from standard software with customer-specific extensions to complete individual software based on the ISA95 standard.
Do you have an MES in use and see a need for optimization? Or are you currently planning the introduction of a new MES?
Please contact us for further information!