Glossary
What is MES?
Manufacturing Execution System
Definition
MES — a manufacturing execution system — records and controls production as it happens on the shop floor: operation starts and stops, material use, output per machine, quality and reasons for downtime.
MES alongside ERP
An ERP plans: what to make, with which materials and by when. An MES manages execution: which order is on which machine right now, how many units have been made and why the line stopped for ten minutes. The ISA-95 standard defines the boundary between the two layers.
Core functions
- Operator panels to start and stop operations and log stop reasons
- Machine connectivity and automatic output counts
- OEE calculation
- In-process quality control and SPC
- Batch genealogy and process-parameter capture
Example
On a packaging line, the MES logs every stop longer than two minutes and asks the operator for a reason. At week end a Pareto chart shows 40% of lost time came from changeovers.
MES in Fidar
Fidar’s MES & Quality module is one of the advanced industrial capabilities on the roadmap.
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