Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) have been around for a long time, and there are hundreds of options for MES solutions. This is especially true given the rapid evolution of related IT technologies, such as initiatives like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the "smart factory. Therefore, it is important to understand the principles and technologies behind MES. Industrial PC manufacturer TOUCHTHINK shows you.

Approaching MES

The best approach to MES is to identify the key business objectives that need to be achieved and then work backwards. This avoids endless wading through technical specifications that provide a myriad of functionality that may seem confusing until the required context is clarified. In fact, many MES features may not be relevant to specific current needs, so this helps the selection process considerably, although of course potential future-stage considerations need to be kept in mind.

Cost of change and cost of ownership can be more important than capital purchases.

10.1 inch Touch PC-Based MES Hardware Terminals

Getting started

The starting point when considering MES is the end point of production, i.e. the completion of the product ready for shipment. From the customer's point of view, the key metric here is on-time delivery. For manufacturing operations, it is the cost of manufacturing as well as the capacity of the facility. Capacity depends not only on the range of equipment available, but also on how it is utilized when faced with the inevitable requirement to switch from one product model to another. The degree of flexibility in automated and manual production operations determines the overall efficiency of the facility when producing multiple products.

It is a very difficult calculation to determine the overall capacity to meet delivery goals when multiple product types are being produced simultaneously. This is the first potential value of MES. Having computer-based digitization creates visibility into process status and performance at any time and in any situation, presenting opportunities for improving production processes and even work order distribution.

MES also ensures that work orders are matched when reading product IDs, so that each production unit can only complete each process in the correct order, including consideration of maintenance cycles. This ensures that no production processes, or more importantly, testing or inspection operations, are missed. The MES system linked to the engineering data preparation system also ensures that operators are provided with the proper operating criteria and setup documentation to ensure an exact match to the product being manufactured, including any revision changes or material substitutions.

MES terminals

On the way to Industry 4.0, Manufacturing Execution Systems are an important milestone on the way to the Smart Factory. With machine and production data acquisition, MES makes an important contribution to the real-time measurement of production processes. MES represents the link between higher-level ERP solutions and the machines and plants in shop floor management. With this continuous flow of data, production processes can be optimized and efficiency increased. In the end, this saves cash for manufacturing companies.

TOUCHTHINK's MES Terminals are designed for MES applications in factories and were developed specifically to meet the requirements of harsh production environments. We offer a complete SDK development kit with built-in professional remote maintenance software, support for Android system customization, and system call interface API reference code. We offer customization services including logo, appearance, color, mounting method, I/O port, high brightness, viewing angle, touch screen type, etc. Please click the button to contact us for details.