Manufacturing intelligence

For a growing number of manufacturers, the palpable disconnect between their plants and the rest of the business is a weak link that's at or near breaking point. Product mix, demand variability and relentless customer expectations are reaching the point where the old ways just can't cut it. Add increasing pressure to do business globally, with all that means in terms of compliance, traceability, etc, and the need for change is crystal clear. As John Southcott, CEO of US system integrator Brock Solutions and chair of the international MESA (Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association) organisation, puts it: "The plain fact is that real-time operations on the plant floor are becoming significantly more important than they were, say, five years ago." Demand-driven manufacturing requires significant flexibility, and that means changeovers, set-ups, etc. Continuous improvement may have made us good at these, but what about optimising sequences? What happens when a machine goes down? The business needs to know, and know fast, to make the right decisions and keep a handle on KPIs. For Southcott and a growing number of pundits, the minimum requirement is for real-time visibility of plant floors. It's all part of the MES (manufacturing execution system) story, which provides the tools for everything from managing inventory in real time to monitoring OEE and quality, all at the shopfloor level. Arguably, we're at the point with MES that ERP reached in the early 1990s – where there were financials and MRP but little integration and a welter of manual processes. We all know what happened to ERP and, if MES can earn its spurs, in terms of standards and widely applicable modules, it could go the same way. Tell an operations director he could increase yield, reduce waste, operate shifts with fewer people and save on recalls… he won't say no.