As one man wanted to buy an MES system. MES-systems (manufacturing execution system, production process control system): functions, tasks, advantages and disadvantages

MES (Manufacturing Execution System) - production executive system. MES are specialized software systems that are designed to solve the problems of operational planning and production management. Systems of this class are designed to solve synchronization problems, coordinate, analyze and optimize the output of products within a certain production. The use of MES as a special industrial software allows you to significantly increase the return on assets of technological equipment and, as a result, increase the profit of the enterprise even in the absence of additional investments in production. MES-systems are industrial complex or software tools that work in the environment of workshops or manufacturing enterprises.

Manufacturing execution system (MES) - production automation and optimization systems production activities, which in real time: initiates, monitors, optimizes, documents production processes from the start of a task to the release of finished products.

In Russian, instead of MES, the abbreviation is often used ASOUP- a system for collecting, transmitting, processing and displaying information about production processes in real time, aimed at ensuring production automation.

In accordance with the ISA-95 MES standard, a factory automation system must answer the following questions:

• How to produce? (determining how to make a product)
• What can be produced? (determining available resources)
• When and what to produce? (schedule definition)
• When and what was produced? (performance definition)

The MES system covers the following tasks:

• distribution and control of the status of resources (building a production model, centralized storage, quick and easy search for data on the specifications of raw materials, semi-finished products, finished products, and packaging, addresses of suppliers, quality standards, legislative documents, etc.);
• dispatching of production processes (management of orders for production, management of raw materials and semi-finished products, control of the implementation of the plan, control of residues);
• data collection, quality management (data collection from process control systems, data quality and reliability checks, collection and archiving, long-term storage, laboratory data management);
• maintenance management;
• performance analysis (statistical and mathematical analysis, control of process performance, calculation of TEP, accounting of operating time and downtime of equipment, reporting);
• preparation of production schedules;
• document control (electronic document management);
• human resource management (personnel management);
• coordination of technological processes and tracking of finished products.

Main functions of MES

• Monitor the status and distribution of resources.
• Efficiency and detail planning.
• Production scheduling.
• Document management.
• Collect and store data.
• Manage staff.
• Manage product quality.
• To rule production processes.
• Manage maintenance and repair.
• Track product history.
• Analyze performance.

The functions that MES performs are operational in nature and regulate the corresponding requirements not for the entire enterprise, but for that unit (workshop, section, division) for which work planning is being carried out. Of the above functions of this system, the main ones are operational scheduling (detailed planning) and dispatching of production processes in the workshop. Only these two functions define the MES-system as an operational system, which is aimed at the formation of equipment operation schedules and operational management of production processes in the workshop.

Although MES algorithms are mostly based on heuristics, they are generally much more complex than APS algorithms. First of all, the MES algorithm finds the necessary solution, taking into account all the restrictions and selected criteria (private or integral). After that, at the optimization stage, a suitable schedule is searched for. The MES-system receives the scope of work, which is either presented by ERP at the stage of volume-scheduling, or issued by the APS-system in the form of a workshop schedule acceptable for the enterprise, and in the future it itself builds more accurate schedules for equipment and monitors their implementation in the operational mode. In this regard, the goal of the MES system is not only to fulfill the specified volume with the specified deadlines for the implementation of certain orders, but also to perform in the best possible way from the point of view of the economic performance of the shop.

The main provisions of the MES-system

• Activate production facilities;
• Monitor production capacity;
• Collect information related to production;
• Monitor and control quality parameters;
• Provide personnel and equipment with the information necessary to start the production process;
• Establish links between personnel and equipment within production;
• Establish links between production and suppliers, customers, engineering department, sales department and management;
• Apply measures in accordance with the requirements of the production nomenclature;
• Change the components, raw materials and semi-finished products that are used in the production process;
• Change product specifications;
• Availability of personnel and production facilities;
• Ensure compliance with applicable legal regulations, such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations

Benefits of MES

Thanks to the use of modern MES systems, it became possible to almost double the processing speed of production orders against the backdrop of a 25% reduction in work in progress. The use of MES makes it possible to draw up and timely adjust detailed production schedules, which, in turn, allows you to more accurately determine the actual cost of production for each individual part, and the entire product. A significant property of MES systems is the execution of schedules. APS systems built into the ERP planning loop compile production schedules only if orders for new products or works are entered in the portfolio, it is rather difficult to correct them in real time, as a result of which the use of APS systems in small-scale production becomes a serious problem . In these cases, MES systems work more flexibly and quickly, recalculating and adjusting schedules for any deviations in production processes, thereby increasing the flexibility and dynamism of production. MES systems are indispensable in small-scale and custom production, while APS-systems are more suitable for production with a large-scale production nature, where there are usually no sharp deviations from the production program due to the sustainable nature of production. This whole system guarantees the possibility of maintaining detailed material accounting, accounting for the operation of equipment and personnel costs, collecting, aggregating current data on the state of production and transferring them to a planning system or an ERP system. Allows you to create and quickly make corrections to production schedules, taking into account external (for example, changes in demand) and internal factors(for example, delays in the receipt of raw materials); increase the efficiency of production dispatching; control the content and passage of documents that accompany the manufacture of products, maintaining planned and reporting shop documentation, and much more. Market studies show that MES systems are adapted to numerous situations, defined as discrete (private) operations, batch (sequential) and continuous manufacturing processes.

The theoretical advantages that MES systems can provide are obvious: in the case of discrete production, this is an increase in equipment efficiency and the ability to work on individual orders, and in the case of continuous production, the transition from the Soviet management model to transparent production, making the concept of "real-time enterprise" possible ( Real Time Enterprise).

In practice, companies often have equipment utilization of no more than 50% - the efficiency of its use is not so important for them. Moreover, in conditions of market uncertainty, long-term planning is not available to them, and the return on investment in MES is far from obvious. But the most important thing is the absence of a competitive environment, which should move enterprises towards modernization.

There is another, more mundane problem - the inadequacy of the proposed solutions to the current needs of companies. “Suppliers offer expensive cars instead of the bike we need - a product, of course, of better quality, but with redundant functionality and an unacceptable price,” Mikhail Reisner, IT director of the IEC holding, drew an analogy. Enterprises solve this problem various methods, and primarily with the help of their own developments. For example, IEC did this by creating its own solution and integrating it with the accounting system on the 1C platform. However, now the company is faced with a choice: continue to invest in its own development, or try to solve emerging problems with the existing solution on the market. The reason for this is the growing competition, mainly from Chinese manufacturers. The company has to focus more and more on custom production, and this requires the possibility of operational planning.

Another option is to develop the necessary functionality within the framework of the implemented ERP solution. However, perhaps the only advantage of this approach is the use of a single platform instead of disparate solutions. There are many more cons, mainly a very significant cost of refinement - very few companies can afford such an investment. In addition, an important difference between MES and ERP is that MES-systems, focused exclusively on production processes, allow you to adjust plans as often as necessary. ERP has a lot of other tasks, so its ability to reschedule is extremely limited.

Finally, it is the use of the MES layer in the IT architecture that makes it possible to maintain a balance between the uniqueness of the enterprise and the best world experience. Otherwise, this compromise has to be found in the ERP customization process.

“For most Russian enterprises, the restructuring of production processes can be much more useful than the introduction of MES, and even ERP,” emphasized the process immaturity of the domestic industry Yury Zelenkov, director of information technology at NPO Saturn. Only in 2010, a turning point occurred at Saturn: a team was formed that began to promote the project of a production management system. At the same time, the new management model is being implemented independently, and later it is planned to introduce a replicated solution.

“Introducing MES without changing business processes can do more harm than good,” agrees Metan Gennady, MES architect at Sibur. In this case, instead of speeding up the processes, on the contrary, they can rather slow down, which will result in negative consequences.

Another trend leading manufacturers away from real problems is the introduction of lean manufacturing concepts, which are considered as an alternative to MES systems. AT recent times quite a lot of such projects are being carried out, but only because their implementation seems to be easier for the management of enterprises. Meanwhile, production planning and lean manufacturing do not contradict, but complement each other. Lean production is, first of all, a change in the philosophy of the enterprise, and the introduction of MES is a change in the methods of working with information.

One of the few positive trends in the market is that the initiators of the introduction of MES are increasingly becoming business leaders - people responsible for financial results. This means both a higher level of support for projects and a different approach to justifying them. Such changes, coupled with the growing managerial maturity of enterprises, are capable of becoming the main driver of this market in the coming years.

MES systems are defined as a set of software functions that are distinct from those of enterprise resource planning (ERP), computer-aided design and programming (CAD/CAM), and automated process control systems (PCS).

The MESA Association has identified 11 main functions of MES, which are presented in Table 1.

And so the functions implemented in MES systems are similar to management methods in ERP systems, but only on different time scales and with other objects of control and management. MES is a production-level automated execution system that provides a range of capabilities that complement and extend the functionality of ERP systems. Using actual process data, MES-systems support all production activities of the enterprise in real time. Rapid, effective response to changing conditions, combined with MES's focus on cost reduction, helps to effectively manage manufacturing operations and processes. In addition, MES-systems generate data on current production indicators necessary for the functioning of ERP-systems. Thus, an MES system is a link between ERP systems focused on financial and economic operations and the operational production activities of an enterprise at the level of a workshop, section or production line.

MES class systems have found wide distribution in countries with developed market economies relatively recently; in Russia, the number of enterprises using these systems is all the more small.

It should be taken into account that the automation of the workshop level of production in the MES system requires efforts from the enterprise, which should be directed both to the implementation and further maintenance of the system.

When implementing an MES system, the work of enterprise employees and consultants is less or commensurate with the implementation of an ERP system. Objectively, fewer areas of enterprise activity (business processes) are automated in MES than in an ERP system. When using MES, at the shop level, more reorganizations are likely to be needed than when implementing ERP. In order to take advantage of the MES advantage of up-to-date production schedule throughout the whole sienna, it is necessary to quickly enter the actual data on the execution of operations, equipment breakdowns and other events in the shop that affect the execution of the plan. If it is decided to update the work plan every 15 minutes, this means that the actual data for the past 15 minutes must be entered into the system. In the case of ERP, such a prompt reflection of the facts is not necessary, since the rescheduling will be carried out after the end of the work shift.

As already mentioned, both MES and ERP systems solve approximately the same tasks only on different scales: ERP - volumetric scheduling, using medium and long-term time periods; MES - operational planning for a short period of time (minutes, hours). And here the enterprise faces the question of which system to choose for implementation. It is clear that the most favorable would be the introduction of systems of both types, but most enterprises do not have enough financial and human resources for the simultaneous implementation of two projects. Therefore, you will have to start with one, therefore, the company is still faced with a choice. Firms promoting the corresponding software product will present a large number of reasoned arguments and criteria in favor of their system, so the head of the enterprise needs to weigh the pros and cons.

As an attempt to find an objective criterion for selection, one can refer to the results of research by the Gartner Group, which make it possible to link the economic effect of the implementation of ERP systems (in this case, SAP R / 3) with the scale of the enterprise on which this implementation is carried out.

On fig. 16.1 is a diagram illustrating this dependence based on statistical data on Western industrial enterprises.

Based on these data, it can be concluded that for the automation of enterprises with a production volume of less than 10 million dollars a year, the introduction of an ERP system will not provide a significant economic effect. At such enterprises, in order to automate the organizational level of production, it is first necessary to implement an MES system (that is, to choose a more “easy” solution financially).

For enterprises with a production volume of 10 to 100 million dollars a year, the efficiency of implementing an ERP system is 10-30%.

The decision of where to start (ERP or MES) should be made on a case-by-case basis, however given the average size of an enterprise, the greater cost of implementing an ERP system, and the greater economic impact of automating workshops and areas with MES, it is preferable to start with MES and then implement ERP.

For enterprises with a production volume of more than 100 million dollars a year, it is advisable to start automating the organizational level of production with an ERP system, and then implement MES in production units.

An integrated automated control system for an industrial enterprise can be represented as three interrelated levels of control (Fig. 16.2)

At the same time, each level performs its main managerial function:

The upper level of enterprise management (administrative and economic) solves strategic tasks, and the corresponding ERP system provides resource management on an enterprise scale as a whole, including part of the production support functions (long-term planning and strategic management on a scale: annual, quarterly, monthly);

The middle level of management (production) solves the problems of operational management of the production process, and the corresponding automated system ensures the efficient use of resources (raw materials, energy, production facilities, personnel), as well as the optimal execution of planned targets (shift, daily, ten-day, monthly) at the site level , shops, enterprises;

The lower levels of process control solve the classical problems of process control.

Each control circuit (ERP, MES, APCS) is characterized by its own level of intensity of information circulating in it, its own time scale and its own set of functions:

The control loop of the APCS level (technological) is the most intensive in terms of the volume of information and the most rigid in terms of reaction time, which can be seconds or even milliseconds. At the top level of the APCS layer, a large number of technological parameters are accumulated and processed, and an information base of the initial data for the MES level is created.

The control loop of the MES level (operational production) is based on filtered and processed information coming from both the process control system and other production services (supply, technical support, technological, planning and production, etc.). The intensity of information flows here is significantly lower and is associated with the tasks of optimizing the given production indicators (product quality, productivity, energy saving, cost, etc.). Typical control cycle times are minutes, hours, shifts, days. The operational management of production in this control loop is carried out by specialists who have more detailed knowledge of the production situation than top management (heads of production shops, sections, chief technologists, power engineers, mechanics, etc.). In this regard, the quality and efficiency of decisions made within the powers delegated from above should be improved.

The control loop of the ERP level (strategic) is released in this case from solving operational problems of production and provides support for the business processes of the enterprise as a whole. The flow of information from the production unit becomes minimal and includes aggregated management and reporting information according to ERP standards with typical control times (decade, month, quarter), as well as "alarm" signals that require immediate intervention by the top management of the enterprise.

Obviously, with complex automation of almost any enterprise, there is a need to cover one or another set of MES functions with automation tools. What products this is implemented is another question, different options are possible here. In some cases, integrated MES systems can be used, sometimes these functions can be implemented within the framework of one or another ERP functionality, it is possible to use standalone products that implement one or another MES function. A combination of these options is also possible. A specific set of MES products for this enterprise, taking into account its specifics and capabilities, are usually offered by MES consulting firms and system integrators. One of the options for implementing an MES project in production is shown in Fig. 16.3.

Examples of MES systems

Consider brief characteristics the most common MES systems: PI System, Orbita IMS, Plan2 Business Solution, Simatic PCS7, T-Factory-6.

PI System (Plant Information System) by OSI Software, USA is a universal information system for collecting, storing and presenting data from various PLCs, DSCs, SCADA systems, manual input devices, etc. in a single format. PI System supports client-server architecture. The client software is based on OS Win 9x/NT/2000/XP. The main components of the system are PI Server - RDV with a data processing subsystem, PI System has over 250 interfaces for communication with PLC, DSC, SCADA systems. PI System client application software includes:

PI DateLink - outputs data from the PI System archive to MS Excel spreadsheets.

PI Process Book - building mnemonic diagrams with process parameters, graphs, diagrams.

- PI Batch View - View and analyze batch processes.

PI ACE - real-time performance and process efficiency analysis.

- PI ACI - creation of interactive mnemonic diagrams for viewing by any Web-browser.

- Sigma Fine - analysis of the operation of measuring devices.

IUS "Orbita". The Orbita information and control system was developed by PLC Systems, belongs to the class of MES - systems and is intended for continuous and continuous-discrete productions mainly in the mining, metallurgical, chemical, oil and gas industries, as well as in thermal power engineering. The system uses Wonderware Corporation software products (InTouch, Active Factory, SuiteVoyager, InSQL, MS SQL, MS Excel) and the Avantis package.

The system includes a variety of knowledge databases - regulations for the execution and accounting of production operations, has a modular structure, is based on the concept of rational automation for a particular enterprise with an achieved level of automation.

The Orbita system consists of the following functional modules:

- "ZHDZH" - information and dispatching system of the railway shop.

Nature of information: information on work in progress on the tracks and on the flows of raw materials and products.

- "Chem. analyzes” is an information subsystem of the chemical laboratory.

Nature of information: information about the chemical and physical parameters of materials.

- "TEP" - control of technical and economic indicators. The nature of the information: current and planned values ​​of technological and technical and economic indicators.

- "Balances" - maintaining balances for the analysis of production. The nature of the information: the dynamics of imbalances and the factors that form them.

- "WIP" - monitoring work in progress. The nature of the information: the dynamics of changes in work in progress and the factors that form it.

- "Tanks" - monitoring of the tank farm. The nature of the information: information about work in progress in warehouses, their inputs and outputs.

- "Metrology" - planning, accounting, repair, verification of measuring and control instruments. The nature of the information: information about the state of operating devices and the progress of repair and verification work.

Servers - MS SQL Server and IndustrialSQL Server are the basis for processing and storing data information in RT.

Plan2Business Solution system by O Technologies. Plan2Business Solution provides the presentation of technological information to any user of the system in real time. The Plan2Business Solution family includes the following software tools:

Plan2BusinessServer;

The Plan2Business Server component is the basis of Plan2Business Solution, interacting with Citect and FIX SCADA systems, Oracle real-time databases and MS SQL Server used to store configuration and process data. For integration with MS Word, Excel, Access, Internet Explorer, etc. Open technologies such as MS ActiveX are used. Plan2Business Server includes a range of customizable client applications, including trends, alarms, data to be embedded in spreadsheets.

In addition, Plan2Business Server has built-in redundancy with the ability to switch from primary to backup and information protection.

Plan2Business Server is configured and administered using Plan2Business Server Manager.

Plan2NET based on Plan2Business Server and using modern WEB technologies is able to deliver information to the user anywhere in the system. Plan2NET has a built-in alarm analyzer for monitoring production events and diagnosing them. Data is displayed in the form of trends, nomograms, charts or tables.

Plan2Pocket is designed to access technological and operational information using wireless communication tools based on modern standard technologies.

Simatic PCS7 is an integrated process control system manufactured by Siemens, Germany.

Distinctive features of the system:

Open modular system (using DDE, OPC, ODBC, SQL interfaces);

Flexibility and scalability of the system;

Possibility of redundancy of system modules, including PLC, networks, input-output devices and HMI system;

Compliance with international standards such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, OPC for data exchange with corporate management level;

Availability of a modular BATCH flexible software package for automating discrete recipe processes, interfaced with SAP R / 3.

The system provides horizontal and vertical integration of the enterprise - from the level of sensors to the level of enterprise management.

Communication in the Simatic PCS7 system is based on the Simatic Net, Industrial Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and PROFIBUS standards. The operating system is Win NT. The Simatic Manager from STEP 7 is used to configure the PCS7 system, and SFC is used as the IEC 61131-3 programming language. The WinCC graphics editor is used to develop the operator station interface.

The PCS7 system operates primarily with Simatic S7-400 controllers with a PROFIBUS-DP bus interface. The PLC is connected to the system bus via Industrial Ethernet. For high-speed data transmission in systems with security requirements, Fast Ethernet (100 Mbit / s) is used with a redundant ring structure and a physical medium - optical fiber.

Simatic PCS7 software includes @aGlance interface and server @ [email protected], which provides access to process data for various applications at any time, including via Internet / Intranet networks.

InfoPlus.21 - information control system in PB mode is integrated with the Simatic PCS7 system.

System "T-Factory-b" company AdAstra Research Group (Russia).

The T-Factory-b software product is designed to automate business processes. T-Factory-b belongs to the class of MES systems and is designed to solve the problems of accounting for production costs, raw materials and energy, accounting for equipment downtime, calculating production costs, and other tasks. The advantage of the system is its integration with the Trace Mode b SCADA system, the development of which uses auto-building technology.

The development of the APCS project with the Trace Mode 6 SCADA system serves as its basis for its integration with the T-Factory-6 MES system. T-Factory-b modules provide production task management (MES system functions) and human resource management (HRM). The EAM module provides accounting and maintenance, obtaining and analyzing information about equipment failures, accounting for energy costs. The HRM module controls the personnel of the enterprise, organizational structures enterprise, workshop, site, allows you to competently plan labor resources to perform specific tasks.

The most responsible in the system is the MES module, which integrates all the information from the process control system and the EAM and HRM modules. The MES module allows you to calculate the timing of orders and adjust them in real time, calculate and adjust the cost of production, calculate the resources (material, financial, human resources) necessary to complete the task, and also provides information transfer to the enterprise ERP system.

To store data on the course of technological and production processes, a single real-time DBMS SIAD6 is used. Provided "hot" redundancy of database servers protection against unauthorized access. The data on the technological process enters T-Factory-6 from the RTM Trace Mode 6, and from the upper business level - from operator stations, Web servers, via GSM channels.

T-Factory-6 contains a free tooling environment for developing and testing a full-featured project (prior to purchasing a license with a limited uptime).

MES SYSTEMS

MES systems are systems that operate at the shop floor level. Systems of this class solve synchronization problems, coordinate, analyze and optimize the output of products within any production. MES-systems can be an excellent addition to top-level systems - ERP-systems.

The definition of an MES-system does not give a clear idea of ​​its purpose, its increased functions absorb the functions of APCS systems, dispatching systems, etc. It is necessary to define what is meant by MES systems today.

MES-system is a system for the implementation of production management, the main task of which is to connect all the company's business processes with its production and technological processes, while promptly providing information.

During the production process, various factors arise that tend to go off the production schedule: breakdown and repair of equipment, urgent priority order, rework of defects, sick leaves of workers, late delivery of components, lack of technological equipment, and many other unforeseen circumstances. The work environment is changing every minute. Despite this, you must always know how the deadline for the order will change, how best to plan production in the current situation, this requires a new recalculation of the schedule. In an MES system, this recalculation can be performed as many times a day as needed.

One of the tasks of MES is precisely the correction of emerging deviations due to optimal multiple rescheduling according to the actual state of equipment and orders.

Incorrect loading of machines for processing various products leads to constant delays in production, rush mode in the enterprise, overworking of employees, shortage of parts in the assembly of subassemblies, overloading of machines, dynamic problems, as well as many other production costs that prevent production on time.

The task of MES is operational scheduling, with the help of which the loading of machines will be carried out in the most profitable way. All products will be completed as soon as possible, while all components will be guaranteed to be in stock by the time the products are assembled.

At the time of assembly of products or the launch of a particular operation, it often turns out that some parts or equipment are not available, but less necessary parts or equipment are in excess. When using MES systems, such a situation simply cannot arise.

Dispatching production will allow you to visually assess the load of machines in real time, make basic reports, and instantly respond to various situations.

Using accurate current data, MES regulates, initiates and records the operation of the enterprise as events occur. A set of MES functions allows you to manage production operations from the moment an order is received in production to the finished product. MES provides the most important information about production activities for the entire organization and the entire supply chain through two-way communication.

It is the use operational information distinguishes MES from ERP systems. In MES-systems, the production model is determined at the intersection of equipment capabilities, availability of materials and personnel. Any MES must answer the following questions:

Using data from planning and control levels, MES systems manage current production activities in accordance with incoming orders, the requirements of design and technological documentation, the current state of the equipment, while pursuing the goals maximum efficiency and minimum cost of production processes.

Due to the rapid response to ongoing events and the use of mathematical methods to compensate for deviations from the production schedule, MES systems allow you to optimize production and make it more profitable.

Gantt Chart

There are different approaches to time planning (time management). The most innovative idea here is the Gantt chart. This chart consists of bars oriented along the time axis. Each bar represents a separate task in the project, its ends are the moments of the beginning and end of the work, its length is the duration of the work. The vertical axis is a list of tasks.

The first chart format was developed back in 1910 by Henry L. Gant (an American engineer, mechanic and management specialist). Henry Gant initially used graphic information, reporting to his superiors. Later, the Gantt charts that glorified him appeared. Many tend to believe that Gant became one of the founders of fundamentally new, more humane principles of production and management; he is also credited with some unusual ideas on correct staging tasks and effective staff motivation.

Results of MES implementation

According to various companies, we can highlight the following main results of the implementation of MES:

1. Increasing the economic efficiency of the enterprise;
2. Increasing the speed of passing orders up to 40-50%
3. Increase the utilization rate of machines by 30-40%
4. Reducing the duration of the production cycle by an average of 45%;
5. Reducing the time of development of new products by an average of 27%;
6. Reducing the volume of marriage by an average of 18%;
7. Reducing the volume of work in progress by 25-30%;
8. Increasing the reliability of the execution of orders within the specified time by 60%;
9. Reducing the amount of unnecessary paper documentation by an average of 56%;
10. Increased control over the implementation of technological and production processes;
11. Increasing the transparency of business processes in terms of the movement of material flows;
12. Qualitative improvement of production indicators.

The introduction of MES systems will provide many other benefits needed to achieve maximum production efficiency.

Reducing various costs, obtaining the maximum benefit from the existing capabilities of the enterprise today is only possible by automating planning and production management - by introducing MES systems.

Of course, achieving success in the competitive struggle is also possible through the introduction of advanced technologies, machine tools, tools, high-speed processing, etc., but under relatively equal conditions for most enterprises, success becomes possible only through competent and operational planning and production management. It is here that there are large reserves for optimizing production and achieving the maximum economic effect.

MES is a critical feature that allows a manufacturing plant to create truly effective system management. MES becomes one of key elements corporate systems of modern enterprises.

MES(from English. Manufacturing Execution System , production process control system) - specialized application software designed to solve the problems of synchronization, coordination, analysis and optimization of product output within any production. Since 2004, the term has been deciphered as English. Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions - corporate production management systems. MES systems belong to the class of shop level control systems.

MES standards

The International Association of Manufacturers and Users of Production Control Systems (MESA International) defined the MESA-11 model in 1994, and the c-MES model in 2004, which complement the models and standards for production and production management that have emerged over the past decades:

1. The ISA95 standard, “Enterprise-Control System Integration”, defines a single interface for interaction between the levels of production and company management and workflows for the production activities of an individual enterprise.
2. The ISA88 standard, "Batch Control", which defines batch control technologies, recipe hierarchy, production data.
3. Open Applications Group (OAG): A non-profit industry community dedicated to promoting the concept of interoperability between business applications and developing business language standards to achieve this goal.
4. Supply-Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Process Model: A reference model for managing supply chain processes that links supplier and customer activities. The SCOR model describes business processes for all phases of fulfilling customer requirements. The SCOR section "Make" is devoted mainly to production.

MES operating conditions

MES job positions include:

1. Activation of production capacities based on detailed operational planning of production
2. Production Capacity Tracking
3. Collection of production-related information from
   1. Production process automation systems
   2. Sensors
   3. Equipment
   4. Personnel
   5. Software systems
4. Tracking and control of quality parameters
5. Providing personnel and equipment with the information necessary to start the production process
6. Establishing links between personnel and equipment within production
7. Establishing links between production and suppliers, customers, engineering department, sales department and management
8. Responding to
   1. Requirements for the nomenclature of production
   2. Changing the components, raw materials and semi-finished products used in the production process
   3. Product Specification Change
   4. Availability of personnel and production facilities
9. Ensure compliance with applicable legal regulations, such as US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations
10. Compliance with the above industry standards.

MES-11 Functions

1. RAS (English) ) - Status control and resource allocation. Resource management: process equipment, materials, personnel, personnel training, as well as other objects, such as documents, that must be available to start production activities. Provides a detailed history of resources and ensures that equipment is properly prepared for operation. Monitors the state of resources in real time. Resource management includes redundancy and dispatching, in order to achieve the goals of operational planning.
2. ODS (English) Operations/Detail Scheduling) - Operational/Detailed planning. Provides ordering of production tasks based on the sequence, attributes, characteristics and recipes associated with the specifics of products such as: shape, color, sequence of operations, etc. and production technology. The goal is to create a production schedule with minimal equipment reconfigurations and parallel operation of production facilities to reduce the time to the finished product and downtime.
3. DPU (English) ) - Production scheduling. Manages the flow of product units in the form of jobs, orders, series, batches, and work orders. Dispatch information is presented in the sequence in which the work must be done and changes in real time as events occur at the shop floor. This makes it possible to change the set schedule at the shop floor level. Includes scrap and recycling features, along with the ability to control labor costs at every point in the process with data buffering.
4. D.O.C. Document Control) - Document management. Controls the content and flow of documents that must accompany the manufactured product, including instructions and standards of work, methods of execution, drawings, standard operating procedures, part programs, records of production batches, messages about technical changes, transfer of information from shift to shift, and also ensures the ability to maintain planning and reporting shop documentation. Also includes safety instructions, security controls environment, national and required international standards . Stores the history of passing and changing documents.
5. DCA (English) Data Collection/Acquisition) - Collection and storage of data. Interaction of information subsystems in order to receive, accumulate and transfer technological and control data circulating in the production environment of the enterprise. The function provides an interface for getting data and parameters technological operations, which are used in forms and documents attached to a unit of production. Data can be obtained from the shop floor both manually and automatically from the equipment, in the required time scale.
6. LM (English) Labor Management) - Personnel Management. Provides information about the state of personnel and its management in the required time scale. Includes attendance and time reporting, certification tracking, the ability to track non-manufacturing activities such as preparing materials or tooling as the basis for activity based costing (ABC). It is possible to interact with the resource allocation function to form optimal tasks.
7. QM (English) quality management) - Quality control. Provides real-time analysis of measurables from production to ensure proper product quality management and identify issues requiring service personnel intervention. This function generates recommendations for troubleshooting, determines the causes of marriage by analyzing the relationship between symptoms, personnel actions and the results of these actions. Can also monitor and manage the execution of Statistical Process Control and Statistical Product Quality Control (SPC/SQC) procedures. laboratory research product parameters. To do this, laboratory information management systems (LIMS) are added to the MES.
8. PM (English) Process Management) - Management of production processes. Monitors the production process and either corrects automatically or provides decision support to the operator to take corrective actions and improve production activities. This activity can be both intra-operational and directed exclusively to the monitored and controlled machines and equipment, or inter-operational, tracking the progress of the process from one operation to another. It may include alarm management to ensure that personnel are notified of changes in the process that fall outside acceptable tolerance limits. It provides an interface between intelligent equipment and MES, made possible by the data collection and storage function.
9. MM (English) maintenance management) - Maintenance and repair management. Monitors and manages maintenance of equipment and tools. Ensures their performance. Provides planning for periodic and preventive repairs, repair on condition. Accumulates and stores the history of events that have occurred (failures, performance degradation, etc.) for use in diagnosing problems that have arisen and preventing possible problems.
10. PTG (English) Product Tracking and Genealogy ) - Tracking and genealogy of products. Provides the ability to obtain information about the status and location of the order at any given time. Status information may include data about who is performing the task, components, materials and their suppliers, lot number, serial number, current manufacturing conditions, as well as any alarms, reprocessing data, and other events related to the product. The real-time tracking function also creates an archived recording. This record ensures the traceability of the components and their use in each final product.
11. PA (English) performance analysis) - Performance analysis. Provides the formation of reports on the actual results of production activities, their comparison with historical data and the expected commercial result. Operating results include metrics such as resource utilization rate, resource availability, cycle time per unit of output, compliance with plan, and compliance with performance standards. May include statistical process and product quality control (SPC/SQC). Systematizes information obtained from various functions that measure production parameters. These results can be prepared in the form of a report or presented in real time as an ongoing performance assessment.

As of 2004, functions related to production scheduling (ODS), maintenance and repair management (MM), and shop floor document management (DOC) have been removed from the base MESA-11 model. Development of a new model Collaborative Manufacturing Execution System (c-MES) was caused by the fact that in the management of production and supply chains, reliable information exchange between several systems is needed much more often than exchange between several levels of one system. In the previous generation of MES, the focus was on providing information to operational users such as dispatchers, operators, or managers. To share information with others, the c-MES model was developed. It provides an opportunity to get a complete picture of what is happening, necessary for decision-making. In particular, in supply chain management and decision making, c-MES provides information on production capability (what), productivity (how much), schedule (when), and quality (level available). In addition, over the past time (from 1994 to 2004), information systems have appeared that implement the excluded functionality:

• Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) - solve enterprise-wide production scheduling problems
• Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) - responsible for MRO management

Depending on the nature, scale and characteristics of production structures and the systems themselves, there are various combinations of combinations of corporate ERP, APS and MES systems in the overall structure of an enterprise management system.

c-MES functions

1. RAS (English) Resource Allocation and Status ) - Status control and resource allocation.
2. DPU (English) Dispatching Production Units) - Production scheduling (Coordination of production).
3. DCA (English) Data Collection/Acquisition) - Collection and storage of data.
4. LUM (English) Labor/User Management)- Human resources management.
5. QM (English) quality management) - Quality control.
6. PM (English) Process Management) - Management of production processes.
7. PTG (English) Product Tracking & Genealogy) - Tracking and genealogy of products.
8. PA (English) performance analysis) - Performance analysis.

Literature

• Zagidullin R. R. Engineering production management with the help of MES, APS, ERP systems. - Stary Oskol: TNT, . - 372 p. - ISBN 978-5-94178-272-7
• Zagidullin R. R. Operational scheduling in flexible production systems. - Moscow: MAI publishing house, . - 208 p. - ISBN 5-7035-1445-2

• Vysochin S.V., Smirnov Yu.N. Zenith SPPS Manufacturing Process Control System (Russian) // ICSTI Information and innovations: magazine. - M .: ICSTI, 2007. - No. 4. - S. 46-61. - ISSN 1994-2443.
• Vysochin S.V., Pitelinskiy K.V., Smirnov Yu.N. Principles of building systems for calculating production schedules (Russian) // CAD and graphics: magazine. - M .: Computer Press, 2008. - No. 9. - S. 57-59. - ISSN 1560-4640.
• Vysochin S.V., Smirnov Yu.N. On the features of operational dispatch control systems (Russian) // CAD and graphics: magazine. - M .: Computer Press, 2009. - No. 9. - S. 58-61. - ISSN 1560-4640.
• Vysochin S.V., Smirnov Yu.N. Implementation of the Zenith SPPS MES system in various manufacturing industries (Russian) // CAD and graphics: magazine. - M .: Computer Press, 2009. - No. 11. - S. 12-15. - ISSN 1560-4640.
• Vysochin S.V., Smirnov Yu.N. Ideology and principles of application of modern MES on the example of Zenith SPPS (Russian) // Institute of Management Problems. V.A. Trapeznikov RAS Automation in industry: journal. - M .: Publishing house "InfoAutomatization", 2010. - No. 8. - S. 25-29. - ISSN 1819-5962.
• Zagidullin R.R., Frolov E.B. Management of machine-building production with the help of MES-systems (Russian) // STIN: magazine. - M ., 2007. - No. 11. - S. 2-5. - ISSN 0869-7566.
• Frolov E.B. Modern management concepts in production logistics: MES for discrete production - the method of calculated priorities (Russian) // CAD and graphics: magazine. - M .: Computer Press, 2011. - No. 1. - S. 71-75. - ISSN 1560-4640.
• Frolov E.B. MES-systems: operational cost analysis for the needs of a manufacturing enterprise (Russian) // CEO. Industrial enterprise management: magazine. - M .: Publishing house "Panorama", 2008. - No. 9. - S. 76-79. - ISSN 2075-1036.
• Frolov E.B., Zagidullin R.R. Operational scheduling and scheduling in MES systems (Russian) // Machine park: magazine. - M ., 2008. - No. 11. - S. 22-27. - ISSN 2075-1036.

MES systems are computerized systems used in manufacturing to track and document the transformation of raw materials into finished products. They provide information that helps decision makers understand how current plant conditions can be optimized to improve output. MESs work in real time to provide control over multiple elements of the manufacturing process (eg, entrances, staff, machines, and help desks).

How it works?

MES unified management systems can work in several functional areas: managing product definitions throughout their life cycle, resource planning, order fulfillment and dispatching, production analysis and downtime management for overall equipment efficiency (OEE), product quality or material tracking, etc. d.

Such a system creates a "built-in" record, capturing the data, events and results of the production process. This may be especially important in regulated industries such as food and beverage or pharmaceuticals, where documentation and validation of processes, events and activities may be required.

The idea of ​​MES can be seen as an intermediate step between an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and a check and assembly management (SCADA) or process control system.

In the early 1990s, industry groups such as MESA (International-Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association) were formed to regulate the complexity and make recommendations for the execution of MES Systems.

Advantages

These systems help create flawless manufacturing processes and provide real-time feedback on requirements. Plus, they provide all the essential information in one place. Other benefits of successfully implementing MES systems may include:

1. Waste reduction, recycling and destruction, including in more short time.
2. More accurate collection of cost information (such as labor, downtime, and tools).
3. Increase uptime.
4. Implementation of paperless work.
5. Reduce surpluses by eliminating inventory on a case-by-case basis.

Types of MES

A wide variety of MES systems have emerged with the widespread use of collected data for a specific purpose. Their further development during the 1990s led to an increase in their functionality. The Manufacturing Enterprises Association (MESA) then implemented a structure by defining 11 features that limited the scope of MES. In 2000, the ANSI/ISA-95 standard merged this model with the Purdue Reference Model (PRM).

A functional hierarchy was defined in which executive MESs were at level 3 between ERP at level 4 and process control at levels 0, 1, 2. Since the publication of the third part of the standard in 2005, activities at level 3 have been divided into four main operations: production , quality, logistics and maintenance.

Between 2005 and 2013, additional or revised parts of the ANSI/ISA-95 standard defined the MES hardware in more detail, covering how functions are distributed internally and information is exchanged both internally and externally.

Functional areas

Over the years, international standards and models have expanded the scope of these tools in terms of their performance. Typically, the purpose and functions of MES systems include the following:

1. Manage product definitions. This may include storing, versioning, and exchanging data with other systems such as production rules, bill of materials, resource counts, process milestones, and quality data, all of which focus on determining how a product is built.
2. Resource management. This may include recording, exchanging and analyzing information about resources for preparing and fulfilling production orders that are possible and available.
3. Planning (production processes). These activities define the production schedule as a set of fulfillment orders to meet production requirements, usually derived from enterprise resource planning or specialized advanced scheduling systems, ensuring optimal use of local resources.
4. Sending production orders. Depending on the type of production processes, this may include further distribution of batches, runs and work orders, issuing them to work centers and adapting to unforeseen conditions.
5. Fulfillment of production orders. While the actual execution is handled by the process control systems, the MES can perform resource checks and keep other systems informed of the progress of the manufacturing processes.
6. Collection of production data. This MES function includes the collection, storage and exchange of process data, machine statuses, material information and production logs in either a filing cabinet or a relational database.
7. Production performance analysis. It's getting useful information from raw collected data on the current state of production. These include reviews of performance (WIP) and historical performance (such as overall equipment efficiency or any other similar metric).
8. Production track and tracing. This is the registration and retrieval of related information in order to present a complete history of sales, orders or equipment. This area is especially important for healthcare-related industries. This is, for example, the production of pharmaceuticals.
9. Digitization of complete data from logs to the interface of digital devices using the edit lock function, as well as output of data from SCADA to a common data bank.

Communication with other systems

The MES production management system integrates with ISA-95 (Purdue's previous model, "95") with multiple relationships and connections. The set of systems operating at ISA-95 layer 3 can be referred to as manufacturing operations management tools (MOMS). In addition to MES, there is usually a laboratory information management system (LIMS), a warehouse management system (WMS), and a computerized service management system (CMMS).

From the point of view of MES, the possible information flows are:

• in LIMS: quality testing requests, sample samples, statistical process data;
• from LIMS: quality test results, product certifications, test results;
• in WMS: requests for material resources, determination of materials, deliveries of products;
• from WMS: availability of materials, phased batches of materials, shipment of the product;
• in CMMS: data processing equipment, its purpose, service requests;
• from CMMS: maintenance progress, equipment capabilities, maintenance schedule.

Communication with Layer 4 systems

Examples of systems operating at ISA-95 Level 4 are Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resource Management (HRM), Process Execution System (PDES).

From the point of view of MES systems, examples of possible information flows are:

• to PLM: production test results;
• from PLM: product definition, transaction accounts (routes), electronic work instructions, equipment settings;
• to ERP: results of production activities, produced and consumed materials;
• from ERP: production planning, order requirements;
• in CRM: information tracking;
• from CRM: product complaints;
• to HRM: staff efficiency;
• from HRM: staff skills, staff availability;
• to PDES: test results;
• from PDES: definition of production flow, definition of experiments (DoE).

In many cases, Middleware Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) systems are used to exchange messages between MES and Level 4. A common data definition, B2MML, was defined in the ISA-95 standard to associate MES with the above Level 4 systems.

Communication with level 0, 1, 2 systems

Systems operating at ISA-95 Level 2 are Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and Batch Automation Systems. Information flows between MES and these process control systems are roughly the same:

• to PLC: work instructions, recipes, settings;
• from PLC: process values, alarms, adjusted setpoints, production results.

Most MES systems include connectivity as part of their product offering. A direct link to plant equipment data is established by synchronization with data. Often, data is first collected and diagnosed for real-time control in a Distributed Control System (DCS) or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). In this case, MESs are connected to these layer 2 systems to exchange data on plant floors.

The industry standard for connecting to manufacturing elements is OLE for process control (OPC). But now the industry standard has started to move to OPC-UA. Modern OPC-UA compliant systems will not necessarily run only on Microsoft Windows, they are designed to run on GNU/Linux or other embedded systems. This reduces the cost of SCADA systems and makes them more open with robust security.

Manufacturing companies use MES systems in the market to track raw materials through the factory path to the final state. At correct use this system can reduce waste, provide more accurate cost reflection, increase uptime, and reduce the need for some inventory. There are a few basic facts that everyone should know about production runtime systems.

They manage product definitions

Any experienced manager knows that even the slightest change in material can completely change the finished state of a product. Deficiency or excess can lead to serious changes in the quality of the product. All this can lead to additional costs.

The core features of MES systems allow you to actively track the components that make up your product. They give you the ability to assign rigid parameters to your production equipment, which ultimately reduces waste and saves money.

They adequately value production resources (with some help)

As mentioned above, MES-class systems can determine the exact amount of material needed to create a product, which allows you to create a clear definition of the product and maintain its integrity. In addition, you will always have an idea of ​​​​what your resources are in production. This category includes everything from accounting for physical materials to knowing how many machines are being serviced or having the labor force needed to complete a job. MES combined with APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) have the ability to realistically predict product release dates for 100% of all the resources you have at the time of distribution.

They can be integrated with other production systems

Alone, production execution systems often have the ability to schedule production processes, but at an "infinite capacity" level, and therefore technically can operate as standalone scheduling software. However, they tend to perform better when used in conjunction with other manufacturing processing software such as APS, so end constraints can also be reflected for more accurate and optimized planning.

APS defines a production schedule as a set of work orders to meet production requirements, usually derived from enterprise resource planning (ERP), which in turn helps to make the most of resource utilization.

They provide analysis of production efficiency

Once a product has begun to make its way into production, MES can generate reports based on its current state. Work in progress, various historical figures and all other performance data can be tracked using this system.

Production data tracking

When a product finally leaves the production line, MES keeps track of all the data regarding it and saves it for later use. What's more, the system will not only provide you with an organized digital log of your product data, it will also be able to aggregate this information for future reports. Regardless of internal or external goals, you will have current updates on the speed of your production processes, which will ultimately help you make more profit.

Combined with MES, it can be incredibly useful for any manager who wants to increase production time and speed. Adequate resource management, production planning and product tracking will enable any company to increase production and reduce waste in both skillful and calculated ways.

MES and APS - together or separately?

Before reviewing MES systems, you should understand how they interact with other similar tools. So, APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling) is its own software category, like ERP or MES. APS covers strategic, tactical and operational planning. The last, operational use case is considered many times as the core of APS. Here, planning is the development of an end goal on a daily basis. Its essence is to develop possible plans to minimize excess inventory and reduce lead times. There are many APS system providers that you can find these days.

On the other hand, the MES system executes commands and controls. There is MES software both without any scheduling features and with limited functionality. In any case, the possibilities are not as extensive as in pure APS software. In the annual "MES Product Review", the proportion of FCS functionality with MES software is increasing. Because it is transactional software, it is quite difficult to implement all the extensive scheduling features in this context. Planning and forecasting require the simulation of various scenarios and should not automatically affect the execution of tasks.

By tightly integrating MES and APS systems (as a closed loop), all the rich functionality of APS is used without any restrictions. If this system supports multi-site planning and powerful Internet, the entire supply chain can be planned, executed and controlled in real time - globally without geographical restrictions. For example, when you start an operation (work phase) in China, the scheduler in the US can see the progress of the order in real time. Also, the seller can log into the MES/APS application via the Internet and view when the product will be sent to the customer, without phone calls and emails.

MES and MOM: what's the difference?

Terminology can be confusing in the software industry, especially if you're just getting started. Unfortunately, this observation is true for software in industry and manufacturing. Many different systems have been used over the years, but only 2 abbreviations cause confusion:

• MES - Manufacturing Execution System.
• MOM - manufacturing operations management.

To understand the difference between them, it is necessary to comparative analysis MES systems (PDF-table) and MOM. You can highlight their similarities and differences in the course of the description.

As noted above, MES was first used by AMR in the 1990s, replacing the Computer Computing Manufacturing (CIM) system first adopted in the late 1980s. This happened before many industry standards (such as ISA-95) were set, and certainly long before ERP was established as the main IT backbone for most global manufacturing companies.

Many early MES systems were intentionally built closed. Because of this, they lacked the flexibility needed to adapt to changing business needs. This resulted in many early implementations having very long calculations and often creating an implementation process that seemed to have no end. For these reasons, when introduced into production, the MES system initially earned a reputation as an expensive and risky tool that often failed to meet the original ROI goals.

In the same time big job continued to be carried out in the field of industrial automation, and a number of package-level standards (such as ISA-88 and ISA-95) appeared. They defined the term Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM). Detailed activities and business processes have been defined in this system, including production, quality, service, and inventory.

MOM development

New market conditions have led to the emergence of developers who want to rebrand and separate from the products of the past, namely from MES. Many of them adopted the term MOM and referred to their proposals as a new solution. They offered the flexibility and scalability needed to make the system a true enterprise application, including:

• architecture based on a customizable and extensible platform;
• standardized integration with ERP;
• standards-based integration with industrial automation;
• standardized production data model;
• wide opportunities - model, visualization, optimization, updating and coordination of production business processes around the world;
• event management - the ability to collect, summarize, analyze and respond to production events in real time.

Despite this trend, previous developments have not been forgotten. Leading MES vendors did not abandon their product. Instead, they redesigned their systems and endowed them with capabilities that rival those of MOM.

So what's the difference?

Today, the acronym MOM usually refers to business processes rather than software. The designation "MOM Platform" (MOM Solution) is most often used to differentiate from older MES solutions and has the capabilities listed above.

MES is still used in most cases. It may sometimes have similar capabilities to MOM, but unlike MOM, it develops at a faster pace.

MES examples

Three such systems are leading in Russia today. All of them are designed for better production control, but are designed for a small-scale version of it. At the same time, there are differences between them.

The FOBOS MES system is used in medium and relatively large machine-building industries. Its main functions are intrashop management and planning. It necessarily integrates with the ERP system (or "1C: Enterprise"), redirects all received data to it.

YSB.Enterprise was created for the woodworking industry. In addition, it has some features, because of which it is more suitable for small enterprises (those where only 1C is no longer enough). The MES-system has too few specific and necessary functions for full-fledged work, but at the same time it contains additional options, including sales and accounting management.

PolyPlan has an even smaller set of MES functions, but at the same time it is presented as a tool for operational scheduling in the field of mechanical engineering (for flexible and automated production). The cost of this type of MES system is the lowest.