The evolution of Manufacturing Execution Systems

As Industry 4.0 grows, Manufacturing Execution Systems must grow alongside it.

Jul 07, 2016

Industry 4.0 needs new-style Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), according to Francisco
Almada Lobo, CEO with Critical Manufacturing, which empowers high performance operations for
manufacturers. We wanted to learn more...

La industria 4.0 necesita un Nuevo estilo que

Smart Industry: Why does Industry 4.0 need a new style MES? How will this benefit us?

Francisco: Modern consumers are demanding customization. Industry 4.0 offers an unprecedented
opportunity for success, but companies must have plant floor software that is ready to adapt and
ready for that journey.

Industry 4.0 is a concept revolving around cyber-physical systems—the merging of virtual and real
worlds and creating a platform of interoperability between IT and operations technology. The logic
behind this is that products, materials, equipment, tooling, etc. will have embedded electronics
that enables them to communicate with each other and gives them computing power for a
fraction of the cost.

Manufacturing Execution Systems manage and monitor the work in progress on the plant floor.
MES provide a strong foundation around which manufacturers can build the Industry 4.0
application. However, Industry 4.0 cannot be implemented overnight; therefore, MES need to be
upgraded alongside Industry 4.0.

The shop floor will be optimized through decentralized management—all these elements will
become agents and the shop-floor will become a marketplace with demand (the products being
built) and supply (the equipment). The products will have all the info they need to be produced
and negotiate with each other to provide agile, affordable manufacturing solutions.

The specific capabilities for scaling and shifting to coordinating autonomous, decentralized and
dynamic shop-floor marketplace activity are critically important. Future MES systems must
accommodate connectivity, mobile, cloud and advanced analytics.
Smart Industry: What are the new challenges posed by Industry 4.0, which new MES can address?

Francisco: As plant engineers begin to work on facilities using autonomous smart materials, and as
products and production systems (CPS and CPPS) become a marketplace on the plant floor,
traditional centralized UI-focused MES will not be effective. Not even for compliance, optimization
and monitoring. Industry 4.0 is inherently decentralized and highly automated. Manufacturing
software must respect that or the gains will not accrue as envisioned.

Industria inteligente: Cuales son los Nuevos desafíos planteados por la industria 4.0, que nuevo
MES puedo abordar?

Francisco: como ingenieros de planta comenzamos a trabajar en instalaciones usando materiales

autónomos inteligentes, y como productos y sistemas de producción (CPS Y CPPS)

Industry 4.0 calls for a future of agile, affordable manufacturing fueled by technology enablers
such as the Internet of Things, 3D printing, cloud computing, mobile devices and Big Data. There
are various disciplines in manufacturing that need to come together at the same time, and a
higher automation level is required for the separate systems to function efficiently.

I typically divide these challenges in five main categories:

1. Decentralization--Industry 4.0 is inherently a decentralized system. However, since each product

is unique, it is very difficult to centralize or optimize shop floor operations in the traditional way.
The MES needs context-resolution possibilities so that the CPS and CPPS have their own
intelligence.

2. Vertical integration--Within an MES is an enabler for the orchestration of business processes

that may be simple or complex, but nearly always requires multiple layers and groups to be
involved. In Industry 4.0, CPS and CPPS communications create new data flows to integrate and
vertical integration of these autonomous entities is critical to ensure that the enterprise systems
respond effectively.

3. Horizontal integration--Horizontal integration focuses on supply-chain status communication

among facilities and trading partners. Horizontal integration enables the smart supply chain or
network to be transparent so status is always visible. This requires communication and full
transparency as to the capacity and condition of the goods--communications are coordinated
through the supply chain control tower. At any given time, the end customer can know the exact
production status of his order.

4. Connectivity & mobile--On one side, equipment integration, typically done with well-defined
and complex interfaces, will need to be complemented with connectivity. Sensors, actuators or
other equipment come into play not requiring heavy systems and interfaces. On the other hand,
on the operational front, combined connectivity and mobile will enable more adaptable interfaces.
This mean that MES will consist of different apps, allowing you to get the equipment,
downloading, and--down the road--using an app specifically built to operate that equipment.

5. Cloud & analytics--MES systems must expand their intelligence to better accommodate and
cope with the diversity and volume of Big Data. Future MES must accommodate advanced offline
capabilities and “real-time” analysis to trigger actions in the plant as quickly as possible, even
before data is stored. This provides the infrastructure with the speed and agility it requires to cope
with Industry 4.0.

Smart Industry: Why are most companies not fully aware of what current systems can do?

Francisco: On one hand, several companies have invested a lot of time and money in systems,
whether through the acquisition of commercial solutions or through homegrown solutions. Most
of these required significant time, effort and money and are, therefore, considered sunken costs.

Then there’s the risk to migrate shop-floor systems. These are so critical that companies cannot
operate without them. A shortage of seconds or minutes may have significant financial impact. As
these are so critical, companies tend to simply not touch them unless it is really necessary. As a
result, they keep postponing the modernization of such systems until it’s too late.

Smart Industry: Are any industries particularly lacking in this awareness?

Francisco: That’s a very interesting question. I believe the industry sectors that were pioneers in
the MES adoption, such as semiconductor or pharma, are the ones where legacy systems have the
biggest share. The most advanced manufacturers will likely be the ones who will not be able to
seize new developments due to their conservative, risk-adverse nature.

Manufactures looking forward with more complex products and processes in place are likely to be
the early adopters of this new technology. I reckon OEM’s in electronics, automotive and medical
devices are some of industry segments where Industry 4.0 will soon become a mandatory
requisite, more than just a competitive advantage.

1. ¿De acuerdo al texto anterior, que es MES y en qué Consiste?

2. ¿Cuál es la función de los MES?
3. ¿Cómo aplicaríamos los conceptos planteados en los sistemas productivos nacionales?