3 Non-Technical Reasons Why Mes Projects Can Fail

15/9/2021 3 NON-TECHNICAL REASONS WHY MES PROJECTS CAN FAIL
Steven Brueggert
Graphic by Michael McClellan (Collaboration Synergies Inc), Doug Weaver (Boeing Commercial Aircraft) for MESA
International - MESA White Paper #39, MESA Model Evolution, Attribution,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37738439
3 NON-TECHNICAL REASONS WHY MES

PROJECTS CAN FAIL
Steven Brueggert
Industrial Automation Systems Integrator and Consultant Seguir
Fecha de publicación: 19 de dic. de 2017
Manufacturing Execution Systems, or MES, (also known as Manufacturing

Operations Management systems) can provide significant tools and cost
benefits to a manufacturing operation.
Noteworthy among these features and benefits:
Improved shop floor scheduling
Valuable production metrics for improvement, OEE, downtime causes
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-non-technical-reasons-why-mes-projects-can-fail-steve-brueggert-1 1/8
Material and Labor cost reduction

Steven Brueggert
Increased traceability of product quality
Material flow and On-time fulfillment gains
Integration of shop floor with ERP and administrative systems
Historical data of process values for improvement and troubleshooting
Alarms and event notifications
Decreased paper trails
Recipe and set point management and control
Depending on the requirements, the above improvements and many more are
achievable. There are companies who have successfully implemented these systems in
their tech ecosystem, and they have reaped costs savings, improved efficiency,
increased on-time delivery to customers, and improved conformance to quality
requirements.
Conversely, there are also stories of failed or at best, underused MES implementations.
NON-TECHNICAL CHALLENGES?
There are always technological challenges such as machine hardware, controllers, I/O,
networks, servers, operator interfaces, integration with ERP systems, etc. but these can
be overcome and have been solved time and time again. What I have found is that
technological problems are always solvable provided that there is enough top-level
support for the project and it is sufficiently financed. But, there are challenges that
cannot be solved with capital alone.
It may be surprising that failure of MES projects often result

Steven Brueggert
from cultural factors in the organization, not technological
challenges.
There are many great off the shelf systems today which will provide similar
functionality and benefit, but more often it is not the product that is a problem, it is in
the application of the product in the context of the business culture which determines
success of failure.
In this article, I will highlight three common reasons why projects fail to meet expected
returns.
UNNECESSARY OR PREMATURE COMPLEXITY
One of the biggest struggles of an MES implementation is the temptation to tackle

problems of high complexity, especially at the onset of a project. Many times this
complexity gets introduced during the planning phases. From personal experience, in
talking with various companies in various types of manufacturing, the tendency to
over-complicate the process is prevalent, and progress is slowed.
Culturally, almost every firm likes to think of their process as unique and distinctly
Steven Brueggert
different from others. For example, let’s say that company “A” may manufacture
motorcycles, and another, we’ll call it company “B”, may make cereal food
products. While it is foregone conclusion that the details of making cereal is different
than making vehicles, the basics of manufacturing, such as acquiring and storage of
raw materials, management of work orders, metrics of efficiency and quality, inventory
and transportation of goods are essentials of any type of production process. Cereal
production may be a continuous or batch process, where building motorcycles is
usually a discrete process. Specifics of the processes are different, but the point is that
the general principles of manufacturing are usually the same.
It is in the over-emphasis of the detailed specifics where planning for MES projects
usually start going astray. In most discussions, since the staff are the process experts, it
is very easy for the discussion to get into the weeds, bringing up the 20% of exceptions
in the business rather than focus on the 80% that are straight forward and
programmatic. This happens because most of what operations personnel, production
schedulers, and managers focus on are the exceptions, and those challenges take most
of their time and effort. The MES consultant usually needs to find a way to re-focus the
planning on the 80% and be aware to keep options open to handle exceptions.
Steven Brueggert
The idea I wish to emphasize here is that starting off with a system that addresses
exceptions may be great for them personally, but ineffective for the organization as a
whole. They worry about things like what happens if supplier “C” delays a shipment
and their customer lead time gets shifted, and how they will fit the work orders back
into the process without incurring other losses, and many other 20% scenarios that
happen. Most of the time, however, the majority of everyday manufacturing orders are
already streamline in nature. Designing an MES configuration solely around
exceptions and special conditions in the manufacturing process has a tendency to
distract and delay implementations, since exceptions are challenges that fall outside of
the normal flow of operations.
My personal opinion is that an MES implementation in the early stages should focus on
handling the majority of “happy path” orders, relieving staff of manually managing
them, allowing them much more time to focus on exceptions which are more complex
to handle. When the MES is mature and in common use with a good infrastructure of
servers, trained staff and operation interfaces, it is much easier to start addressing some
Steven Brueggert
specific bugs and exceptions in the business.
IT vs ENGINEERING/OPERATIONS CONFLICTS
Another cultural factor that can potentially jeopardize success in implementing an

MES are conflicts between a company’s IT and engineering or operations departments.
We like to pretend that doesn’t exist, but more often than not, this is a very common
theme no matter what company is involved.
The typical attitude from manufacturing operations staff goes something like this:
“IT almost never responds to my requests, and when they do,

they are very slow. They act as if they control the operations of
every aspect of the business. There is too much red tape involved
to get something done.”
And in return, the attitude from the IT department can be something like this:
“They (manufacturing) don’t understand what we deal with on a

daily basis. We have rules to protect the business. The majority
of complaints we get are self-inflicted by the users themselves.
They don’t know the risks of networking the factory floor, and
they don’t realize that an MES is yet another system which will
require attention from us, not including new equipment and
network traffic that it will bring. We should probably be the ones
to specify the system.”
Steven Brueggert
These are general statements, and the war between operations and IT groups may range
from occasional disagreement to full blown separation. This lack of cooperation can
kill or severely impede an MES project.
Since an MES is part of an overall computer integrated manufacturing environment,

the IT department will almost certainly be involved and should be partnered with. The
MES consultant should make certain that both entities are fully engaged in planning
process. This will often require the consultant to put on the negotiator hat and attempt
to bring agreement from both entities.
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
In addition to the two previous examples, resistance to change is a barrier to successful

MES implementation. Very often companies that desire to implement an MES are
doing so because they are seeking to implement lean operations, usually engaged in a
work culture change. Execution systems are great tools, but they aren’t a panacea.
People still remain the most important asset in any manufacturing operation, and
culture change takes time. It doesn’t always fit neatly on a Gantt chart.
The level of acceptance and use of an MES will be dependent on reception and
discipline of the staff using it. Since it is a toolbox, it must be used to be effective. For
example, an operation that was previously managed on paper and “tribal knowledge”
Steven Brueggert
of factory personnel is in for a bit of a shock as an MES is introduced. Training is very
important, but no matter how adequate the training is, the cultural reception of any
computer integrated manufacturing system will take a large effort, maybe even more
effort than the design and construction of an MES. Keen observation and intentional
analysis of use during and after commissioning are essential in making sure the
organization achieves the benefits that an MES can provide.
Have you experienced any of these challenges as a consultant,

engineer or customer? If you found the article interesting,
please feel free to like or comment. Thanks for reading!
Want to know more about MES in general?
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15/9/2021 3 NON-TECHNICAL REASONS WHY MES PROJECTS CAN FAIL

3 NON-TECHNICAL REASONS WHY MES

Manufacturing Execution Systems, or MES, (also known as Manufacturing

Noteworthy among these features and benefits:

Improved shop floor scheduling

Valuable production metrics for improvement, OEE, downtime causes

Material and Labor cost reduction

Increased traceability of product quality

Material flow and On-time fulfillment gains

Integration of shop floor with ERP and administrative systems

Historical data of process values for improvement and troubleshooting

Alarms and event notifications

Decreased paper trails

Recipe and set point management and control

It may be surprising that failure of MES projects often result

UNNECESSARY OR PREMATURE COMPLEXITY

One of the biggest struggles of an MES implementation is the temptation to tackle

Another cultural factor that can potentially jeopardize success in implementing an

“IT almost never responds to my requests, and when they do,

“They (manufacturing) don’t understand what we deal with on a

Since an MES is part of an overall computer integrated manufacturing environment,

In addition to the two previous examples, resistance to change is a barrier to successful

Have you experienced any of these challenges as a consultant,

Want to know more about MES in general?

Recomendar Comentar Compartir

Para ver o añadir un comentario, inicia sesión

Accesibilidad Condiciones de uso

Política de privacidad Política de cookies

Política de copyright Política de marca

Controles de invitados Directrices comunitarias

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