5 Ways Cloud MES Improves Your Production Capabilities

Leading Technology for Sustainable Manufacturing

Cloud computing has changed the way traditional IT resources are deployed. Many applications across business and personal use are paid for on demand. The benefits include lowering costs and infrastructure requirements while adding greater scalability to adapt when needs change. Despite this strong adoption of cloud computing, manufacturers, in the past, have been more reluctant to migrate away from the proven on-premise Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

With the recent shift to hybrid working environments and a focus on sustainability, manufacturers of all sizes are starting to revisit the advantages of moving to a cloud MES. The competitive and dynamic global market is also driving this renewed interest as manufacturers work to fulfill consumer demands before their peers do. In general, the benefits include better:

• Accessibility to operational and enterprise-level information
• Adaptability from being able to scale or change operations quickly
• Connectivity to any number of equipment, sensors and more
• Integrations with supply chain stakeholders from raw materials to logistics
• Use of IT resources because of automatic software updates and no hardware

This guide will explore the production capabilities of a Manufacturing Execution System in the cloud. What follows is a review of common challenges and how a cloud MES addresses them. Browse through a discrete manufacturing use case before reviewing a list of tangible benefits you could realize from migrating over to this Industry 4.0 solution.

Manufacturing Challenges

Manufacturers often have homegrown or site-specific applications combined with their Manufacturing Execution System (MES). As a result, many processes may still be a complex mix of paper, email and spreadsheets to move the data from one area to another. This kind of business environment creates inefficiencies that slow down your productivity. Some of the common challenges are:

• Difficulty seeing work-in-progress metrics
• Decisions based on historical data shared via spreadsheets or emails
• Inability to convert large amounts of machine, sensor and other data into actionable results
• Lack of product history traceability

These issues are why there has been a great shift towards digital manufacturing, a model that integrates flexibility. Early adopters are leveraging cloud technology to serve their customers better while providing high-value outcomes.

Five Ways Cloud MES Improves Production

A cloud MES is an integral part of IT/OT convergence, the integration of Information Technology and Operational Technology. This concept is about reducing the bottlenecks caused by manual processes and missing information. By connecting IT and OT, you bring together the two worlds of the enterprise and the factory floor. A Software-as-a-Service MES is part of this integration. The solution can keep up with your dynamic plant floor and supply chain because it enables full visibility into your business, operations and performance. With this real-time connection, a cloud MES improves production by:

1. Designing, distributing and dynamically controlling your manufacturing shop floor activities within a business context. With an on-premise MES, you only have access to the data of a single factory. When the company needs an aggregated view across multiple sites, the information is shared in various ways, such as via paper and spreadsheets. A cloud MES offers a global view of all your production with the ability to drill down to a single factory – and in real time. This visibility helps you monitor the entire manufacturing process and make decisions that improve efficiency, enable quick reactions and serve your customers better.
2. Identifying improvement areas to optimize performance with cross-plant real-time analytics and machine data. Your shop floor is a dynamic environment that juggles labor, machine availability, work-in-progress (WIP) and tools for maximum production capacity. A cloud MES provides the information you need to manage and control these daily routines while still being able to react quickly to sudden changes. The built-in intelligence helps you optimize resources and execution in real time.
3. Increasing production capacity without loss of quality. The high volume of data coming off a factory floor powers Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models that deliver automation and predictive capabilities. The near real-time evaluation of these predictive models triggers corrective actions to the right people. For example, ML models support operators on visual inspection tasks based on predefined parameters and captured product images from the shop floor. Working together, nonconformance issues are identified faster and routed automatically to the repair team before the product leaves the factory.
4. Automating production traceability with shared genealogy data between stakeholders. Traditional MES solutions help capture information throughout the physical production process. In comparison, a cloud MES solution integrates seamlessly with not only the factory systems but also inventory, warehouse management systems and logistics for enhanced traceability. This real-time intelligence helps assembly lines guarantee that a workstation’s required parts are there at the right time and that the operator has up-to-date work instructions while any noncompliance and repair incidents are recorded as they happen. The result is an electronic product history from the shop floor control number (SFC) to the serial number and all its subcomponents.
5. Accelerating product delivery through continuous improvement. A “closed loop” is an automatic control system in which an operation, process or mechanism is regulated with feedback. In manufacturing, a closed-loop system improves process areas with real-time data while optimizing cost and quality. To build a closed-loop system, you will need a tight integration between your on-premise system and a cloud MES, such as SAP Digital Manufacturing (DM). This connectivity enables bi-directional data that powers automation and decisions based on real-time information. A closed-loop system also allows you to build Digital Twins of the manufacturing process for accelerated innovation.

Manufacturers can also leverage “edge to cloud” microservices to extend processing power and provide greater continuity when a connectivity disruption occurs. These services help run mission-critical processes uninterrupted because they are not affected by bandwidth, connectivity or latency issues. By moving to paperless production with automatic data collection, you can plan better production while having the agility to adapt to short-term changes.

Discrete Manufacturing Use Case

The intuitive user interfaces, or production operator dashboards (PODs), of a cloud MES help lower costs, increase productivity and ensure quality output. Every station has access to the work instructions needed to complete the line task.

The POD can be set up to provide operators with textual and visual information, including 3D diagrams with animation, for a comprehensive view of the process.

Summary

A cloud-based Manufacturing Execution System is an Industry 4.0 solution that helps you differentiate your company from your competitors. This advantage comes from realized business value:

• Optimize production to meet market demand
• Introduce new products faster with a seamless transition from R&D to production
• Meet variable product demand with shorter, more consistent delivery times
• Enable AI, Digital Twins and Machine Learning to improve visibility, analysis and collaboration throughout the manufacturing lifecycle
• Support new business models, such as service-oriented or on-demand

This adaptability comes from having a global view of your business with floor-level management. A cloud MES creates the foundation for sustainable manufacturing through measured performance that can result in a lower cost-of-goods sold, increased margins and a higher return on assets.

Why Engineering Industries eXcellence?

• Global leader of 50+ SAP Digital Manufacturing projects with local & international deployments
• 500+ Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) deployments for Industry 4.0
• 290+ MES specialists located across North America, EMEA, South America and Asia Pacific
• Cross-Industry Expertise – Serving customers in the process sector (life sciences, consumer goods, food and beverage) and discrete sector (automotive, aerospace, medical device)
• Cross-Technology Knowledge – Technical experts with experience implementing and integrating all main software players for MES

About Engineering Industries eXcellence

Engineering Industries eXcellence is the global division of the Engineering Group specialized in the development, integration and implementation of holistic digital transformation solutions covering the end-to-end lifecycle and supply chain of all industrial products and processes. With a holistic focus on enabling the digital transformation of manufacturing and transportation organizations, our global team designs and delivers cutting-edge technology solutions that transform the way our customers think about, design, build and deliver their products and services. With competence hubs across North America, South America, EMEA (Europe & the Middle East) and Asia-Pacific, our division is leading the advancement of Industry 4.0 and the future of the industrial world.

Interested in speaking to one of our experts? Contact us at info@indx.com.