How Does MES Fit Into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?

Connecting the Dots Between Strategic Goals and Smart Manufacturing

Employee viewing his laptop with a view to the factory floor

The value of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and smart manufacturing rests not in the agility of technology but in the business strategies that leverage that technology. To realize ROI, every smart manufacturing project must align to your company’s strategic objectives.

You can use the data provided by MES to optimize operations. Combining information from MES with the data available from other industrial and enterprise sources, you can begin to optimize operations across their entire enterprise.

Supporting IIoT with MES

Here are two crucial ways that an MES can support the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT):

Provide the production context on which everything else operatesThe MES links all gathered data—quality metrics, genealogy, people, inventory, and other manufacturing resources—to a work order, lot, batch, or serial number. This context then forms the basis for a multidimensional matrix for analyzing production.

Apply rules to this matrix to guide productionThink of this as a global positioning system (GPS) rerouting a driver based on driving conditions, closed roads, and current traffic. The MES can similarly adjust a process to accommodate current conditions by considering such factors as available inventory, equipment, and people. An MES can then guide an operator or other workers through the necessary steps and tasks in workflows.

"Smart Manufacturing - The intelligent, real-time orchestration and optimization of business, physical and digital processes within factories and across the entire value chain."

MESA Smart Manufacturing Working Group

Smart Manufacturing and the Role of MES

Here are a few examples of how an MES can support each of the four pillars of Smart Manufacturing:

Intelligent

MES delivers active intelligence versus passive information system
Local routine decisions are made by automated systems based on high-level constraints

Orchestration

Of business processes and resources across the manufacturing value chain so they are in-sync and data flows smoothly

Optimization

Available resource capacity is used to deliver to the customer quickly with the help of MES
Adjusting schedules to work around issues for maximum efficiency and effectiveness

Business, Physical, Digital Processes

People, physical equipment and digital IT processes orchestrated together so they connect value chain form design to supply chain, fabrication, assembly and product services

MES by Rockwell Automation

With both cloud and hybrid solutions, our portfolio of MES offerings is designed to meet the needs of various manufacturing environments whether that be single-plant, multi-plant or industry-specific suites. We exceed expectations for MES customers who need to:

Digitize manufacturing processes
Eliminate errors
Drive operational excellence
Adapt to market shifts
Ensure world-class quality

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