Manufacturing Execution System (MES)

The Manufacturing Execution System (MES), also known as the production control system in German, is used for process automation and helps to guide, control and monitor production. It collects and contains all relevant information from production data acquisition (PDA), machine data acquisition (MDC), personnel data and all other processes in real time.

The MES is subordinate to the ERP system and maps the detailed production processes. This includes, for example, the production flow planning for each product, the resource plan and an overview of the current machine occupancy during production. In addition, the systems record production and product data for quality assurance, offer interfaces to merchandise management systems or contain functions for commercial reporting.

Prerequisites for use

Technical and organisational requirements

Holistic management of product data is often a challenge, but in practice there are often a number of different software solutions - automated data exchange is therefore often difficult to achieve. Therefore, it is often necessary to start with a comprehensive process analysis and, if necessary, process restructuring. Only by integrating different IT systems can a holistic IT solution be introduced.

Teamwork and appropriate management approach

The introduction and maintenance of an MES system are the tasks of the entire company - here the responsibility cannot be transferred to a single department. Therefore, the management should be tasked with driving the introduction and maintenance forward, taking into account individual needs.