How to build a MES?

If you or your company want to build  a MES (Manufacturing Execution System), it's a big job can't do it by your self. And you may co-work with vendors and consultants to do it. The customize fee is charge by working hours. If you have a sample concept for MES, and you will less working time for these common sense discussions.

I had have build 3 MES for 3 companies, but all of them are LED industrial, and very different manage way their are.

What is MES?
A manufacturing execution system (MES) is a control system for managing and monitoring work-in-process on a factory floor. An MES keeps track of all manufacturing information in real time, receiving up-to-the-minute data from robots, machine monitors and employees. Although manufacturing execution systems used to operate as self-contained systems, they are increasingly being integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suites. The goal of a manufacturing execution system is to improve productivity and reduce cycle-time, the total time to produce an order. By integrating an MES with ERP software, factory managers can be proactive about ensuring the delivery of quality products in a timely, cost-effective manner.

The MES must cost effectively meet the business criteria.
1.improve manufacturing processes and  quality.
2.Reduce IT involving and low build and maintenance cost.
3. Easy support the production line future growth or development.
4.   Integrate with other critical systems in company, ex. ERP.
5.Readily and rapidly adapt FAB un-schedule change in production cycle in business.


Normally, you should evaluate your vendor at the first, except do it by yourself. We hope the vendor will give us a stable, cheap, customize and easy use system. As I told in last article, the default program may not fit your company's wish. Choose a fully understand your production line and  responsibility owner for this system is very important.

Evaluate your vendor have some guidance. 1.The company is not too big or too small compare with your company. If you are a small company you search a real big MES company, it may not support you very well, because they have another big customers. Other wise, you choose a  small company, you will need to worry the technology support is enough or when will be terminated if the MES company are shut down. 2. The MES company have relative experiences in your industrial? And the related case key sponsor are still in their group. I have an experience about the key sponsor quite, and the company still claim their have capability for the case. But after some checking, they failed. 3. Check the vendor provide original MES is for what kind of industrial or company, and the MES structure are good for your company.

I am not CIM or IT guy, so I will not discuss infrastructure in here, but the components in MES. Before we start to build a MES, you need to prepare your product flow chart. It will help you to decide how many shop and the cut point.

If your company is a signal shop product, the MES will be easier, or it will have product type transfer issue. For example LED, it should growth on wafer, and Die process will cut it to dices, and finally it should put together into a PKG submounts. It need to divide to 3 different shop. It's difficult for MES.

When you confirm the shops, and we will start to discuss  MES Core functions.
1.Planning system interface
The MES should be coupled to the planning system directly to accept work orders and all other input and to provide upload information as necessary.  MES link to planing system such as PC's MPS,  ERP, MRP etc, need to take the instruction (Work Order) form these planing system and feed back the manufacturing information. And we will know the gap between the plan and real. The communications should be two way so the MES can keep the planning system 1. properly informed about plant activities such as labor data, inventory changes, and work order progress. 2.Other methods of data entry and reporting can easily be accommodated, and in some cases, such as more continuous process, production orders may not be used at all. You need to decide the method what you need.

2. Work orders:
It's the basic function in MES, we need to trace every work order from create to complete the work order.
The MES accepts the Work Order through automatic or manual entry. It manages changes on orders,
establishes and changes schedules, and maintains a prioritized sequenced plan.  The order change MFG receiving the instruction from PC, and MFG take actions in MES. like releasing orders to production and establishing a current order priority list based on your sequencing rules is a normal part of MES. Frequently changes must be made to released orders. The Work Order management function maintains a constant real time view of the work orders in the current backlog and
the status of each order. Most of our manufacturing report data comes from this core function.

3. Equipment management :
This part of the system is responsible for implementing the direction of the Work Order plan and the logical configuration of the equipment set. The planning, scheduling, and loading of each equipment is set here,
providing the current and total shop load by operation using routing data, time standards and cycle time estimate. Based on this plan, the system will request and manage delivery of inventory, tooling, and data in response to the Bill of Material(BOM) requirements and will issue and the priority to move the required items to the planned equipment. The MES can and should include the direct control interface and connection with each
equipment set. And showing the each equipment status right now and historical data.

4. Inventory / Material management
While the planning system has the aggregate data on inventory, the detail can easily reside at the local level—the MES. “Dock To Stock” operations are accomplished here with regular updates to the planning system. A current map of all inventory and storage locations, including WIP, is maintained.

5. WIP movement
MFG need to trace the work order from beginning to the end, another major area of MES system contribution is the movement of inventory or information to the needed location on the plant floor. The new MES track in/out are using computers, rather then issuing requests for a manual move (printing move tickets). In other advance FAB the using AGV or auto transportation system to load/unload the WIP from equipment, and completed the track in/out recorded automatically.

6. Data collection
MES collect any data in your FAB, this part of the MES system is the eyes and ears for management and gathers information so the system can remain current. Through various kinds of sensing devices and control interfaces, data from the floor operations can be collected. The collected data will generate useful information to operators or managers. This is the primary method for all personnel to communicate with the MES. It will provde the reports we want, the quality control system SPC or the PC delivery plan etc.

7.Exception Management
The most custom portion of the MES is addressing how a company responds to plan exceptions. What happens when a equipment is suddenly down, or when material is not available, or when a Work Order becomes urgent? The MES should be able to take these changes in stride and respond with alternative actions.