MES SYSTEMS
MES systems- These are systems that operate at the workshop level. Systems of this class solve synchronization problems, coordinate, analyze and optimize product output within any production. MES systems can be an excellent addition to top-level systems - ERP systems.
The definition of an MES system does not give a clear idea of its purpose; its increased functions absorb the functions of automated process control systems, dispatch systems, etc. It is necessary to determine what is currently understood as MES systems.
An MES system is a system for implementing production management, the main task of which is to connect all the company’s business processes with its production and technological processes, while promptly providing information.
During the production process, various factors arise that tend to go beyond the production schedule: breakdown and repair of equipment, urgent priority orders, rework of defects, sick leaves for workers, failure to deliver components on time, lack of technological equipment, as well as many other unforeseen circumstances. The production environment changes every minute. Despite this, you must always know how the deadline for order fulfillment will change, how the best way to plan production in the current situation, this requires a new recalculation of the schedule. In an MES system, such recalculation can be performed as many times a day as needed.
One of the tasks of MES is precisely the correction of emerging deviations through optimal multiple rescheduling based on the actual state of equipment and orders.
Improper loading of machines for processing various products leads to constant delays in production deadlines, urgent work at the enterprise, overworking of employees, shortage of parts for assembling components, overload of machines, dynamic problems, as well as many other production costs that prevent the production of products on time.
The task of MES is operational scheduling, with the help of which the loading of machines will be carried out in the most profitable manner. All products will be completed within the maximum possible time, while all components will be guaranteed to be in stock at the time of assembly of the products.
At the time of assembling products or launching a particular operation, it often turns out that some parts or equipment are out of stock, but less necessary parts or equipment are in excess. When using MES systems, such a situation simply cannot arise.
Production dispatching will allow you to visually assess the load on machines in real time, make basic reports, and instantly respond to various situations.
Using accurate, current data, the MES regulates, initiates, and records plant operations as events occur. A set of MES functions allows you to manage production operations from the moment an order is received in production until the finished product. MES provides the most important information about production activities for the entire organization and about the entire supply chain through two-way communication.
It is the use operational information distinguishes MES from ERP systems. In MES systems, the production model is determined at the intersection of equipment capabilities, availability of materials and personnel. Any MES must answer the following questions:
What should be produced?
When should what be produced?
What should be used to produce it?
When, how and what has already been produced?
Using data from the planning and control levels, MES systems manage ongoing production activities in accordance with incoming orders, the requirements of design and technological documentation, the current state of equipment, while pursuing the goals maximum efficiency and minimum cost of production processes.
By quickly responding to ongoing events and using mathematical methods to compensate for deviations from the production schedule, MES systems allow you to optimize production and make it more profitable.
Gantt chart
There are different approaches to time planning (time management). The most innovative idea here is the Gantt chart. This diagram consists of stripes oriented along the time axis. Each bar represents a separate task within the project, its ends are the moments of the beginning and completion of the work, its length is the duration of the work. The vertical axis is a list of tasks.
The first chart format was developed back in 1910 by Henry L. Gant (American engineer, mechanic and management specialist). Henry Gantt initially used graphical information when reporting to his superiors. Later, the Gantt charts that made him famous appeared. Many are inclined to believe that Gant became one of the founders of fundamentally new, more humane principles of production and management; he is also credited with some unusual ideas on correct positioning tasks and effective motivation of personnel.
Results of MES implementation
According to various companies, the following main results of MES implementation can be identified:
1. Increasing the economic efficiency of the enterprise;
2. Increase the speed of order processing up to 40-50%
3. Increase in machine load factor by 30-40%
4. Reduction in production cycle time by an average of 45%;
5. Reducing the time to develop new products by an average of 27%;
6. Reducing the volume of defects by an average of 18%;
7. Reducing the volume of unfinished products by 25-30%;
8. Increased reliability of order execution on time by 60%;
9. Reducing the volume of unnecessary paper documentation by an average of 56%;
10. Increased control over the implementation of technological and production processes;
11. Increasing the transparency of business processes regarding the movement of material flows;
12. Qualitative improvement of production indicators.
The implementation of MES systems will provide many other benefits necessary to achieve maximum production efficiency.
Reducing various costs and obtaining maximum benefit from the existing capabilities of the enterprise today is only possible by automating planning and production management - by introducing MES systems.
Of course, achieving success in competition is also possible through the introduction of advanced technologies, machines, tools, high-speed processing, etc., but under relatively equal conditions for most enterprises, achieving success becomes possible only through competent and operational planning and production management. This is where there are large reserves for optimizing production and achieving maximum economic effect.
MES is fundamental important function, allowing you to create manufacturing plant a truly effective management system. MES is becoming one of the key elements of enterprise-wide systems of modern enterprises.
MES systems are defined as a set of software functions that are distinct from those of enterprise resource planning (ERP), computer-aided design and programming (CAD/CAM) and computer-aided process control systems (ACCS).
The MESA Association has identified 11 core functions of MES, which are presented in Table 1.
| Function | Function decoding |
| 1. Condition monitoring and resource allocation (RAS). | This functionality of MES systems provides management of production resources (machines, tools, work methods, materials, equipment) and other objects, for example, documents on the procedure for performing each production operation. This feature provides a detailed history of resources and ensures that equipment is configured correctly in the production process, as well as monitors equipment status in real time. |
| 2. Operational/Detailed Planning (ODS). | This function provides operational and detailed work planning based on priorities, attributes, characteristics and properties of a specific type of product, and also calculates in detail and optimally the equipment load for a specific shift. |
| H. Dispatching production (DPU). | Provides ongoing monitoring and dispatch of the production process, tracking the execution of operations, the employment of equipment and people, the fulfillment of orders, volumes, batches and controls in real time the execution of work in accordance with the plan. In real time, all changes that occur are monitored and adjustments are made to the workshop plan. |
| 4. Document control (DOC). | Controls the content and passage of documents that must accompany the manufactured product, including instructions and standards of work, methods of execution, drawings, procedures for standard operations, part processing programs, records of product batches, messages about technical changes, transfer of information from shift to shift, and also ensures ability to maintain planning and reporting workshop documentation. Archiving of information is provided. |
| 5. Data Collection and Storage (DCA). | This function provides information interaction between various production subsystems for receiving, accumulating and transmitting technological and control data circulating in the production environment of the enterprise. Data on the progress of production can be entered either manually by personnel or automatically at specified intervals from the automated process control system or directly from production lines. |
| 6. Human Resources Management (LM) | Provides information about personnel at a specified frequency, including reports on time and attendance at the workplace, monitoring compliance with certification, as well as the ability to take into account and control the main, additional and combined responsibilities of personnel, such as performing preparatory operations, expanding the work area. |
| 7. Product Quality Management (QM) | Provides measurement data on product quality, including in real time, collected from the production level, ensuring proper quality control and focusing on critical points. Can suggest actions to correct the situation at a given point based on the analysis of correlations and statistical data on the cause-and-effect relationships of controlled events. |
| 8. Production process management (PM) | Monitors a given production process and automatically makes adjustments or offers an appropriate solution to the operator to correct or improve the quality of current work. |
| 9. Management of production assets (maintenance) (MM) | Supporting the maintenance process, planned and operational repairs of production and technological equipment and tools throughout the entire production process. |
| 10. Product History Tracking (PTG) | Provides information about the tone, where and in what order the work with this product was carried out. Information about the condition may include: a report on personnel working with this type of product, product components, materials from the supplier, batch, serial number, current production conditions, non-compliance with established standards, an individual technological passport of the product. |
| 11. Performance Analysis (PA) | Provides reports on actual results of manufacturing operations and comparisons with previous and expected results. Reports provided may include measurements such as resource utilization, resource availability, production resource cycle time, compliance with plan, standards, and others. |
And so the functions implemented in MES systems are similar to management methods in ERP systems, but only on a different time scale and with other control and management objects. MES is a production-grade automated execution system that provides a range of capabilities that complement and enhance the functionality of ERP systems. Using actual process data, MES systems support all plant production activities in real time. Quick, effective responses to changing conditions, combined with MES' focus on cost reduction, help effectively manage manufacturing operations and processes. In addition, MES systems generate data on current production indicators necessary for the functioning of ERP systems. Thus, an MES system is a link between ERP systems focused on financial and economic operations and the operational production activities of an enterprise at the level of a workshop, site or production line.
MES-class systems have become widespread in countries with developed market economies relatively recently; in Russia, the number of enterprises using these systems is even more small.
It must be taken into account that automation of the workshop level of production in an MES system requires efforts from the enterprise, which should be aimed at both implementation and further maintenance of the system.
When implementing an MES system, the work of enterprise employees and consultants is less or comparable to the implementation of an ERP system. Objectively, MES automates fewer areas of an enterprise’s activities (business processes) than an ERP system. When using MES, there will likely be more reorganization required at the shop floor level than when implementing ERP. To take advantage of the MES advantage of an up-to-date production schedule throughout the entire season, it is necessary to quickly enter actual data on the execution of operations, equipment breakdowns and other events in the workshop that affect the failure to fulfill the plan. If you decide to update the work plan every 15 minutes, this means that the actual data for the past 15 minutes must be entered into the system. In the case of ERP, such prompt reflection of the facts is not necessary, since replanning will be carried out after the end of the work shift.
As already mentioned, both MES and ERP systems they solve approximately the same problems only on different scales: ERP - volume-scheduling planning using medium- and long-term periods of time; MES - operational planning for short term time (minutes, hours). And here the enterprise faces the question of which system to choose for implementation. It is clear that the most favorable would be the implementation of both types of systems, but most enterprises do not have enough financial and human resources for the simultaneous implementation of two projects. Therefore, you will have to start with one, therefore, the enterprise is still faced with a choice. Firms promoting the corresponding software product will present a large number of reasoned arguments and criteria in favor of their system, so the head of the enterprise needs to weigh the pros and cons.
As an attempt to find an objective criterion for selection, we can refer to the results of Gartner Group research, which make it possible to link the economic effect of implementing ERP systems (in in this case SAP R/3) with the scale of the enterprise at which this implementation is carried out.
In Fig. Figure 16.1 shows a diagram illustrating this relationship based on statistical data for Western industrial enterprises.
Based on these data, we can conclude that for the automation of enterprises with a production volume of less than 10 million dollars per year, the introduction of an ERP system will not provide a significant economic effect. At such enterprises, to automate the organizational level of production, it is first necessary to implement an MES system (that is, choose the “easier” one in financially solution).
For enterprises with a production volume of 10 to 100 million dollars per year, the efficiency of implementing an ERP system is 10-30%.
The decision on where to start (ERP or MES) should be made individually, however, given the average size of the enterprise, the high cost of implementing an ERP system and the greater economic effect of automating workshops and areas through MES, it is preferable to start with MES and then implement ERP.
For enterprises with a production volume of more than $100 million per year, it is advisable to start automating the organizational level of production with an ERP system, after which to introduce MES in production departments.
An integrated automated control system for an industrial enterprise can be represented as three interconnected levels of control (Fig. 16.2)
At the same time, each level performs its main management function:
The upper level of enterprise management (administrative and economic) solves strategic problems, and the corresponding ERP system ensures resource management throughout the enterprise as a whole, including part of the production support functions (long-term planning and strategic management on a scale: annual, quarterly, monthly);
Average level management (production) solves the problems of operational management of the production process, and the corresponding automated system ensures the efficient use of resources (raw materials, energy, production facilities, personnel), as well as optimal execution of planned tasks (shift, daily, ten-day, monthly) at the site, workshop level , enterprises;
Lower levels technological management solve classical problems of technological process control.
Each control circuit (ERP, MES, process control system) is characterized by its own level of intensity of information circulating in it, its own time scale and its own set of functions:
The control loop of the process control system (technological) level is the most intensive in terms of the volume of information and the most stringent in terms of reaction time, which can be seconds and even milliseconds. At the upper level of the process control system layer, accumulation and processing occurs large number technological parameters and is created information base source data for the MES level.
The MES (operational and production) level control loop is based on filtered and processed information coming from both the process control system and other production services (supply, technical support, technological, production planning, etc.). Intensity information flows here it is significantly lower and is associated with the tasks of optimizing given production indicators (product quality, productivity, energy saving, cost, etc.). Typical control cycle times are minutes, hours, shifts, days. Operational production management in this management loop is carried out by specialists who have a more detailed knowledge of the production situation than top management (managers production workshops, sections, chief technologists, power engineers, mechanics, etc.). In this regard, the quality and efficiency of decisions made within the powers delegated from above should increase.
The ERP (strategic) level control loop is in this case freed from solving operational production problems and provides support for the business processes of the enterprise as a whole. The flow of information from the production unit becomes minimal and includes aggregated management and reporting information according to ERP standards with typical control times (decade, month, quarter), as well as “alarm” signals requiring immediate intervention senior management enterprises.
It is obvious that with complex automation of almost any enterprise there is a need to cover one or another set of MES functions with automation tools. What products are used to implement this is another question; different options are possible here. In some cases, integrated MES systems can be used, sometimes these functions can be implemented within the framework of one or another ERP functionality, or it is possible to use stand-alone products that implement one or another MES function. A combination of these options is also possible. A specific set of MES products for a given enterprise, taking into account its specifics and capabilities, is usually offered by MES consulting firms and system integrators. One of the options for implementing an MES project in production is shown in Fig. 16.3.
Examples of MES systems
Let's consider brief characteristics the most common MES systems: PI System, IMS “Orbita”, Plan2 Business Solution, Simatic PCS7, T-Factory-6.
PI System (Plant Information System) from OSI Software, USA - universal Information system collecting, storing and presenting data in a single format from various PLCs, DSCs, SCADA systems, manual input devices, etc. PI System supports client-server architecture. Client software is based on Win 9x/NT/2000/XP OS. The main components of the system are PI Server - a data processing unit with a data processing subsystem; PI System has over 250 interfaces for communication with PLCs, DSC, SCADA systems. PI System client application software includes:
PI DateLink - displays data from the PI System archive into MS Excel spreadsheets.
PI Process Book - construction of mnemonic diagrams with process parameters, graphs, diagrams.
- PI Batch View - viewing and analysis of batch processes.
PI ACE - real-time analysis of process performance and efficiency.
- PI ACI - creation of interactive mimic diagrams for viewing by any Web browser.
- Sigma Fine - analysis of the operation of measuring devices.
IMS "Orbita". The Orbita information and control system was developed by PLC Systems, belongs to the class of MES systems and is intended for continuous and continuous-discrete production, mainly in the mining, metallurgical, chemical, oil and gas industries, as well as in thermal power engineering. The system uses software products from Wonderware Corporation (InTouch, Active Factory, SuiteVoyager, InSQL, MS SQL, MS Excel) and the Avantis package.
The system includes a variety of knowledge databases - regulations for the execution and accounting of production operations, has a modular structure, and is based on the concept of rational automation for a specific enterprise with an achieved level of automation.
The Orbita system consists of the following functional modules:
- "ZhDZ" - information and dispatch system of the railway workshop.
Nature of information: information about work in progress on the tracks and flows of raw materials and products.
- “Chem. analyses" - information subsystem of a chemical laboratory.
Nature of information: information about the chemical and physical parameters of materials.
- “TEP” - control of technical and economic indicators. Nature of information: current and planned values of technological and technical-economic indicators.
- “Balances” - maintaining balances for production analysis. Nature of information: dynamics of imbalances and factors that form them.
- “WIP” - monitoring of work in progress. Nature of information: dynamics of changes in work in progress and the factors that form it.
- “Tanks” - monitoring of the tank farm. Nature of information: information about work in progress in warehouses, their inputs and outputs.
- “Metrology” - planning, accounting, repair, verification of measuring and control instruments. Nature of information: information about the condition of existing devices and the progress of repair and calibration work.
The basis for processing and storing data information in RT are servers - MS SQL Server and IndustrialSQL Server.
Plan2Business Solution system by O Technologies. Plan2Business Solution provides the presentation of technological information to any user of the system in real time. The Plan2Business Solution family includes the following software:
Plan2Business Server;
The Plan2Business Server component is the basis of the Plan2Business Solution, interacting with the Citect and FIX SCADA systems, Oracle real-time databases and MS SQL Server, used to store configuration and process data. For integration with MS Word, Excel, Access, Internet Explorer, etc. Used open technologies like MS ActiveX. Plan2Business Server includes a number of client applications that can be customized to suit user requirements, including trends, alarms, and data for embedding in spreadsheets.
In addition, Plan2Business Server has built-in redundancy tools with the ability to switch from primary to backup and information protection tools.
Plan2Business Server is configured and administered using Plan2Business Server Manager.
Plan2NET, based on Plan2Business Server and using modern WEB technologies, is able to deliver information to the user anywhere in the system. Plan2NET has a built-in alarm analyzer for monitoring and diagnosing production events. Data is displayed in the form of trends, nomograms, charts or tables.
Plan2Pocket is designed for access to technological and operational information using wireless communications based on modern standard technologies.
Simatic PCS7 is an integrated production process control system from Siemens, Germany.
Distinctive features of the system:
Open modular system (DDE, OPC, ODBC, SQL interfaces are used);
Flexibility and scalability of the system;
Possibility of redundancy of system modules, including PLCs, networks, input/output devices and HMI systems;
Compliance with international standards such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, OPC for data exchange with the corporate management level;
Availability of a modular software package BATCH flexible for automation of discrete recipe processes, interfaced with SAP R/3.
The system ensures horizontal and vertical integration of the enterprise - from the level of sensors to the level of enterprise management.
Communication in the Simatic PCS7 system is based on the Simatic Net, Industrial Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and PROFIBUS standards. Win NT is used as the OS. To configure the PCS7 system, the Simatic manager from STEP 7 is used, and the SFC language is used as the programming language according to the IEC 61131-3 standard. The WinCC graphic editor is used to develop the operator station interface.
The PCS7 system operates primarily with Simatic S7-400 controllers with a PROFIBUS-DP bus interface. The PLC is connected to the system bus via Industrial Ethernet. For high-speed data transmission in systems with security requirements, Fast Ethernet (100 Mbit/s) with a redundant ring structure and physical medium - optical fiber is used.
The Simatic PCS7 software includes the @aGlance interface and the @PCS7@aGlance server, providing access to process data for various applications at any time, including via Internet/Intranet networks.
InfoPlus.21 - information management system in RT mode is integrated with the Simatic PCS7 system.
System “T-Factory-b” by AdAstra Research Group (Russia).
The T-Factory-b software product is designed to automate business processes. T-Factory-b belongs to the class of MES systems and is designed to solve the problems of accounting for production costs, raw materials and energy, accounting for equipment downtime, calculating production costs, and other tasks. The advantage of the system is its integration with the Trace Mode b SCADA system, the development of which uses auto-building technology.
The development of an automated process control system project with the Trace Mode 6 SCADA system serves as its basis for its integration with the T-Factory-b MES system. T-Factory-b modules provide production task management (MES system functions) and human resource management (HRM). The EAM module provides accounting and maintenance, obtaining and analyzing information about equipment failures, and accounting for energy resource costs. The HRM module controls the personnel composition of the enterprise, organizational structures enterprise, workshop, site, allows you to competently plan labor resources to perform specific tasks.
The most responsible module in the system is the MES module, which integrates all information from the process control system and the EAM and HRM modules. The MES module allows you to calculate the timing of orders and adjust them in real time, calculate and adjust the cost of production, calculate the resources required to complete the task (material, financial, personnel), and also ensures the transfer of information to the enterprise’s ERP system.
To store data on the progress of technological and production processes, a unified real-time DBMS SIAD6 is used. “Hot” backup of database servers is provided to protect against unauthorized access. Data about the technological process comes to T-Factory-6 from RTM Trace Mode 6, and from the upper business level - from operator stations, Web servers, and via GSM channels.
T-Factory-6 contains free instrumental environment to develop and test a full-featured project (before purchasing a license with a time limit for continuous operation).
In this article we want to talk about what capabilities the systems provide operational management produced by Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and about advanced Russian developments of systems of this class in particular.
There are many systems, but I am alone: ERP or MES?
It is no secret that the number of automated systems on the Russian market is constantly increasing, so understanding them and making a choice for a Russian enterprise is very difficult.
The advertising efforts of ERP promoters have firmly established the image of this class of systems in the minds of IT managers and business executives as a panacea for all ills. Simply put, the bias towards ERP in the domestic software market is obvious. Meanwhile, more and more often we hear sighs and regrets that “the implementation of the system has been delayed for years”, “the result of the implementation is not yet visible”, “we have not reached the point of automation of production”, “the attempt to implement the system in production did not eliminate the existing problems " etc. and so on.
Why weren't hopes met? There are many reasons, but the most important of them is that magic wands for solving all the problems of the financial and economic activities of companies for all industries, unfortunately, do not exist in nature. Each class of systems, each system solves the tasks for which they are intended.
Without going into details, we will try to highlight a specific range of problems that can be solved using MES systems, but are beyond the competence of traditional ERP.
So, let's consider a manufacturing enterprise, the main activity of which is the creation and production of products. This is a source of added value for the enterprise, and the cost of production, and therefore its market competitiveness, ultimately depends on the efficiency of the organization of production processes. All other processes at the manufacturing enterprise procurement, marketing, financial and accounting, personnel management and warehouse activities, etc. exist, by and large, only because there is something to buy components for, something to sell, something to take into account, something to store...
Wide-ranging ERP systems, some worse, some better, generally cope with the tasks of supporting these auxiliary processes. Some advanced systems of this class also include production management modules. The very phrase “production management” is too general and very attractive, so many people buy into it, but then it often turns out that the functionality includes only the outer shell of production management processes, without affecting its core, that is, the management of production activities as such.
Where does the shell end and the core begin, which MES systems are designed to serve? What is their functionality and why is it so attractive to production managers today? Let's try to figure it out.
Without touching on automation issues at the hardware level, that is, at the level of so-called SCADA systems (control of meters, sensors and other devices and equipment), MES concentrate on supporting the planned and organizational components of the production process itself. The key processes for them are the following (you can read more about MES functions, for example, at www.mesa.ru):
1. Based on the external need for production of products (based on customer orders, sales plans, etc.), as well as previous production programs, taking into account all sorts of nuances and specifics of production at a particular enterprise, which will be discussed below, a detailed optimized production schedule works, operations for machines, equipment, personnel. Of course, with the automatic generation of all the documentation necessary to carry out the work: production programs, work orders, limit and intake cards, tables and diagrams of equipment loading, etc.
2. During the direct implementation of production programs, full dispatch all operations and their results (both positive and negative - defects, delays, etc.), the flow of manufactured parts by operation, order, batch, series, equipment performance, etc.
3. When deviations from planned programs are identified due to the objectively current situation in production, when a new external need (orders, etc.) appears, operational replanning with correction of all components.
Please note that today in Western Europe Considerable money is being invested in MES: according to the analytical company Frost&Sullivan, the global MES market reached 1.2 billion dollars in 2003, and by 2010 will grow to 2.5 billion. Western entrepreneurs know well where exactly surplus value is created and the main costs of his enterprise.
How is this different from the “production management” implemented in some ERP systems? And the differences, as always, lie in the details, which are fundamental for the proper operation of production.
Firstly, not all ERP systems are capable of carrying out production planning: many manufacturers, while loudly declaring management, limit themselves exclusively to accounting functions. Further, systems positioned as meeting the standards of MRP, MRPII (resource management) and including planning functions, do this in too general a form, without taking into account all the necessary features of production. Thus, planning is often carried out at the level of workshops and sections, as a rule, in the form of volumetric plans, since the features of the underlying planning method do not allow reaching the level of operations on specific equipment and specific workplaces. But each piece of equipment may have its own operating schedule, its own characteristics regarding loading restrictions, power, etc., individual repair plans and unforeseen breakdowns. Such planning often leads to errors that are unacceptable in production: it happens that the formed plan is impracticable at the lower level due to overlap, overlapping production operations in time for some machines, which means that it will inevitably be disrupted.
Among the most important features Planning for many enterprises should highlight the need to take into account interchangeable machines capable of performing the same operations. Failure to take this specificity into account in ERP systems does not allow parallelization of critical operations, which ultimately leads to a suboptimal production schedule. In addition, ERP systems do not properly dispatch production processes, being content only with recording its output results.
YSB.Enterprise.Mes: example of calculating a production schedule
Needless to say, MES systems allow you to adjust or completely recalculate the production schedule and everything necessary for operational work data during the work shift exactly as many times as required. At the same time, rescheduling in ERP turns out to be advisable no more than once a day. And this is quite understandable. The fact is that the formation of detailed production schedules, taking into account all the necessary specifics and at the required level of detail, is a very complex computational task both in terms of the number of calculations (of course, if the enterprise produces more than three types of products on three machines) and in the complexity of the computational algorithms. Solving it “on your knees”, as well as “on paper”, is too labor-intensive (and sometimes it is simply impossible to solve it optimally). And for system developers it is important to carry out this calculation within the foreseeable time for production, because if the program freezes for hours, then why is it needed? It is not for nothing that the development of MES systems, which will be discussed below, is carried out by people from academic science who have devoted half their lives to such branches of mathematics as operations research and scheduling theory.
There are currently many different software products, whose descriptions declare that they know how to plan production and draw up production schedules. And in this regard, I would like to draw the readers’ attention to one more fundamental point. When analyzing programs, it is highly advisable to ask in accordance with what criteria the production schedule was drawn up, because without this you will not be able to judge how satisfactory it is for you, whether this method of planning is suitable for your specific enterprise. When planning criteria are hidden (and this, alas, often happens), this causes a certain wariness. If suppliers are afraid of direct test comparisons, then it is worth considering whether these criteria are implemented at all.
Russian leaders in MES production
Below we will talk about three progressive domestic developments that have every right to bear the proud name of MES, and about some intraspecific differences. These are the products of many years of work by three scientific centers development of systems of this class from Moscow (FOBOS system, www.mesa.ru), Orel (YSB.Enterprise.Mes system, www.orel.ru/jsb) and Ufa (PolyPlan system).
Despite the fact that all three systems are designed for operational management of discrete type production - mainly custom, small-scale and individual (note that for mass and serial production planning is simpler, and therefore ERP capabilities are often sufficient), they implement the above-described capabilities, although the purpose of the systems varies somewhat.
Thus, FOBOS is traditionally used at large and medium-sized machine-building enterprises. YSB.Enterprise.Mes originated from the wood industry and, due to the features outlined below, is aimed at the medium and small enterprise sector. The PolyPlan system has a smaller set of MES functions, but is positioned as an operational scheduling system for automated and flexible production in mechanical engineering.
In general, these systems are functionally very similar, and their developers are experienced specialists in the field of production management, so that, despite differences in positioning, the systems can be adapted to the various industry characteristics of discrete or reduced to discrete production.
The differences between the systems are as follows. FOBOS carries out intra-shop planning and management, traditionally receiving and sending input and output data to an ERP system, which is usually used in mechanical engineering at large factories. As a rule, these are heavy ERP products, such as BAAN and SAP, interaction with which is carried out through integration, although work is now underway on integration with 1C:Enterprise. In combination with these systems, FOBOS is capable of solving most of the problems of a large enterprise.
The YSB.Enterprise system, on the contrary, operated in medium-sized enterprises and gradually expanded its functionality “to the right and left” of MES, including sales with the formation of an order portfolio, capabilities for managing warehouse shortages (not only of production origin) and even accounting with payroll calculation in a variety of ways. Currently, developments are underway to create a procurement management module. Of course, the functionality of the system has not yet reached the level of a full-fledged ERP, however, the existing capabilities may be sufficient for many Russian enterprises. This positioning policy was chosen by the system developers due to the fact that middle-class and lower enterprises, which have already outgrown 1C, are still deprived of full-fledged production automation prices for Western and Russian software, including at least some serious production, not to mention optimal its planning still exceeds the level of accessibility for most companies, which are forced to invest a significant portion of funds in their development.
The expanded range of YSB.Enterprise functions compared to traditional MES provides the ability to take into account additional data when managing production. Thus, the inclusion of a warehouse allows you to organize the determination of priorities when launching orders into production, for example, if there is insufficient supply of purchased materials or there is no advance payment for the order.
The Russian MES system PolyPlan is also focused on machine-building production, but, in addition to the traditional class of service devices such as work centers (DC), PolyPlan operational scheduling involves the creation of schedules for transport systems that transport batches of parts between DCs, warehouse devices for receiving and issuing batches parts and service teams. Due to the lack of an explicit operational dispatch loop, PolyPlan is somewhat cheaper than the above systems.
The MES PolyPlan system is easily adapted to control non-automated production. Focused on mechanical engineering, it can also be used at the marketing stage: the program allows, on the basis of aggregated data, to determine the possibility of fulfilling a portfolio of orders using existing funds of time for technological equipment. With operational production planning, it is possible to obtain several feasible scheduling solutions. The greater the search depth, which is set by the user, the longer the calculation time, but the higher the accuracy of the schedule. The accuracy of “one-pass” optimization, often used in such problems, differs from the optimal solution by no more than 5-7%, but saves computation time by orders of magnitude.
Evgeny Borisovich Frolov says: chief designer FOBOS systems, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Executive Production Systems of the Institute of Design and Technological Informatics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKTI RAS): “Basically, if you create optimal production schedules using computers and have the ability to quickly correct them if necessary, then you can guaranteed to increase the speed of order execution. Experience shows that it is often possible to complete an entire monthly plan in just 20 days. Optimization of material flows allows you to reduce the production time of products by 10 days, that is, by 30%! And an increase in the speed of processing production orders by 1.5 times also allows us to reduce the volume of work in progress by approximately 25%.”
In connection with such impressive figures, it should be noted that economic efficiency The implementation of ERP systems is in many cases foggy and vague, and specialists are constantly arguing about this. On the contrary, for MES such efficiency is calculated quite accurately, and even a 10% acceleration of production activities due to optimization, debottlenecking and increased throughput, coupled with a reduction in overhead costs while reducing deadlines, is already very significant!
Sakhavat Yusifov, chief developer of YSB.Enterprise.Mes: “Normal organization and automation of production management allows us to shift the emphasis from planning and production departments to the sales and complaints department when working on order, as it should be in any customer-oriented company. At the same time, the role of the system for collecting information on the progress of production and systems for tracking the state of resources, stocks, and shortages is being strengthened.”
New MES projects in China: China demonstrates its successes not only in space...
Often, when thinking about the problem of increasing the capital productivity of basic technological equipment, managers of domestic production are guided mainly by advanced Western experience. In Russia, the new promising direction of MES is only going through the first stages of its formation. What about the East?
Currently, the demand for high-tech developments for production is outstripping supply due to the rapid economic growth of Chinese enterprises. And if CAD/CAM systems have already become widespread even in small enterprises in China and are intensively used, then in-shop planning and dispatch control systems at the MES level are practically absent, although the need for them is great. The fact is that the use of Western systems that allow solving these problems is often hampered by their high cost, the difficulty of adapting to the needs of Chinese enterprises, and sometimes the inconvenience of the user interface.
As is known, the rules for the formation and execution of technological processes and engineering documentation in Russia and China are basically the same; methods of organizing production in both countries are focused on monitoring the execution of work specified in work orders. With a similar methodology for creating route and operational technologies, it is relatively simple (unlike Western software products) to carry out intra-shop operational planning, dispatch control and accounting of inter-operational backlogs using the Chinese version of the FOBOS MES system.
As an example of the successful implementation of FOBOS in the PRC, one can cite the plant for the production of hydraulic machines and heat exchange equipment of the Shenzhou company (Fushan), the plant for the production of large dies "Lingshihao" (Guangzhou), the KONKA plant (Shenzhen) and a number of other enterprises.
As the Chinese like to say, if communism spread in China from north to south, then capitalism is moving from south to north. It is no coincidence that the bulk of MES projects here are carried out at enterprises in Guangdong Province, the most intensively developing region in the world, located in southern China. The Celestial Empire is clearly demonstrating to the world community that it is achieving significant success not only in space...
Ours someone else's
Why did we decide to talk about domestic MES products?
Firstly, because of their adaptability. It is always easier to agree on improvements with domestic developers. The development centers of Western systems are not in Russia. Significantly modifying the logic of the system to suit the specifics of a particular enterprise is a very labor-intensive task, and not many implementing companies will do this, and if they do, the cost will be comparable to the already considerable price of Western systems.
Secondly, Russian systems significantly cheaper both in terms of software licenses and the cost of its implementation and maintenance. Cheaper since Western companies pay funds to the creators of the systems plus huge marketing costs, and besides, representative firms are often located in Moscow, where the costs of maintaining them are much higher than in the regions, and the prices for specialists in Western systems are significantly higher Our prices. And this despite the fact that the qualifications of Russian specialists in general are significantly higher, because they developed these systems from scratch, they know them like the back of their hand, unlike those who came to Russian market Western systems, which local implementers are often forced to study directly during the implementation of projects, since many products do not have documentation in Russian, etc.
And most importantly, the Russian MES systems we described are not inferior to their Western counterparts, and in many ways surpass them. Of course, you don’t need to rely solely on the popular slogan: “Buy only Russian,” but, nevertheless, it’s worth taking a closer look at domestic products, especially on the eve of Russia’s accession to the WTO...
Yulia Garayeva
IT consultant for the selection of systems at MetaSintez Corporation (Moscow).
Ravil Zagidullin
Cand. tech. Sciences, associate professor, doctoral student at UGATU, department. automated technological systems (Ufa).
Song Kai Qing
Graduate student of Guangdong technical university, China.
MES (manufacturing execution systems) is a “production execution system”. The International MESA Association offers the following definition of MES: “A system consisting of a set of software and hardware that provides management functions for production activities: from the order for the production of a batch of products to the completion of production.” In the most general sense, the MES system:
Initiates the production process;
Monitors how it goes in real time;
Reacts to changing production situations;
Generates reports on production processes as they occur in real time;
Exchanges information about shop processes with other engineering and business departments of the enterprise.
The MESA Association has identified 11 main functions that determine the place of MES systems in an automated industrial enterprise management system:
1. Condition monitoring and resource allocation(RAS)– ensures management of production resources (machines, tools, work methods, materials, equipment) and other objects, for example, documents on the procedure for performing each production operation. This function describes a detailed history of resources and ensures that equipment is configured correctly in the production process,
and also monitors the status of equipment in real time.
2. Operational/ Detailed planning(ODS)– ensures prompt and detailed work planning based on priorities, attributes, characteristics and properties of a specific type of product, as well as detailed and optimal calculations of equipment load during a specific shift.
3. Production dispatching(DPU)– provides ongoing monitoring and dispatch of the production process, tracking the execution of operations, the employment of equipment and people, the fulfillment of orders, volumes, batches and controls in real time the execution of work in accordance with the plan. In real time, all changes that occur are monitored and adjustments are made to the workshop plan.
4. Document management(DOC)– controls the content and passage of documents that must accompany the manufactured product (including instructions and standards of work, methods of execution, drawings, procedures for standard operations, part processing programs, records of product batches, messages about technical changes, transfer of information from shift to shift), and also provides the ability to maintain planning and reporting workshop documentation. Archiving of information is provided.
5. Data collection and storage(DCA)– provides information interaction between various production subsystems for receiving, accumulating and transmitting technological and control data circulating in the production environment of the enterprise. Production progress data can be entered either manually by personnel or automatically at specified intervals directly from production lines.
6. Personnel Management(LM)– provides information about personnel at a specified frequency, including reports on time and presence at the workplace, monitoring compliance with certification, as well as the ability to take into account and control the main, additional and combined responsibilities of personnel, such as performing preparatory operations, expanding the work area.
7. Product Quality Management(QM)– provides measurement data on product quality, including in real time, collected from the production level, ensuring proper quality control and focusing on critical points. Can suggest actions to correct the situation at a given point based on the analysis of correlations and statistical data on the cause-and-effect relationships of controlled events.
8. Production process management(PM)– monitors a given production process, and also automatically makes adjustments or offers an appropriate solution to the operator to correct or improve the quality of current work.
9. Management of production assets(maintenance) (MM)– supports the process of maintenance, planned and operational repairs of production and technological equipment and tools throughout the entire production process.
10. Product history tracking(PTG)– provides information about where and in what order the work with this product was carried out. Information about the condition may include: a report on personnel working with this type of product, product components, materials from the supplier, batch, serial number, current production conditions, non-compliance with established standards, an individual technological passport of the product.
11. Performance Analysis(PA)– provides reports on the actual results of production operations, and also compares with previous and expected results. Reports provided may include measurements such as resource utilization, resource availability, production resource cycle time, compliance with plan, standards, and others. Despite the apparent diversity of MES functions, they are all operational in nature and regulate the corresponding requirements not for the enterprise as a whole, but for that unit of it - the workshop for which work is planned. The main functions of MES systems listed above are
Operational calendar (detailed) planning (ODS);
Dispatching of production processes in the workshop (DPU).
It is these two functions that define the MES system as an operational system aimed at creating equipment operating schedules and operational management of production processes in the workshop.
CONTROL
Ruslan Budnik, Vyacheslav Kuminov
According to the International Association of Industrial Engineers, such production exists at more than 75% industrial enterprises peace. Even where, it would seem, production is exclusively continuous, discrete processes are present as auxiliary ones. Often it is the auxiliary departments that use them, such as tool or repair areas, that are the “bottleneck” that limits the volume of production of the main product.
The discrete type of production prevails in mechanical engineering, instrument making, light industry, in enterprises producing furniture, packaging, and pharmaceuticals.
What is an MES system and how it differs from ERP
As defined by the international association of manufacturers and suppliers of MES solutions (MESA International, www.mesa.org), MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) is an integrated information and computing system that combines tools and methods for production management in real time.
Using data from the planning and control levels, MES systems manage current production activities in accordance with incoming orders, the requirements of design and technological documentation, the current state of equipment, while pursuing the goals of maximum efficiency and minimum cost of production processes.
Rice. 1. Dynamic production model in the Preactor system (England)
How do MES systems differ from ERP systems and why are they at different levels of the information structure? The former implement operational planning and, using accurate information about technological processes, answer the question: how products are produced within a given time and in a given quantity, while the latter are focused on volumetric planning, i.e. answer the question: when and how many products should be manufactured .
But still, their main difference from each other is that MES systems, which work exclusively with production information, allow you to adjust or completely recalculate the plan during a work shift as many times as necessary. In ERP systems, due to the large volume of administrative, economic, accounting and financial information, which does not directly affect the process, rescheduling can be carried out no more than once a day.
MES systems allow you to optimize production and make it more profitable by quickly responding to ongoing events and using mathematical methods to compensate for deviations from planned targets.
MES - a single source of production information
MES systems, collecting and summarizing data received from various production systems and technological lines, bring the organization of all enterprise activities to a higher level, from order formation to shipment of finished products to warehouses. They also implement a real-time connection between production processes and business processes and improve the company's financial performance (cash flow), including increasing the return on fixed assets, accelerating cash turnover, reducing costs, on-time deliveries, increasing profit margins and productivity.
Rice. 2. Financial and economic analysis of production in the MES system "Phobos" (Russia)
In addition, these systems generate data on current indicators (in particular, on the real cost of production) necessary for better functioning of ERP systems.
Thus, MES is the link between ERP systems oriented towards financial and economic operations and the operational activities of the enterprise at the workshop, site or line level.
Over the past five years, the RTSoft company (www.rtsoft.ru) has been integrating the levels of automated control systems and automated process control systems through the import of data from the technological level into business systems. As a result of analytical work, surveying enterprises and studying the results of project implementation, the company opened a business direction " Information Technology real time", which aims to develop proposals for the automation of technological processes, such as operational control systems (MES systems), control and accounting systems for energy resources (ASKUE), operational dispatch control systems (ASODU), and process control systems ( Automated process control systems), software and hardware systems (STC). Moreover, each system is characterized by its own level of intensity of information circulating in it, time scale and set of functions, but all have a common task - to collect, register, accumulate, process and transmit information to a higher level level Any of these systems is developed for a specific class of users, depending on the functions performed and tasks to be solved (from managers senior management to ordinary specialists), and therefore provides them with exactly the information that is necessary to solve strategic, tactical and operational problems.
With this approach to the interaction of enterprise subsystems, the implementation of an MES system in production makes it possible to achieve a given degree of integration of all data about its operation to solve management problems.
Challenges of MES systems in discrete manufacturing
MES systems in discrete manufacturing face the following main tasks:
· operational planning and dispatching of processes;
· the financial analysis costs of performing processes;
· operational re-planning taking into account the real current state of production.
Let's look at them in more detail.
Operational planning and process dispatching. To calculate the production schedule at domestic enterprises, either static tools are used, such as network diagrams, paper tables, planning boards, or no tools are used at all. Events that make significant changes to the schedule occur so often and in such quantity that the capabilities of a static tool, and especially a person, do not allow them to be taken into account in full and maintain the schedule in an optimal state. As a result, the operational plan, if there is one, very quickly ceases to correspond to reality and loses its relevance on average after 20% of the planned period. The level of organization of production drops sharply, and its profitability decreases.
| Functions of an MES system in discrete manufacturing |
1. Condition monitoring and resource distribution - management of production resources (technological equipment, materials, personnel, documentation, tools, work methods). 2. Operational/detailed planning - calculation of production schedules based on priorities, attributes, characteristics and methods associated with the specifics of products and their manufacturing technology. 3. Production dispatching - managing the flow of manufactured parts for operations, orders, batches, series through work orders. 4. Document management - control of the content and passage of documents accompanying the manufacture of products, maintaining planning and reporting workshop documentation. 5. Collection and storage of data - interaction of information subsystems for receiving, accumulating and transmitting technological and control data circulating in the production environment of the enterprise. 6. Personnel management - ensuring the ability to manage personnel on a minute-by-minute basis. 7. Product quality management - analysis of product quality measurement data in real time based on information coming from the production level, ensuring proper quality control, identifying critical points and problems requiring special attention. 8. Process management - monitoring of production processes, automatic adjustment or interactive support for operator decisions. 9. Maintenance and repair management - management technical maintenance, planned and operational repair of equipment and tools to ensure their operational readiness. 10. Tracking the history of a product - visualization of information about the place and time of work on each product. Information may include reports on performers, technological routes, components, materials, batch and serial numbers, rework, current production conditions, etc. 11. Performance Analysis - Providing detailed reports on the actual results of manufacturing operations. Comparison of planned and actual indicators. |
For intra-shop management of production processes, a tool is needed that will ensure that all events taking place are recorded in real time (online). This tool must reflect a reliable picture of the current state of production, and also have the ability to repeatedly adjust and calculate schedules during work shifts.
Rice. 3. 14 criteria for calculating the production schedule in the Phobos system
To solve the problem of operational planning in MES systems, a dynamic computer model of production is built. It implements continuous simulation movement of material flows inside the workshop in accordance with technological routes. The production schedule is clearly described by a Gantt chart, where each operation is associated with a straight line segment, the length of which is proportional to its duration. These segments, called Gantt lines, are located opposite the inventory numbers of the main process equipment in the sequence corresponding to the schedule. The built-in production dispatch mechanism ensures timely delivery and input of information about actions taken, events occurring and deviations from the drawn up operational plan. The production schedule is maintained in optimal condition through continuous compensation of deviations using the correction method or complete recalculation. As a result, all processes occurring in the workshop become transparent, “transparency”, controllability and identifiability of material production flows are achieved in accordance with the requirements of international standards (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).
Financial analysis of the costs of performing production processes. To calculate the real cost of production, it is necessary to conduct a detailed financial and economic analysis of production. A widespread method in the West for analyzing sources of costs and creating added value is the so-called ABC analysis, or Activity Based Costing (functional cost analysis). The essence of this method is that the expenses and income of an enterprise are tied to the points of its activity. In relation to production, this means linking costs and created surplus value to specific inventory numbers of technological equipment and implemented production processes. It is impossible to carry out such an analysis with an approximate idea of the distribution of processes in time and equipment. MES systems build an accurate dynamic production model that provides detailed calculation of current costs both in relation to specific jobs and in the context of individual orders being executed.
In general, calculating a production schedule is a complex mathematical problem. To solve this problem, a system of criteria for calculating and optimizing plans is being developed, on the basis of which an appropriate algorithmic apparatus is created. Heuristic calculation algorithms are the core of MES systems and are protected by copyright.
Rice. 4. An example of planning taking into account the repair of equipment in the Phobos system
The apparatus for calculating production schedules used in MES systems makes it possible to take into account the interrelation of all elements of the operational plan, ensure the selection of alternative technological routes and adapt the management of material flows to the current order. The computing core of MES systems allows to the fullest use the power of modern computers to solve this problem.
Here it would be useful to add that in terms of production management, MES class systems differ from ERP systems in that in MES systems the calculation of production schedules is based on many criteria. In ERP/MRP systems, planning, as a rule, is carried out according to one criterion; in MES systems there can be more than a dozen such criteria: for example, in the Phobos system (Russia) there are fourteen of them (Fig. 3), in the Preactor system (England) - eight. The minimum possible number of criteria that distinguishes an MES system from systems of other classes is two. Various combinations of criteria allow you to calculate dozens of plan options, use them as a means of modeling production processes and select the most effective scenario for executing the current plan.
Operational re-planning taking into account the real current state of production. The weakness of most automated planning systems (ERP, MRP) is that production resources are estimated approximately or are generally considered inexhaustible. By dividing orders into parts and calculating the start date for their production, these systems, unfortunately, do not take into account the availability of resources at a particular point in time. After all, the abstract availability of a resource does not at all mean its availability to fulfill every order at every moment in time. Thus, a schedule compiled without taking into account information about the actual state of production resources does not correspond to reality and cannot be fulfilled.
One of the basic principles underlying the systems under consideration is the principle of finite resource planning. The essence of this principle is that resources (both basic and additional) are always limited and work is planned only when it is reliably known that resources are available.
Thus, in addition to the unplanned failure of machine tools and the influence of other unexpected influences that change the available volume of production resources, workshops have regulations for carrying out preventive repairs of equipment. Using an MES system, you can simulate the current situation, play out several scenarios for its development and achieve a schedule in which preventive maintenance of equipment will have a minimal impact on the timeliness of the plan (Fig. 4).
Another example of the finite planning principle is the system for accounting for secondary resource constraints in the Preactor software package. This system is formed at the stage of constructing a logical production model. In the process of describing the main process equipment, each inventory number is associated with any restrictions that have or may have an impact on its availability or performance characteristics. Secondary restrictions may include a limit on electricity consumption, the need for an operator to be present at certain workplaces, the availability of specific equipment, etc. In the future, when planning and adjusting schedules, the system will monitor the availability and volume of use of secondary restrictions. In case of excess or shortage of resources, the system will first inform the dispatcher about this, and then offer to accept or reject the conditions of this plan option.
Results of using MES systems
What are the benefits of using MES class systems? World experience has shown the high efficiency of such systems, resulting in a significant improvement in the financial performance of enterprises. Here are just some of them:
· productivity increases by 15%;
· equipment load factor increases by 45%;
· the volume of work in progress is reduced by 30%;
· volumes of inventories are reduced by 40%;
· 60% improvement in meeting delivery deadlines.
The payback period of the MES system implementation project is measured in weeks, and its benefits can be enjoyed for years.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the introduction of such systems at Russian enterprises makes it possible to achieve greater production efficiency and, through this, take a serious step towards increasing the competitiveness of the enterprise in the market.
Additional information on MES systems can be found on the website www.mesa.ru.
