If you’ve got a strong understanding of manufacturing, have made good decisions, and maybe hit a bit of luck here and there, then you’ve probably been able to grow your business and have had some success.
However, if you’re not using Manufacturing Execution Software (MES), then you’re missing some incredible opportunities to increase efficiency, reduce waste, save money, and grow your business.
Perhaps you’re using a “homegrown” solution with spreadsheets and paper trails that seems to work okay. Maybe you created a custom inhouse solution that gets you through the day. However, if they’re not providing actionable (and accurate!) data that’s guiding your business decisions, you’re missing out.
Here are 9 reasons to invest in MES:
1. Knowledge is Power
Data provided by an MES can give you the knowledge you need to grow your business and make the decisions necessary to create a strong, more educated manufacturing environment.
2. Process Consistency and Standardization
The more consistently a manufacturing plant can run, the better off it will be. Creating standards to follow throughout the process keeps employees on the same page as well as maintaining the stability of your day to day production.
3. Improved Throughput
Simply put – The more good product or material you can put through your systems, the more profitable your business can be.
4. Real-Time Data
Confidence in your data will support a decision-making process that uses shop floor analytics like never before!
5. Process and Bill of Material Validation
Make sure that everything is being built according to specifications so there is little to no chance of error. Are you using the right components? Are you following the routing to ensure it is built correctly every time? Let your MES do the work for you and make sure it is done right.
6. Real-time Capturing of Defects
If errors do happen, you’ll be able to identify the defect or scrap at the point of failure, not after it’s left the floor like so many times before.
7. Understanding of the tooling, machine and PLC data along with how they affect production results and cycle times
Do you know how your machines are performing? Tracking your parts throughout the manufacturing cycle would not be complete without a comprehensive understanding of everything that contributes to the production of that particular product. Everything that touches that part or has a role in how it is manufactured should be part of your analytics.
8. Process Automation and Visibility
When you can provide automation to an operation or process, you are decreasing the risks for errors substantially. Having a system that supports automation while providing increased visibility to data and trends is a must in today’s competitive environments.
9. Tools that support continuous improvement
Everyone wants to improve their performance related to cycle times, reducing scrap, creating more through-put, etc… A strong MES provides you the tools to identify opportunities and put actions in place to create that continuous improvement environment. Decisions based on the facts that the data is presenting you, take away the guesswork and provide you the tools to be better informed and act accordingly.
“Homegrown” solutions can work for a specific problem and a specific situation, but can be quite limited when it comes to offering a broad range of capabilities.
Overall, it’s not hard to see the benefits of investing in a reliable MES. If you don’t, you risk having a lack of data visibility, a lack of validations that you are building things correctly, a lack of consistency throughout your processes and little to no data insight regarding how your manufacturing operations perform on a regular basis.
If your focus is to do it right the first time and understand how you can continue to improve then an MES is for you.
Download “9 Steps to Accurate Traceability in Manufacturing” ebook.
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