2 min read
The Manufacturing Stream Podcast Debuts
The Manufacturing Stream Podcast, hosted by Eric Whitley and Phil Anderson from Autoliv, is a valuable resource for...
February 25, 2021
In my 30 years of manufacturing, I've come across many different acronyms for various processes and software systems that are used within a facility. In fact, a lot of plants that I've gone into have their own handbook of acronyms that they use each day in the plant.
If you want to keep up in meetings, you better learn these quickly or you might be left behind.
I have been guilty of just throwing around acronyms and thinking everyone involved knows what they are. And I have also been left in the dust, only to stop and interrupt the synergy of the meeting by asking what they stand for.
But the main ones that you normally hear, at least for software, are ERP, MES, LES, MOM, CMMS, MRP, PLM, along with many others that are used to support the plant. I want to talk about two of the main ones that are used and the differences between them. ERP and MES. These two are used in almost every manufacturing facility every day.
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. And it's kind of like the brain of your factory. It ties together many of the other business processes within the plant and enables the flow of information between them. It's the financial engine for the facility and includes:
So, ERP software is very good at purchasing, planning, and managing the resources who work in the plant. Oh, and not to forget, paying the bills to keep the lights on. Also, it is a storage of the data and reporting on key financial KPIs so management can make decisions on where to improve. Those are the primary things the ERP system does, along with a number of other details, depending on the add on modules the ERP company may also offer.
MES stands for Manufacturing Execution System. MES is used to monitor the product being made on the floor through the machine and sends the data to other systems and to servers for storage. Many companies like to custom build out their MES systems so that they can track in greater detail the specifics of the product that's being made. The main points you need to know about an MES system and what they are really good at are:
These two manufacturing systems have a lot of crossovers between them in how they track the flow of the product through the plant. Most companies need a blend of the two in order to gain the most efficient way to run the factory. They need to be able to talk to each other, collect data, and present the information for those who need to make decisions.
I like to compare the many different software systems used in a plant to an automobile. A car is made up of many different components made by many different manufactures, and then brought together to get the best customer experience possible. With that said, you can think of the main body of the car as the people who built the product at the plant. The engine could be an ERP system. Then the MES is the transmission. Of course, there are many other components of the vehicle, just like there are many other software systems used to maintain the plant. Steering, gas, and brakes could be your Lean Execution System (LES), in harmony with others to help support and track progress in the plant.
So the difference between an ERP and an MES and what they do best is:
Now, when you're thinking of making a change or even going in a new direction in these systems, make sure you know what you need first. Start small and always use the evolutionary approach. It's always better to start simple than to use the revolutionary rip and replace strategy which will usually fail.
Start where you're at and let the problems and the data tell you where you need to focus and build upon that for improvements. You can spend a lot of time and money developing these two systems, both of which are limited resources for plants.
Hopefully, you learned something new here and the next time you’re in a meeting and you hear them talking about the ERP you can think, "Hey, I know what that does, it’s like the car’s engine." The financial engine, that is.😊
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