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MES Solutions: More Transparency for Sustainable Production

Digitale Produktion: Transparenz dank MES
How transparent and efficient is your production? With increasingly complex production processes, rising customer expectations and volatile market conditions, it is hardly possible for companies to maintain an overview using "classic data acquisition". But where should you start when Excel and the like have had their day?

A study conducted by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in 2022 shows that around 90% of German companies expect data to become increasingly important in the future.  

If you want to save costs, produce more efficiently and remain competitive in the long term, there is no way around the integration of digital concepts. MES solutions therefore pick up where you reach your limits with manual data acquisition systems.  

In this article, we explain what an MES solution is, what advantages it offers you and what you should bear in mind when introducing it. 

What Are MES Solutions? 

MES stands for Manufacturing Execution System – a system that supports you in the efficient execution of your production. MES solutions enable you to collect, report and check all relevant production data in real-time with the help of software. One example of an MES solution is the MES FASTEC 4 PRO. 

The Smart Factory: MES Solutions & Digitalization  

Digitalization is not a process that can be reduced to corporate communication, modern machines or an online store. To set up your factory digitally, it is important to digitize the processes behind ongoing production as well.  

But even if you are already working with an ERP system: Keeping an overview of all stations within a modern factory, manually recording them in Excel spreadsheets and entering them into the system is a time-consuming task that is highly prone to errors.  

MES solutions, on the other hand, collect objectively measured data, feed it into your existing system via smart interfaces and provide you with meaningful and intuitively comprehensible reports in the shortest possible time – even across departments or locations.

Data Acquisition 2.0: Tasks of an MES Solution 

The basic task of an MES solution is manufacturing execution. This means that the system is something like the visual and mental organ of your production. It records your production data and then visualizes it graphically so that you can analyze and interpret the complex values. 

Modern MES solutions such as the MES FASTEC 4 PRO cover the following areas via various modules:

  •  
  • Machine & Production Data Acquisition 
  • Quality Assurance & Traceability of Production 
  • Maintenance & Availability Planning 

MES-Lösungen ermöglichen es Ihnen, ein kontinuierliches Monitoring und eine detaillierte Analyse Ihrer Fertigung durchzuführen. Auf diese Weise können Sie aus der umfassenden Datenerfassung Erkenntnisse für verschiedenste Abteilungen ziehen, wie z.B. auch das Material- oder Personalmanagement.  

Advantages of an MES Solution: Bring Transparency to Your Production Processes

MES solutions enable you to carry out continuous monitoring and detailed analysis of your production. In this way, you can draw insights for a wide range of departments, such as materials or personnel management, from the comprehensive data acquisition. 

  • Transparency through centralized data acquisition: In every manufacturing company, production processes have a far-reaching impact on all departments. With the help of MES solutions, you can record production data centrally, report on it and make it available globally. This gives you the transparency you need to recognize complex relationships and draw the right conclusions. 
  • Informed decisions through data-based facts: Business-relevant decisions should only be made on the basis of reliable facts. An MES solution collects data from your production and reports it in such a way that you can make informed decisions based on the analysis. With data-based facts as a basis for decision-making, you minimize risks and act in direct exchange with your production –instead of using theoretical concepts or assumptions.   
  • Intuitive reports for all departments: Many companies already have a quantity of data, but do not know how to process it productively. The MES FASTEC 4 PRO relies on intuitive visualizations that you can understand and use even without prior technical knowledge. This means that the knowledge gained can be used across departments, e.g. also in administration or for management.
  • Identify sources of error & optimize processes: In complex production processes, even the smallest modifications can have a far-reaching effect. If you value your production data with an MES solution, you can identify inconsistencies and sources of error in production at a glance and optimize your processes sustainably. In this way, you save costs and use your resources more efficiently. 
  • Detect & rectify faults in real-time: Despite the proactive identification and elimination of error sources, unforeseeable faults can also occur in any production line. As MES solutions read and report data in real-time, you can detect irregularities immediately, react without delay and eliminate the source of the error. 
  • Paperless & accelerated communication: With the help of an MES solution, you not only digitize your production data, but can also handle communication around the report and the resulting decisions quickly and paperlessly. Whether order information, applications or documents – you can map and organize everything clearly via the system.  
  • Manage production & resources cost-effectively: MES solutions give you transparency at all levels of production as a first step. From this, you can then derive unused potential to optimize your processes, eliminate errors before they occur and use your resources more efficiently. MES solutions thus become your most important tool for saving costs and expanding your operational excellence.

Would you like to find out more about how your company can benefit from MES solutions? Then simply find out online about the modules and Additional Functions of our MES solution FASTEC 4 PRO. 

Functionality & Industries: The Use of an MES Solution Simply Explained

We have been supporting manufacturing companies since 1995 with the MES solution FASTEC 4 PRO in their digital transformation in order to optimize workflows and reduce their production costs. However, many of our customers initially face the challenge that they lack the internal know-how and time to deal with the right solution for an MES system.  

That is why we would like to use our MES solution as an example to explain how the setup process works and in which industries you can use such software.  

Step-by-Step: Introducing an MES System with FASTEC  

In order to successfully introduce MES solutions, we rely on a step-by-step approach: 

  1. Analysis: First, our experts analyze the initial situation in your production to find out what requirements you have for an MES solution and which functions and modules you can benefit from the most. 

  2. Planning: Based on the analysis, we work with you to develop a concept for the modular structure and introduction of your individual MES solution.

  3. Test Phase: Based on the concept, we configure your MES solution step by step and test the various modules and functions for their practical suitability in your company.  

  4. Rollout: Once the finished MES solution is in place, we take over the complete rollout of the software and all other components in your company. 

  5. Training: To ensure that you can make full use of the MES solution, we train your employees across all departments in how to use the software. 

For many companies, however, the process is not yet complete with the introduction of MES solutions. That’s why we continue to support you after the rollout with our support service – by telephone or via remote maintenance if required. 

From Toys to Automotive: MES Solutions for All Industries 

Modern MES solutions such as FASTEC 4 PRO act as a framework that can be flexibly adapted to the needs of different industries. Thanks to the high level of configurability and flexible interfaces, we cooperate with companies from a wide range of sectors.  

These include, for example, the food industry, plastics or metal processing, filling or packaging with line production or data acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry.

Modular & Flexible: How to Find the Right MES Solution for Your Factory  

Damit Sie von MES-Lösungen profitieren, sollte sich nicht Ihre Fabrik an die Software, sondern die Software an Ihre Fabrik anpassen. Sind Sie noch auf der Suche nach dem passenden Anbieter für Ihre Datenerfassungs-Automation, empfehlen wir Ihnen auf folgende Kriterien zu achten: 

  • Modular Design: To meet your individual needs, MES solutions should have a modular structure. This allows you to include all the functions you need without having to pay for modules you don’t need. FASTEC 4 PRO therefore relies on a basic module, for example, which you can expand with additional functions such as machine data acquisition software or a traceability tool.
  • Flexible Interfaces: Modern MES solutions can be integrated into your existing control, ERP or PPS systems via flexible interfaces. FASTEC 4 PRO is compatible with every machine, all common ERP systems and, of course, SAP via a wide range of interface options.  
  • Individual Consulting: As MES solutions are complex products, you should insist on individual and objective consulting. This is the only way to ensure that you get the greatest possible benefit for your company from your investment. 

You are not yet sure whether it is worth investing in an MES solution for your company? With the easyOEE potential analysis, you can determine the OEE value of your system cost-effectively, quickly and without obligation and find out whether MES solutions are worthwhile for you.

Stay Competitive & Save Costs with MES Solutions from FASTEC 

Digitalization holds far-reaching potential for manufacturing companies that still remains untapped in many factories. Even if collecting data is certainly already standard practice for you, the information is often still collected manually and within the department – automatic recording on a central platform and meaningful reports are not possible! 

This is where MES solutions come in. With an innovative MES solution, you not only collect data centrally, but also evaluate it objectively and make the results available across departments. With the help of the knowledge gained, you can tap into unused potential, optimize processes and save costs through more efficient production. 

With our experience from more than 400 customer projects, we have developed the MES solution FASTEC 4 PRO. The modular software is compatible with all common machines and ERP systems and is easy to use. Our team of experts will support you from the conception and setup to the individual configuration of your software.  

How Can We Support You in Digitalizing Your Production?

Not only have we compiled all the important information about FASTEC 4 PRO for you online, you can also book a non-binding initial consultation directly on request. 

 

Author: Anne Gebhard

Design and Content Manager
Since 2019 experience in content creation for digitization projects in factories, close cooperation with sales and customers.

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