MES Systems: The Secret To Manufacturing Success

[@MarioGonsalesIshikawa]

Well said. A well suited MES that does exactly what the company needs is way better than an expensive MES that does not do what the company needs with precision and comes with a bunch of other non needed tools.

[@4.0Solutions]

Totally!

[@smartercircuits]

Honestly, I started watching your videos when I was first researching MQTT for home automation applications, but a lot of this stuff makes me wish I could transition into IIoT. I'm a Senior SWE presently, but I've always wanted to be where the rubber hits the road and the machines start to make things happen. Great presentation and kudos to your behind the cameras crew!

[@4.0Solutions]

Thank you for the kind words ❤️

[@andrewkibor9581]

I've always loved these kind of videos more so because their information is hardly available anywhere else on the internet due to their objective nature. Awesome.

[@4.0Solutions]

Glad you like them! There is more to come!

[@walkerreynolds973]

Andrew -- thank you.

[@amandamckenzie8317]

We have Oracle. And use many of the modules pretty successfully. So MES is part of that. With all modules having connectivity to ERP, Planning, ASCP, Demantra, warehouse, inventory, etc. working to expand digital integration using Thingworx , Tableau, etc

[@technocrat827]

Hi, excellent input. really liked it. Just a minor feedback on video quality, the screen contents are little blur not recognizable. Thanks.

[@4.0Solutions]

Thanks for the feedback. We'll see what we can do for the future.

[@dreamingpub]

Mate; I wish I had the prerequisites for your courses. we are going thru digital transformation or trying to. the more I watch your content the more I am convinced the integrators are take me for a ride. Appreciate the content.

[@4.0Solutions]

We're glad to help Mike. Our Mentorship program focuses on developing the technical skills necessary to be a technical resource in Digital Transformation. You can take a look at the program here: iiot.university/mentorship-program

[@abuimran1292]

Nice video. nowaday erp has many modules integrated internally eg generate work order, production, inventory etc. But data input from OT systems either manual or integrate with erp. What is your comment on this? How to architecture of IT and OT not forgeting security😁? Tq

[@yaya1322]

Interesting view indeed, thanks for sharing. Will it be possible to share your experience on new Gen MES like Tulip interfaces and others which come with foundational and basic MES capabilities but provide low code platform to build custom applications to fit the business need?

[@walkerreynolds973]

Happy to -- a little sneak peak. I will be visiting Tulip in the next month or so and documenting the trip for KZbin and iiot.university courses. Right now, it looks like we will do it the week of May15th.

[@andrewmackley1700]

Late to the party! I;ve been doing MES with Emerson Syncade over DeltaV and Siemens OpCenter over PCS7 (and some Werum PasX thrown in) for the last 20 years (in life science primary manufacturing). What you described here is far lower level than anything we've ever had to done. Somewhere there is a disconnect between what you described in this video and what we/I've been doing. No custom code (apart from some ERP, LIMs interfacing). Now most of what we do is for execution - not for oversight. Batch execution is the primary reason for all the config, backed up with electronic logbooks, material tracking - not dash boarding/overviews - is that the difference between the "hand cranked" build an MES you described here vs off the shelf? Hope this doesnt come across as trolling - I am genuinely interested why what you described doesnt match with what I've seen

[@eduardomendoza3212]

I agree with Andrew, opcenter execution can handle that with no problem. Also all the graphs and overview dhasboards can be done with opcenter intelligence , everything out of the box

[@SureshSundar-d9n]

@andrewmackley1700 you are asking the right question, but you are asking the wrong person. I recently came across his profile on LinkedIn and found that he lacks knowledge about MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and its importance. It seems like he believes that he knows everything, but he does not truly understand the questions he is being asked. He should be ignored.

[@meixi2002]

Using UHF/RFID is the key to MES tracking real time, engaging workers and controlling the process

[@belleflamm]

Starting with ask Rockwell ask Siemens ask Wonderware and end up proposing ignition with sepasoft… without having a clear understanding on how to solve the cells that gives information and those which aren’t. This could be an issue even do you build your own mes. I think if I use other software lets take ww + their off the shelf mes, I’ll end up with the same possibilites to create different cells and represent them as I want. I’m always following your ideas but here I’m not sure I agree

[@walkerreynolds973]

Think of it this way -- its about modularity for function as opposed to stack for function. In the example in this video, the OEE analysis was done by a Sepasoft engine -- installed as a module, with the ability to interact with the data and information models it needs through a UNS, consumed by the IIoT Platform. The analysis function is a Sepasoft module, the OEE function is custom, downtime tracking is a template, work orders is a template, scheduling is custom. There were no pre-defined objects.events to map to. The MES capabilities are a representation of the reality on the plant floor, not an abstraction to fit a pre-defined model.

[@4.0Solutions]

Any MES is dependent on the quality and accessibility of the data you have available for it. That is true.

[@belleflamm]

Yes, but there are mes software out there which propose a modularity approach with recipe management, batch management or other. Whenever you standardize your data in your scada or iiot platform using uns or not, this could be possible. Most of the modules will be connected through internal protocols or open industrial protocol like mqtt or opcua. So again not sure I agree with the proposition. It all depends on how modular and open is your mes. Perhaps, in your case sepasoft and ignition weren’t open and modular enough

[@walkerreynolds973]

@@belleflamm All pre-built functions start with an object, all objects have definitions. If the definition doesn't fit the reality on the floor (for example, state isn't state, its a list of alarms, or its a NO bool where 0 = Stopped, 1 = Running) then one has to fit the square peg into the round hole. Think about it -- software developers rarely have actual manufacturing experience -- when they are designing a software function to sell to many manufacturers, they make assumptions about how manufacturers do things -- and those assumptions are occasionally right for some and mostly wrong for others -- and even in the cases where they are right for one use-case, they may have been wrong for the same use-case in a different area of the same organization. At the end of the day, this is one primary reason manufacturers go through a 'maturity journey' when it comes to MES. Paper to Buy to Build. Its almost always the same journey. We worked with a large Pharma company in 2020 -- they had spent north of $25M on Pharmasuite, off the shelf for Life Sciences (about as standard as it gets -- a bio-reactor is a bio-reactor is a bio-reactor, as long as you can account for deltas in telemetry, you're golden) and even they came to the same conclusion. The 20% edge cases couldn't be covered with the square hole -- and the vendor focused on lock in over interoperability. They looked at the 12 year rollout schedule, the $50M in additional expenditure and pulled the plug -- and put $6M into a 2 year rollout of their own MES built in an IIoT Platform, covering 100% of their capability needs.

[@pjonadventures3073]

Wanna get your opinion on Factory Works MES. This seems off the shelf but allows customization and addition of business rules in it. Thanks

[@walkerreynolds973]

I was asked to review FW+ and after an initial look, I chose not to. We have specific technical rules for iiot platforms -- edge driven, report by exception, open architecture and FW+ did not meet any of those minimum requirements. The team at FW knows MES use cases for Life Sciences and Semiconductor, but their platform did not make it past the initial review.

[@pjonadventures3073]

@@walkerreynolds973 ahh that is probably why i rarely hear them or being mentioned. Thank you

[@youriregnaud8461]

Nice. What do you think about split back-end & API (aka back-end for front-end) and front-end solutions? For example combine a headless MES as LibreMfg and a no-code platform as Tulip to build with no code apps/UX? (And of course Highbyte)

[@walkerreynolds973]

Good question -- the short answer is I don't see the necessity in most use-cases for back-end for front-end when informative namespaces serve the same purpose. That is, an informative namespace is an abstraction for data and information to inform consumers -- either in dashboards or software consumers. The namespace, itself, is built upon the layer that acts as our API (MQTT). The long answer is -- there is real power in split back-end and API, which is why I'm a big fan of GraphQL's mechanisms for mapping data infrastructure. The long answer is more complicated than that, even. Scalability, agility, time to value -- are all key elements in DT. And I think we create technical debt if the split back-end and API approach is managed wrong. As orgs get smarter through digital transformation, what they want changes exponentially -- as a function of their knowledge. It is very important that the infrastructure is optimized for short time to value and agility for the end-user over scalable and manageable for the developer. No code and low code is limited by the assumptions the platform developers make -- best case, low code/no code gives us 50 - 70% of the solutions we need, for all others -- we must develop from our infrastructure out. Had a great chat with Erik today -- looking forward to touring Tulip's facility shortly. Great comment.

[@4.0Solutions]

Good questions for discussion, Youri. Will chew on it for another video.

[@fant_joy]

I am so impressed with the video! Nice job 🎉Thank you!

[@4.0Solutions]

Thank you so much! We're glad to help!

[@serdargokay2503]

Is the bootcamp you mentioned offline or online? Does it also include how to design database for MES

[@4.0Solutions]

It's online. And yes. it does include that. We are going to do an MES Bootcamp Accelerator Group here pretty soon as well.

[@Hel1umYT]

What do you think about Siemens MindSphere as an IIOT platform? I am currently working on Digitalizing Robotic devices my company builds for clients and I want to collect data from them for predictive maintenance and design/functionality upgrades but I am not sure which IIOT Platform should I use or if I should build my own? If you have a video already talking about IIOT Platforms please let me know.

[@walkerreynolds973]

I like Mindsphere -- but it isn't my first choice (its the best of the platforms from the major players but it isn't THE best for most use cases). Which platform you select is based on your needs -- specifically your digital strategy, architecture and minimum technical requirements. I can give you a better answer with some more info. You can get in touch with our team at www.iiot.university/contact and they can set up a an intro call.

[@ShaneWelcher]

Thank you

[@4.0Solutions]

You're welcome!

[@lkatsmeow]

Would you not start by modeling a data collection event? Many types of data collection events will exist but each needs to get to the data store. That data can then be formatted, shaped, calculated, aggregated, contextualized, etc. Then cells, lines, areas would interpret their data as needed.

[@tinyminiwargamer8674]

Loving all the videos, just curious if u could review MPDV? I believe it’s off the shelf but they seem to have so many functions and it seems interesting.

[@walkerreynolds973]

Happy to - I have some great stories on MPDV. Stay tuned.

[@tinyminiwargamer8674]

@@walkerreynolds973 thanks, looking forward to it!! :)

[@biotechfordummies6591]

Would a MES like “sepasoft “ be a great option for a biotech company that uses ignition SCADA and can mes help with equipment management too? I wonder if sepasoft plays well with netsuite ? Thanks for the vid

[@walkerreynolds973]

There is no short answer to this question -- the short answer is 'yes' but with some caveats and qualifications. What you use sepasoft for and how you architect the infrastructure and capabilities will make all the difference. Sepasoft integrates with Netsuite via their web dev module over REST. I can give you a more comprehensive answer if we have a chat.

[@georgeo9554]

Nice presentation. I learned about MES when an organization asked me to apply for an opening as Sql server Database administrator in MES. I am not sure how i can learn more about it. Pls share if you can help.

[@4.0Solutions]

You need to take our MES Bootcamp, and then you will be able to crush that job. www.iiot.university/store

[@svensonrademaker]

I see a lot of manufacturing companies that use paper-based or digital paper-based MES. They produce high-tech / complex equipment and machines in low volumes with a lot of manual assembly operations. What will be the best strategy in this case for building an MES ? * You stated they don't go from paper-based to iiot based in one go... so this is why I ask

[@svensonrademaker]

Great video BTW ❤

[@walkerreynolds973]

I touch on this in part 2 - next whiteboard video.

[@nikonikon7619]

Im not expert in the field but can you build custom mes system with ptc thingworx iot platform? What is your opinion on thingworx compared to Siemens iiot?

[@walkerreynolds973]

The answer is -- you could, but it wouldn't be worth it. ROI can better be captured using other platforms. I like TWX but only for enterprise level dashboarding. The 'Things' stack just makes it problematic in open architecture. Big fans of Siemens IoT.

[@nikonikon7619]

@@walkerreynolds973 thank you for the reply👍 Yeah twx is probably more suited for enterprise lvl than mes

[@ZackScriven]

Amazing content. 🔥

[@walkerreynolds973]

Thanks, Zack. I am always hesitant to do any technical content on YT -- even if I'm just talking basic object integration -- they don't seem to perform well. Its why we stay high level on YT and do all of the technical weeds on iiot.university. You can even see the delta -- 600 students on iiot.university, 20k+ on YT.

[@4.0Solutions]

Thank you 🙌

[@belleflamm]

@@walkerreynolds973 please continue these kind of videos. The community needs it ! You could have all the YT folks in your training platform if it was for free 😅

[@walkerreynolds973]

@@belleflamm thank you!

[@4.0Solutions]

💯❤️

[@nghiapham2192]

Can you point me to the video that you explain about all software for industrial manufacturing, I would like to understand more about what is the Red color of CRM AR/AP SHIPPING WMS meaning , etc , I tried to search all other videos but end up with no specific video for it , Thanks you

[@4.0Solutions]

The IIoT / Industry 4.0 Rant is a good video that covers software at all the layers in the manufacturing workflow. have you seen that one?

[@nghiapham2192]

@@4.0Solutions Yes it is exactly what I am looking for . Thanks Sir

[@Rafael-vu2xn]

Great content, much appreciated !

[@4.0Solutions]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@abdelrahmanalzariqi5137]

Great thank you,

[@nikhuge6580]

Where does these mes and erp softwares reside? In the cloud or at the edge? Does the Manufacturer fully own these softwares and the Data collected by them?

[@4.0Solutions]

In our MES Bootcamp we use Ignition (Inductive Automation) as the open-source SCADA and IIOT software to build our MES with, along with HiveMQ as the MQTT broker, which can be installed on the edge or in the cloud. So yes, both the custom software build and the data is owned by the manufacturer.

[@tomazvidonja4458]

​@@4.0Solutions I wonder if the frontline operations plaform from Tulip would be the good choice to build "basic" MES with adding later some other functions, like SPC etc.? What would be the cons and pros?

[@lalitavibhandik7595]

Nice

[@4.0Solutions]

We thought so... Very nice 😏

[@madellapan]

Too generalized statements in this video. THERE ARE MES solutions off the shelf that offer the ability to provide this without writing your own. Build your own and you should think about Cost = Design, development, test, upgrades, resources to maintain, Single source knowledge (what happens if your resources who built leave the company?). We have seen it time again where people create a time bomb. However, sometimes it is the best option because not everyone can afford an OTS MES. Appreciate your videos but make sure you don't commit this is 100% the answer for everyone. OTS does serve a purpose.

[@4.0Solutions]

Thank you for commenting!

[@anchitgupta2608]

Sir i am indian

[@youssefinconnu1554]

I think you should change the way you make your videos, cause poeple wants to see and clearly read information on the screen , not your head or your shoulders...this for improvement

[@4.0Solutions]

We moved back to using the light board, so he no longer blocks what he writes!