Context. Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) are information systems that manage manufacturing processes in factories. The execution of MES processes requires non-enterprise integration, which integrates MES applications, services, and automation systems within the factories. Objectives. We aim at developing a modeling approach that can be used to represent and execute MES processes. Having such an approach would help MES vendors to reduce the development cost to reconfigure systems, in order to achieve better business flexibility. Methods. In order to understand the state of the art of manufacturing modeling techniques, we perform a systematic literature review (SLR) in scientific article sources, including IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Compendex, Inspec, and Springer Link. In consideration of the criteria in modeling and executing MES processes, we evaluate the selected process modeling techniques. Based on the result of evaluation, we propose a three-view-based approach to support process execution. We develop a prototype to prove that an MES process can be executed by following our approach. We also conduct semi-structured interviews in industry to validate whether our proposed approach achieves the objectives. Results. In the SLR, 24 primary studies are selected. Our analysis reveals that existing modeling techniques have limitations to enable process execution. To overcome the limitation, we propose a three-view-based approach, which has an MES process view, an abstract plant view to represent the structure of technical systems, and a mapping view to enable the communication between MES tasks and the technical systems. We develop a prototype as the implementation of our approach, which comprises: a graphical editor for the abstract plant view, a generator of message routes for the mapping view, and a typical MES process to be executed in the context of a warehouse management system. The semi-structured interviews we conducted with three industrial experts show positive feedback to use and generalize our approach in industry, in case comprehensive tools can be established. Conclusions. Compared to the existing modeling techniques, the three-view-based approach is specifically tailored toward process execution. Based on the feedback from industry, we conclude that applying our approach provides the possibility to achieve better reconfigurability and flexibility of MES.

The concept of Operational decision making is not new, but in the context of Enterprise Resource Planning implementation as is the case at PFK Electronics (PTY) Ltd., it becomes part of what ERP process that makes organisations more competitive and profitable as Wallace and Kremzar (2001) comment, "Effective forecasting, planning, and scheduling is fundamental to productivity and ERP is a fundamental way to achieve it. Properly implementing ERP will give you a competitive advantage and help you run your business more effectively, efficiently and responsively." The Operational decision making process that forms part of the research question is a process known as Sales and Operational Planning process (SOP's). The research paper is looking at how Real Time Shop floor information can impact on the decision making process, as Wallace and Kremzar (2001 : 165) state that this is the most important element in making ERP systems work. The study looks at what information is required to make effective decisions in the SOP's process and how the respondents perceive information quality, its value and the impact on decision making in the SOP's process. The research sought to further investigate a diverse demographic population, the behavioural culture within the organisation and their perception on having this information in real time directly from the shop floor. Data was collected via a survey questionnaire and an interview process which also required the review of organisational documentation where available. The research aimed to investigate what information Operations (SOP's) need to make effective decisions to meet the organisational strategic objectives and to determine the best means of obtaining and communicating the information to managers. Developing this further the research was then broken down into three objectives: • To investigate 'what' information sales and operations managers need in order to make effective decisions that will have an impact on them meeting strategic performance objectives. • To evaluate 'how' real time shop floor information can improve the decision making process in Operations in meeting strategic objectives; by understanding the types and methods used in decision making and the significance of time on information. • To recommend suitable Information Communication Technology (ICT) systems to obtain and communicate information to managers effectively within operations. During this process time constraints were of a concern, which manifested in objective three not being able to be completed to the satisfaction of the researcher. However the research process, which included the survey and interviews of respondents, the researcher felt that respondents where honest and open in expressing their views which adds to the validity and reliability of the research. The results showed that there was a clear understanding of the topic amongst the respondents. It showed that the respondents had a good understanding of information and its importance in meeting strategic objectives by making better decisions. It became clear that ERP was generally working well but that timeliness of information was the biggest obstacle in meeting strategic objectives in balancing supply and demand. The research identified the information necessary for the SOP's process to be effective and it also showed the impact of having real time shop floor information available to the decision making process. It also showed that there would be other benefits as performance could also be improved by having real time performance indicators that are used to set the pace and common goal. The report also identified some cultural differences between PFK electronics culture and NUMSA unionised employees culture and the impact it has on relationships and communication. The report concludes with the research question being answered and with a recommendation that the single most important means of improving operational effectiveness is going to be to improve the quality of information used in decision making. The research has shown that getting this information in 'real time' or as close as possible to real time is the best means of improving the quality of information and its impact on management decisions. It is further recommended to investigate the implementation of systems such as Manufacturing Execution Systems to link the shop floor directly into the current ERP system and lastly to find a means of bridging the cultural differences between NUMSA unionised employees and PFK behavioural culture. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.A.

The concept of Operational decision making is not new, but in the context of Enterprise Resource Planning implementation as is the case at PFK Electronics (PTY) Ltd., it becomes part of what ERP process that makes organisations more competitive and profitable as Wallace and Kremzar (2001) comment, "Effective forecasting, planning, and scheduling is fundamental to productivity and ERP is a fundamental way to achieve it. Properly implementing ERP will give you a competitive advantage and help you run your business more effectively, efficiently and responsively." The Operational decision making process that forms part of the research question is a process known as Sales and Operational Planning process (SOP's). The research paper is looking at how Real Time Shop floor information can impact on the decision making process, as Wallace and Kremzar (2001 : 165) state that this is the most important element in making ERP systems work. The study looks at what information is required to make effective decisions in the SOP's process and how the respondents perceive information quality, its value and the impact on decision making in the SOP's process. The research sought to further investigate a diverse demographic population, the behavioural culture within the organisation and their perception on having this information in real time directly from the shop floor. Data was collected via a survey questionnaire and an interview process which also required the review of organisational documentation where available. The research aimed to investigate what information Operations (SOP's) need to make effective decisions to meet the organisational strategic objectives and to determine the best means of obtaining and communicating the information to managers. Developing this further the research was then broken down into three objectives: • To investigate 'what' information sales and operations managers need in order to make effective decisions that will have an impact on them meeting strategic performance objectives. • To evaluate 'how' real time shop floor information can improve the decision making process in Operations in meeting strategic objectives; by understanding the types and methods used in decision making and the significance of time on information. • To recommend suitable Information Communication Technology (ICT) systems to obtain and communicate information to managers effectively within operations. During this process time constraints were of a concern, which manifested in objective three not being able to be completed to the satisfaction of the researcher. However the research process, which included the survey and interviews of respondents, the researcher felt that respondents where honest and open in expressing their views which adds to the validity and reliability of the research. The results showed that there was a clear understanding of the topic amongst the respondents. It showed that the respondents had a good understanding of information and its importance in meeting strategic objectives by making better decisions. It became clear that ERP was generally working well but that timeliness of information was the biggest obstacle in meeting strategic objectives in balancing supply and demand. The research identified the information necessary for the SOP's process to be effective and it also showed the impact of having real time shop floor information available to the decision making process. It also showed that there would be other benefits as performance could also be improved by having real time performance indicators that are used to set the pace and common goal. The report also identified some cultural differences between PFK electronics culture and NUMSA unionised employees culture and the impact it has on relationships and communication. The report concludes with the research question being answered and with a recommendation that the single most important means of improving operational effectiveness is going to be to improve the quality of information used in decision making. The research has shown that getting this information in 'real time' or as close as possible to real time is the best means of improving the quality of information and its impact on management decisions. It is further recommended to investigate the implementation of systems such as Manufacturing Execution Systems to link the shop floor directly into the current ERP system and lastly to find a means of bridging the cultural differences between NUMSA unionised employees and PFK behavioural culture. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.A.

Submitted by Alisson Mota (alisson.davidbeckam@gmail.com) on 2015-06-24T20:25:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Antonio Marcos da Silva.pdf: 4146290 bytes, checksum: 8bd297cdc939c3378179da1ae3277a97 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-06-29T19:33:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Antonio Marcos da Silva.pdf: 4146290 bytes, checksum: 8bd297cdc939c3378179da1ae3277a97 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-06-29T19:41:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Antonio Marcos da Silva.pdf: 4146290 bytes, checksum: 8bd297cdc939c3378179da1ae3277a97 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-29T19:41:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Antonio Marcos da Silva.pdf: 4146290 bytes, checksum: 8bd297cdc939c3378179da1ae3277a97 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-28 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research present the use of MES System in the systematic application of Knowledge Management in an electronic product manufacturing company, implanted in an environment of constantly increasing competitiveness with technological innovations that generate instability in a market with life cycle of products and services ever getting smaller, with more demanding consumers, unstable demands and small profitability, that characterize a behavior of complex and adaptive organization. Maximization of profitability occurs fundamentally through the reduction of manufacturing cost, which represents, in general, 20% of the final cost of the product, where the remaining relates to components and raw materials. The manufacturing costs can be reduced through the elimination of losses and rationalization of flow of the production process, with application of knowledge management in achieving improvement and innovations for necessary adaptation ahead of internal (industrial) and external (market) changes. It’s a fact that, the assembling of most parts of electronic products involve a process of various stages, the purpose of the research was the bottleneck stage of the process which relies on resources of significant values and highly skilled operators. Even with all its significance to the production chain many weaknesses were identified which were not perceived based on realities of the past. These points were corrected with application of the proposed methodology and the results prove the relevance of the MES tool for development and consolidation of the organizational competitiveness. / Essa pesquisa mostra o uso do Sistema Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) na aplicação sistêmica da Gestão do Conhecimento em uma empresa de manufatura de produtos eletrônicos, inserida em um ambiente de competitividade crescente com inovações tecnológicas frequentes. Esse quadro gera instabilidade no mercado devido ao fato de produtos e serviços apresentarem ciclo de vida cada vez menores, de consumidores serem mais exigentes, de haver demandas instáveis num contexto de pequena rentabilidade, o que caracteriza um comportamento de organizações complexas e adaptativas. A maximização da rentabilidade ocorre fundamentalmente através da redução do custo de manufatura, pois esse item representa, em geral, 20% do custo final do produto, ao passo que o restante refere-se a componentes e insumos commodities. Tal redução apresenta como pressupostos a eliminação de perdas e a racionalização do fluxo do processo produtivo, com aplicação da gestão do conhecimento na obtenção de melhorias e inovações para as adaptações necessárias diante das mudanças internas (fabril) e externas (mercado). Em decorrência de a montagem de grande parte dos produtos eletrônicos apresentarem um fluxo de processos com várias etapas, o objeto da pesquisa foi a fase gargalo do processo que conta com os recursos de valores expressivos e operadores mais capacitados. Mesmo com toda essa significância para a cadeia produtiva identificaram-se muitos pontos frágeis, antes despercebidos, com base na realidade anterior. Tais pontos foram corrigidos com a aplicação da metodologia proposta, com os resultados comprovando a relevância do uso da ferramenta MES para o desenvolvimento e consolidação da competitividade da organização.

A tool management system for a job shop was developed in this study. The system is based on the rules of the plant of T&uuml / rk Trakt&ouml / r ve Ziraat Makineleri A.S. in Ankara. An object-oriented methodology was used during the system development. Unified Modeling Language (UML), which is the standard diagramming notation for object-oriented development, is used to model the system. Entity-Relation (E-R) modeling is used during the construction of the database. System was developed using three-tiered Microsoft Windows Distributed Internet Applications (DNA) Architecture. Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual InterDev 6.0, which are the members of Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 were used as programming tools. Internet Information Server was used as web server and Microsoft Transaction Server was used as object broker. Microsoft SQL Server was used as database server. Software was developed in three modules: gage-fixture, cutting tool-tool holder and tool requirement plan modules. Gage- fixture module tracks the location of measuring equipment, fixture and fixture assemblies / keeps the related data about these tools and manage calibration of the measuring equipments. Cutting tool-tool holder module tracks the issue and return of cutting tools and tool holders / sharpening of cutting tools / keeps the related data about these tools. Tool requirement plan module tracks the purchase orders and cutting tool receivings from vendors / prepares tool requirement plan and suggests purchase orders according to the requirement calculation.

The priorities of executing the manufacturing orders generated by an MRP system are often in operational conflicts with the dynamics of the manufacturing floor. It is not uncommon for a given manufacturing order to reach the shop floor several weeks or longer after being "opened" by an MRP system where it may face a chaotic case of large queues, machine down-time, parts shortage, scrap problems and other resource management constraints. Many companies have resorted to the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software solution to resolve these problems. This method first gained popularity in mid-90’s within the semiconductor industry. An MES approach is an on-line, real-time data gathering, analysis and storage to assist in short-interval scheduling (shift or day) manufacturing operations with an emphasis on revising scheduling priorities. It is essentially an information system tool for the shop floor and if designed properly, it may be used as an advisory system for effective decision-making. However, in implementation MES faces several challenges including the proper software platform/architecture, integration within ERP or a stand-alone best-of-breed, amount and type of data/information to be exchanged with the MRP engine, and a user-centered interface for various layers of decision making. This paper will provide a detailed background on various technical, software, and organizational factors that the use of an MES implementation may impose upon the practitioner. Furthermore, and as a case study, it will discuss a systematic implementation strategy for MES at a high-tech company in California. The discussion of the critical success factors in implementation planning will hopefully be of value to both practitioners and researchers in similar projects.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.

The increasing importance of computer leads to develop new manufacturing methods. One of the most important example / &ldquo / unmanned shop floor&rdquo / model aims, the mankind can work in jobs that they can be more efficient and more comfortable. As the base of this model, in Middle East Technical University Computer Integrated Manufacturing Laboratory (METUCIM) &ldquo / Agent Version 1.1&rdquo / system is developed. Windows Distributed Internet Applications (DNA) modeling technique is used for the software development. In the developed system, by using web pages, one can give work orders to the flexible manufacturing cell in METUCIM. The manufacturing capabilities of the cell are limited by the capabilities of CNC Lathe and CNC Milling machine that exist in the system. By the developed agent based dynamic scheduling method, it is prevented to be only an experimental system for the manufacturing cell. The real manufacturing environment is adapted to the cell that it is possible to give unlimited number of work orders. The work orders can be queued and manufactured according to their &ldquo / priorities&rdquo / . By the &ldquo / web-cam&rdquo / application the given work orders can be watched from the web site so the system reliability is increased for the engineer. In the real manufacturing environment it is very frequent that the &ldquo / urgent part&rdquo / is needed to manufacture. In this system it is possible to give &ldquo / urgent orders&rdquo / for these situations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:05:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3127.pdf: 25890453 bytes, checksum: d4cbd429325861ff182934e97ff94c28 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-20 / Manufacturing systems with shared resources have been designed to meet the market needs, which require high quality products, low cost and the guarantee of the conditions agreed with the customer. The production scheduling in a manufacturing system is a complex task due to its combinatorial nature. Several studies show the use of search methods, such as Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and Tabu Search (TS), applied to the refinement of the production scheduling problem. The GAs present as disadvantages, the premature convergence, the lack of search intensification mechanisms in promising regions and also the lack of mechanisms which maintain the diversification of the population. In order to make GAs more effective in their search, by avoiding the premature convergence and ensuring the population diversity, some mechanisms are added to them so as to adjust their parameters during the search process, the so called Adaptative Genetic Algorithms (AGAs). However, these mechanisms do not guarantee the search intensification in the promising regions found. On the other hand, the TS presents mechanisms of search intensification and diversification, although its computational time depends on how optimal its initial solution is (solution by which the search process starts). In order to overcome the limitations of the traditional search methods, the Hybrid Algorithms (HAs) have been developed. They consist of the association of one method with another so that one helps the other in its deficiencies . This dissertation proposes the development of a Genetic-Tabu Algorithm (GTA) applied to the problem of the production reactive scheduling in a manufacturing system with shared resources, in order to ensure good compromise between makespan values and feedback time. The TS will be a functionality added to the AG and to the AGA, in other words, it will be a procedure to refine the individual(s) of the initial position and also to refine the individual obtained by the search methods. Tests have been conducted to determine which selection method (roulette or tournament) is more adequate for the definition of the neighborhood structure and also for the definition of the time to apply the mutation operator. Besides, other tests have been conducted by using different ways to calculate the makespan; one of them proposed in this dissertation and the others by Deriz (2007) and by Sanches (2008). / Os sistemas de manufatura com recursos compartilhados têm sido projetados para atender às necessidades do mercado, que demanda produtos que apresentem elevado padrão de qualidade, baixo custo e garantia das condições acordadas com o cliente. A programação da produção é uma tarefa complexa, pois é de natureza combinatória. Várias pesquisas apontam para a utilização de métodos de busca, como Algoritmos Genéticos (AGs) e Buscas Tabu (BTs), aplicados ao refinamento do problema da programação da produção. Os AGs apresentam como desvantagens a convergência prematura, a falta de mecanismos de intensificação da busca nas regiões promissoras e a falta de mecanismos que mantenham a diversificação da população. Para que os AGs possam ser mais efetivos em sua busca, de forma a evitar sua convergência prematura e garantir a diversidade populacional, acrescentam-se aos AGs, mecanismos que ajustam seus parâmetros no decorrer do processo de busca, os chamados Algoritmos Genéticos Adaptativos (AGAs). Esses mecanismos, no entanto, não garantem a intensificação da busca nas regiões promissoras encontradas. A BT, por sua vez, possui mecanismo de intensificação e diversificação da busca, porém o seu tempo computacional depende do quão ótimo é a sua solução inicial (solução pela qual se inicia o processo de busca). A fim de superar as limitações dos métodos de busca tradicionais, desenvolveram-se os Algoritmos Híbridos que agregam (ou associam) um método a outro, de forma que um auxilia o outro em sua deficiência . Neste trabalho, propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um Algoritmo Genético-Tabu (AGT) aplicado ao problema da programação reativa da produção em um sistema de manufatura com recursos compartilhados, a fim de garantir um bom compromisso entre valores de makespan e o tempo de obtenção da resposta. A BT será uma funcionalidade agregada ao AG e ao AGA, ou seja, é um procedimento que realizará o refinamento do(s) indivíduo(s) da população inicial e o refinamento do indivíduo obtido pelos métodos de busca. Realizam-se testes para definir qual método de seleção (roleta ou torneio) é mais bem aplicado ao problema, definição da estrutura da vizinhança e definição do momento de aplicação do operador de mutação. Além disso, foram também realizados testes com as diferentes formas de cálculo do makespan, sendo uma delas proposta neste trabalho e as demais propostas por Deriz (2007) e Sanches (2008).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3829.pdf: 4230286 bytes, checksum: 57d5e0c531823572429b3f117b7809fb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-21 / A necessary condition for the economic efficiency of modern plants is the ability to adjust - as quickly and effectively as possible - the performance of manufacturing process for demand request decisions. In this sense, the research emphasized the importance of understanding the best practices in Information Technology (IT) and the trade scenario of solutions using shopfloor real data in virtual environments for simulation and many achieved benefits. The highlights of this research focused on exploring the collaboration (practice of skills for the achievement of mutually beneficial results) between the MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) and the digital manufacturing systems (also called virtual manufacturing systems) of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), in a scenario where the manufacturing processes require high flexibility, reliability and lower delivery times, extensive combination of variants and lower life-cycle of products. The research - in an exploratory and descriptive way, which identified the available knowledge on the subject more sharply between the years 2006 and 2010 - was grounded in the practices of world-renowned companies and institutions and considered opinions and evaluations of renowned researchers and professionals with expertise in initiatives to support the use of MES solutions data in systems of digital manufacturing of PLM to manufacturing processes planning. As a result of the studied scenarios and covered concepts, the research has consolidated a "diagram of information collaboration", with the aim of providing better decision choices within the framework of shop-floor project, processes planning and production management. The research also concluded that the MES systems may have their value extended if integrated within the characteristics of functionalities of the PLM concept. It also brought some recommendations and limitations on the portability of information, commented on the learned lessons and suggestions for future tasks that include the BPM (Business Process Management). / Uma condição necessária para a eficiência econômica das fábricas modernas é a habilidade de adequar - de forma mais rápida e melhor possível - o desempenho dos processos de manufatura às decisões de solicitação de demanda. Nesse sentido, ressaltou-se a importância de compreender as melhores práticas de Tecnologia da Informação (TI) e o cenário comercial de soluções que utilizam dados reais de chão-de-fábrica em ambientes virtuais de simulação e os vários benefícios obtidos. O destaque desta pesquisa ficou por conta de explorar a colaboração (prática de competências para a obtenção de resultados mutuamente vantajosos) entre os sistemas MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) e os sistemas de manufatura digital (também chamada fábrica virtual) do PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), num cenário onde os processos de manufatura impõem alta flexibilidade, confiança e menores tempos de entrega, ampla combinação de variantes e menores ciclos de vida de produtos. A pesquisa - de forma exploratória e descritiva, que identificou o conhecimento disponível sobre o tema mais acentuadamente entre os anos de 2006 e 2010 - foi embasada nas práticas de instituições e empresas mundialmente reconhecidas, e considerou opiniões e avaliações de profissionais e pesquisadores renomados nas iniciativas que apóiam a utilização de dados das soluções MES em sistemas de manufatura digital do PLM para o planejamento de processos de manufatura. Como resultado dos cenários estudados e conceitos abordados, a pesquisa consolidou um diagrama de colaboração da informação , com o propósito de auxiliar melhores tomadas de decisão no âmbito do projeto de chão-de-fábrica, planejamento de processos e gerência da produção. A pesquisa ainda concluiu quanto os sistemas MES podem ter seu valor ampliado se integrados dentro das características de funcionalidades do conceito PLM, trouxe algumas recomendações e limitações sobre a portabilidade das informações, comentou sobre as lições aprendidas e apresentou sugestões de trabalhos futuros que inclui o gerenciamento de processos de negócios BPM (Business Process Management).