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1. 5 Ways to Increase
Manufacturing Productivity
with an MES
Posted by Kara on November 19, 2018 // No Comments
In order to remain competitive,
manufacturers need to maintain high
manufacturing productivity – or high
revenue generated per employee.
Most methods of improving manufacturing
productivity begin with a thorough
analysis of a company’s systems and
manufacturing processes, to eliminate
waste and optimise the value-adding
processes.
Eliminate wasteful processes.
Systemise what’s left.
Automate wherever possible.
When it comes to automating processes,
a Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
can help. A good MES can automate the
manual decision making, data collection
and process instructions, that have
previously been paper-driven or controlled
using a variety of separate IT systems.

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Software Tascus
Here are our top 5 tips on how an MES
can be used to make the biggest impact
on manufacturing productivity and
company profits:
Reduce Labour Costs
Manual assembly, test and inspection
processes can be very time
consuming, particularly when
manufacturing complex products.
Traditional paper-based work instructions
or those displayed in basic image viewing
software can limit the flexibility of training
new operators. It can also slow down
complex labour-intensive manufacturing
processes.
Work instruction displays in an MES will
reduce the time spent in manufacture, by
making it faster to train operators
proficiently. When an MES is used to
display videos of complex assembly
processes or exploded views that
illustrate the details of the manufacturing
process, operators can get up to speed
much quicker.

3. Digital work instructions in an MES can
reduce labour costs.
Digital work instructions can also be used
to speed up labour intensive assembly
processes, by reducing the amount of
context switching that operators have to
do. An operator can identify the product
they are building and rely on the MES to
display the correct work instructions for
them. They do not need to waste time
looking for the correct version of a work
instruction.
Reduce Material Costs
Material costs can be reduced by
improving the accuracy and repeatability
of manufacturing processes. By
integrating an MES with existing shop
floor equipment or using a statistical

4. process control (SPC) module within the
MES, a production control step can be
used to monitor, control and adjust
process parameters. When the accuracy
and repeatability of processes are
improved there will be less material
wastage through scrap or rework.
Reduce Defects & Errors
Reducing defects and errors in the
manufacturing process can have a huge
impact on productivity and profitability. It
avoids wasting materials and labour on
non-value adding processes. An MES
helps by adding quality checks to the
manufacturing process so errors are
detected or prevented early on. This
ensures that defects leading to lengthy
and expensive rework do not appear at
the end of manufacturing.
A common example seen by
manufacturers is a component fitted in
error at an early assembly process. The
product goes on to have several
manufacturing processes completed and
is functionally tested before being shipped
to the customer. If the defect is detected
at a final functional test, the product must
be completely stripped down so that the
component can be replaced. This can
often take up to 5 times the standard
production time.

5. Using a quality control step in an MES to
ensure correct components are
assembled.
When a manufacturer uses an MES with
quality checking steps, this error could be
detected at the time of assembly. The
operator would be notified that this was an
incorrect component and could remedy
the error immediately, with minimal impact
on time.
Reduce Cycle Times
When cycle times can be reduced, a
manufacturer can output more product in
each shift. This enables them to generate
more revenue from their factory every
month.

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An MES can be used to reduce cycles
times by using it to automate
manufacturing processes. This means
that previously manual processes can be
run unattended. One of our clients used
this method to reduce their cycle times by
25% and increased their shift output. They
had one operator performing as an
assembly process, then a functional test.
We created a customised production step
in our MES for their functional test so that
the operator could perform an assembly,
then start an automated test and return to
assembling the next product.
Improve Delivery Performance
Improving delivery performance by
reducing production lead times, means a
manufacturer can generate more revenue
from increased product sales.
One of our clients, Mettler Toledo
Safeline, found that their existing paper-
driven production process had several
stages where the product was left in
batches waiting for an inspection or test
process. When they used our MES they
eliminated waiting times and as a
result, reduced their production lead time
by 50%.
Start Improving Your
Productivity Today. Sign Up
for a Free Trial of Tascus
MES

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