SyncMES® includes easy-to-use tools for the management of production and production work orders. It can answer to questions: Which product or task is next in line? And after that? What will we make tomorrow – or next week?
SyncMES® work queue management also allows you to change the order in production work order queue received from production planning. Changes may be required due to non-availability of raw materials, changed customer needs or malfunctions in production equipment.
In SyncMES®, you can easily define which user groups are authorized to change production orders.
SyncMES® includes a variety of ways to record production events and data. Accurate recording of material consumption, for example, is essential to improve traceability and production efficiency. In SyncMES®, you can record the materials consumption of a parts list/BOM or recipe based on:
Entries related to the progress of production, such as the start/end of production or information on the production stage or status, are easily made from the operator’s user interface. Production outages and their causes can be entered either automatically as signals from the automation system or as inputs from the operators.
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Up-to-date work instructions ensure the quality and smoothness of production and the work efficiency of operators. Work instructions can be saved in SyncMES® and made available to operators when needed. Work instructions can be prepared:
Work instructions can be text documents (such as pdf files), images, drawings or other digital aids. Order-specific instructions can be stored in SyncMES® or transmitted from the ERP system with the order. It is also possible to request instructions from the documentation management system via the interface.
The SyncMES® material tracking function keeps you informed about the manufacturing stage of a given product, batch or component at any given time. It also tells you the types and quantities of materials and raw materials committed to each production batch. Different types of production (assembly vs. batch processes, for example) have different needs.
With SyncMES®, you can efficiently record production time and working hours. Events recorded include:
Various KPI data can be calculated from the recorded values. The production time used also affects the product’s manufacturing costs and is the basis for the development work related to continuous improvement.
SyncMES® includes comprehensive tools for quality assurance and management purposes. Quality management supports, for example, the creation of product group specific quality plans and the definition of related control measures. Monitoring, alarms and reporting are easily configured. Data can be entered either manually or automatically.
A routine task for production operators is determining at which setpoints a product or production batch should be run. SyncMES® helps in the selection and application of the optimal production run parameters. SyncMES® can save production run parameters received from, for example, a product information system or an automation system.
SyncMES® enables the desired run parameters to be transmitted to the automation system. The production run parameters can be set on a per order basis or on a per product basis. The feature also enables “best run” functionality, where the production run parameters appropriate for each production situation can be stored in SyncMES® ready to be used in the next similar production situation.
SyncMES® gives your a clear and up-to-date snapshot of inventories. It answers to questions like: What is the status of the inventories? Which raw material batch or material batch was consumed and how much, when the product or production batch was manufactured?
The inventory status information can be integrated with the ERP system, in which case ERP “tells” the inventory status and inventory items to MES. SyncMES® “tells” production inventory transactions to ERP. Production consumption data and inventory data/transactions are an important factor from the point of view of both cost accounting and traceability requirements.
In addition to numerical product and production data, SyncMES® enables real-time visual tracking of many production events, or “production flow” monitoring. Monitoring screens with process diagrams can be prepared e.g. for:
SyncMES® enables versatile distribution of alarms and information, for example on production disruptions. Alarm information for selected events can be sent to the operator’s screen, the foreman’s or shift manager’s screen, to e-mail, or to a telephone as an SMS message.
Alarms can be assigned distribution lists so that information about production events can quickly reach everyone who needs the information. Alarms can be distributed via e-mail or as text messages in a mobile phone network.
The production diary is an electronic journal that facilitates the flow of information and makes it independent of the physical place, reduces wrong decisions in production, and improves job satisfaction and the production snapshot shared by all.
Typically, the diary is used by the entire staff:
Indicators of production efficiency and development work are an essential part of modern industrial production. In SyncMES®, you can have comprehensive KPI metrics to monitor the efficiency of various production functions. With SyncMES®, the information provided by the metrics can be made available to a wide range of users and also to data users outside the production department.
The reporting function in SyncMES® offers several ways to distribute up-to-date production information to those who need it. Reporting formats include:
With the SyncMES® report wizard tool, the user can edit and create reports without any programming skills. In addition, the system includes a quick report tool that can be used to make ad-hoc reports, for example in process development and troubleshooting situations in a drag-and-drop style.
