Dynamic Discussion on Transformation From MES to Operational Management System

In the last 2 months I have lead a number of public sessions and forums on this subject with my college Stan Devries two weeks ago we hosted 2 of these in Dallas, and again there was a lot of reactions and good discussion. A couple of months ago I blogged about the third generation of MES / MOMs, creating a lot of interest.

The diagram below shows the concept of transformation, it is really a move from traditional server, API based solutions with heavy customization restricting the required agility required today vs an SOA (service orientated) and model driven architecture. 

 

The discussions in the sessions centered on the amount of custom code surrounding the core MES functions which have been fairly stable for 10 years, evolving by industry. This custom code is a “ball chain” impact on the ability for the MES / operations system to evolve, due to integration with real time events, and the interaction with people. The one consistency is that the human interaction and operational interactions / process are continually evolving with new procedures changing regulations. Too much scripting, custom user interfaces, have been traditionally required.

The notion of “Model Driven Operations” where the design of an operational system is modeled based upon operational activities such as Material consumption, quality sampling, new product setup etc. The associated steps in the action are modeled within a workflow, and the required human interface forms are included in the associated steps, in the workflow. These are bundled interfacing with the MES functions, initiated manually or automatically from a plant event. This change from user interface to design based upon application, location to activity based design where the activities can be reused over multiple roles, locations, and sustained and evolved in the model. This shift was discussed a lot and too many this was a new step or thought process in the MES/ MOMs design approach.   

Also, the discussion of the concepts around the Gartner “Manufacturing 2.0” architecture combined with the emergence of “cloud” and the opportunities this new hybrid architecture proposes for consistency in management of operational processes, and measures while sustaining the local execution. The diagram below provides a view of one potential architecture here. There are several options we are trying at the moment, and it appears that Operational Management is ideal for a hybrid Architecture.

The sessions we held outlined the above topics and discussion was constructive and in agreement, key is that “are solution builders really taking into account all these points?” There is so much opportunity for small through to multi nationals.

Next week I want outline an interesting discussion on the shift to “distributed” world centered on the “Third Industrial revolution debate, I had on the flight last week across the pacific, as the concepts we seeing so much in the industrial world.