It doesn’t matter if it’s a manufacturing company looking for an investment partner, or a private equity company looking for an investment in the manufacturing sector. Either way, it takes an expert in manufacturing enterprise operational excellence to identify, quantify, and prioritize operational improvement opportunities to deliver high ROI.
Recently, the Toward Zero team examined some effects of organization culture on manufacturing execution system (MES) decisions. In response to our article, “MES Tug of War: The Battle Continues,” Farukh Naqvi succinctly lays out ISA’s ongoing work to develop a framework and methodology for “solving conflict among the three diverse stakeholders” of an MES effort. While the ISA-95 framework delivers perspective on system integration and the thousands of actions and data points throughout a manufacturing enterprise, it also inadvertently reveals the need for enterprise-wide cross-functional collaboration.
An overwhelming number of manufacturing execution system (MES) deployments fall short of the finish line; in their wake, they leave partially implemented and, therefore, ineffective solutions. A typical outcome: stalled digital transformation and a budgetary freeze for additional IIoT projects. It’s not an uncommon scenario for MES projects, yet most manufacturing companies seem unaware that many MES deployments fail to hit expectations.
We see it constantly: “corporate” insists on one brand of MES, while the manufacturing plant wants something different. The execs running the show regionally or globally don’t trust plant management’s choice, while the plant believes corporate’s pick won’t work for them ― because “their situation and production environment is different.” This kind of battle isn’t limited to one or just a few industrial sectors ― indeed, automotive manufacturers, life sciences companies, food and beverage manufacturers, and consumer products manufacturers (also known as CPG companies) around the world have all seen and are at risk when the “MES tug of war” ensues.
After working with many organizations it has become very apparent that desired cultural change is a result of good change management and organizational design. Equally, most of us would also agree that successful change can only happen when the majority of employees rally and cooperate to effect those changes ― cultural improvement is a result of these interdependent efforts. With today’s press to modernize manufacturing ― through digitalization, data capture, and a focus on operational excellence ― every company must get the change management and culture pieces of the puzzle exactly right if they want to achieve the promise of sustainable performance improvement, competitive advantage, and financial gains.
Over the past several years, many large manufacturing companies, at some level, have invested in a digital manufacturing initiative. With a typical budget of $500K to $5M, these projects range from a strategy for smart manufacturing to implementing a manufacturing execution system (MES). Successful MES projects have delivered significant value and ROI. When considering a smart manufacturing project today, it's important to know what designs have proven effective and more importantly, what hasn't worked.
Implementing ERP and other large enterprise applications can be a daunting exercise.
Take any hundred companies who are exploring the deployment of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), follow them through 5 years, and here's what you'll find:
When we have conversations with manufacturing leaders around the country there are two topics that are brought up more than any others. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
Has your organization taken advantage of virtualization technology for your shop floor systems? There are six compelling reasons to do so:
It doesn’t matter if it’s a manufacturing company looking for an investment partner, or a private equity company looking for an investment in the manufacturing sector. Either way, it takes an expert in manufacturing enterprise operational excellence to identify, quantify, and prioritize operational improvement opportunities to deliver high ROI.
Recently, the Toward Zero team examined some effects of organization culture on manufacturing execution system (MES) decisions. In response to our article, “MES Tug of War: The Battle Continues,” Farukh Naqvi succinctly lays out ISA’s ongoing work to develop a framework and methodology for “solving conflict among the three diverse stakeholders” of an MES effort. While the ISA-95 framework delivers perspective on system integration and the thousands of actions and data points throughout a manufacturing enterprise, it also inadvertently reveals the need for enterprise-wide cross-functional collaboration.
An overwhelming number of manufacturing execution system (MES) deployments fall short of the finish line; in their wake, they leave partially implemented and, therefore, ineffective solutions. A typical outcome: stalled digital transformation and a budgetary freeze for additional IIoT projects. It’s not an uncommon scenario for MES projects, yet most manufacturing companies seem unaware that many MES deployments fail to hit expectations.
We see it constantly: “corporate” insists on one brand of MES, while the manufacturing plant wants something different. The execs running the show regionally or globally don’t trust plant management’s choice, while the plant believes corporate’s pick won’t work for them ― because “their situation and production environment is different.” This kind of battle isn’t limited to one or just a few industrial sectors ― indeed, automotive manufacturers, life sciences companies, food and beverage manufacturers, and consumer products manufacturers (also known as CPG companies) around the world have all seen and are at risk when the “MES tug of war” ensues.
After working with many organizations it has become very apparent that desired cultural change is a result of good change management and organizational design. Equally, most of us would also agree that successful change can only happen when the majority of employees rally and cooperate to effect those changes ― cultural improvement is a result of these interdependent efforts. With today’s press to modernize manufacturing ― through digitalization, data capture, and a focus on operational excellence ― every company must get the change management and culture pieces of the puzzle exactly right if they want to achieve the promise of sustainable performance improvement, competitive advantage, and financial gains.
Over the past several years, many large manufacturing companies, at some level, have invested in a digital manufacturing initiative. With a typical budget of $500K to $5M, these projects range from a strategy for smart manufacturing to implementing a manufacturing execution system (MES). Successful MES projects have delivered significant value and ROI. When considering a smart manufacturing project today, it's important to know what designs have proven effective and more importantly, what hasn't worked.
Implementing ERP and other large enterprise applications can be a daunting exercise.
Take any hundred companies who are exploring the deployment of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), follow them through 5 years, and here's what you'll find:
When we have conversations with manufacturing leaders around the country there are two topics that are brought up more than any others. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
Has your organization taken advantage of virtualization technology for your shop floor systems? There are six compelling reasons to do so:
