The theme of our latest educational webinar, Pick the Right Metrics for MES Success, can be seen as an extension of the need to reevaluate the selection process for a Manufacturing Execution System (MES). New demands and requirements for managing manufacturing operations now dictate placing greater emphasis on how well a new system can align with and extend a company’s Industry 4.0 strategy. Greater interoperability needs coupled with supporting a digital thread have changed the dynamics on MES selection.
Similarly, it is necessary to reconsider what metrics should be chosen to measure MES success. In a world that has changed with different “definitions” of what success looks like, it follows that the metrics chosen should also change.
Watch a recording of this presentation to gain further understanding.
Immediately following Jan Snoeij’s presentation of this topic, there were several questions raised by the audience, which have been captured below.
How important is it to change what and how you measure MES metrics?
As you “climb the steps” of your digital transformation journey, it will naturally be necessary over time to reevaluate the metrics you chose to measure your progress. As you make progress, new criteria will come into play whereby it will be necessary to change what metrics you measure as their relevance shifts as you move forward through each step along the way. When you are selecting an MES solution, be sure that it is possible to easily make changes over time, including the addition of new data to perform measurements on as part of accommodating a gradually shifting goals environment.
How would you measure innovation?
That is a good one! Of course, there really isn’t just one way to answer. What are the effects of successful innovation to you? If it is defined by launching several new product introductions, then that is what you should measure. It really depends on how you define it.
What is the best measure for safety?
Again, depending on how you define safety must be where you start in identifying the underlying metric for you to measure. There are all kinds of steps involved in completing a production process. These could all be done without a major incident resulting in a score of “no incidents.” While this is obviously great and the end goal, does this really help you to stay healthy and safe? Instead, if you focused on what specific steps were taken that led to a “perfect” score of zero, then that might be a better way to manage your business. How well are employees sticking to the defined procedures, such as wearing safety goggles, clothing, or gloves? That might be a more descriptive statistic to then influence behavior.
Who should define the MES metrics for success?
It should be the same people who are defining the goals. As we talked about in the previous webinar on the importance of user acceptance, users should be the one setting the goals and metrics. After all, they know the processes best as well as the correlation between actions and results. And, with their buy in, they will apply far greater focus on achieving the metrics.
How do you define success for an Industry 4.0 strategy?
These metrics may be broader in scope, so could seem overwhelming. Instead, try breaking this objective down into meaningful achievements. Then, identify what resources, time, and effort are needed to achieve those and measure that progress. Again, involve all the stakeholders that will be the ones that make it happen.
