Solution
Production Tracking and MES
Making the gap between planned and actual production visible.
17 functions4 module groups5 integrations
In manufacturing the real question is not what you produced but what it cost. When consumption, scrap, downtime and rework are not recorded on the floor, cost is only estimated at month end. We build for where the operator is — a terminal at the machine. A production form filled in at a desk is not production tracking.
Scope and modules17
01
Definition and planning
- Bills of materials, semi-finished goods and alternative recipes
- Routings, operations and work-centre definitions
- Capacity planning and work-centre loading
- Work order creation, prioritisation and scheduling
02
Shop floor
- Machine terminal: start, pause and finish a work order
- Production records by operator, shift and staff
- Material reservation and consumption reporting
- Scrap, waste and rework records
- Downtime reason codes and fault reporting
03
Quality
- In-process quality checkpoints
- Sample, measurement and tolerance records
- Non-conformance records and quarantine
- Traceability: which raw material went into which product
04
Cost and analysis
- Standard versus actual cost variance
- Material, labour and overhead allocation per work order
- OEE: availability, performance, quality
- Downtime analysis and scrap trends
What it connects to05
- ERP stock, purchasing and costing modules
- Machine and PLC data (OPC UA / Modbus where the plant allows)
- Barcode and label printers
- Time and attendance systems
- Maintenance management and fault reporting
Signs you need this system05
- 01Real production cost is estimated at month end
- 02Nobody can state the scrap rate precisely
- 03Downtime reasons are not recorded
- 04Delivery dates are promised on gut feel about capacity
- 05You cannot trace which raw material went into which batch
Decisions to make upfront03
- 01Entered by hand or read from the machine?
- Machine reading gives the truest data but depends on plant equipment. In most projects the right start is operator entry, automating measurable machines in stages.
- 02Are your bills of materials current?
- The most commonly skipped question in manufacturing projects. If BOMs live on paper or in a foreman’s head, recipes must be entered before data collection begins — a separate effort line.
- 03What form should the operator terminal take?
- Touchscreen in dust and damp, physical keys where gloves are worn, tablets for mobile work. The interface is designed to that constraint; putting a desktop screen on the shop floor does not work.
Frequently asked02
- What is the difference between an ERP production module and MES?
- The ERP plans and accounts for production; MES captures what happens on the floor in real time. They complement each other, and in a small plant one system may be enough — we settle that during scoping.
- Our machines are old. Can we get data from them?
- From some of them. We identify which machines can be read via counters, sensors or PLCs and close the remainder with operator entry.
Let’s scope it together.
We do not quote a fixed price for undefined scope. We review your existing system and processes on site, then deliver the roadmap and a fixed-price proposal.