MES · part of Production & Supply

Manufacturing Execution System Stop finding out a job is late on the day it should ship.

Schedule manufacturing orders onto real workstations, against real shifts, and see the late ones before they start. Operators record start, pause, good and rejected pieces at the machine, so the plan and the floor stay in step.

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The basics

What is a manufacturing execution system?

A manufacturing execution system (MES) runs production between the plan and the finished part. It holds how each part is made, schedules jobs onto workstations within their shifts, and records what really happened on the floor: who worked each stage, for how long, how many good and rejected pieces came off, and why work stopped.

In most plants the schedule lives on a whiteboard or in one planner's spreadsheet. A rush order goes in, three other jobs quietly slip, and nobody knows until dispatch asks where the parts are. Output is written on job cards that reach the office a day later, so downtime and rejects never get counted properly.

Features

MES software for planning, running and measuring the shop floor

Masters, scheduling, shop floor control and productivity reports work on the same manufacturing orders.

Routings and workstations

Each part has a routing: ordered stages with a default workstation, allowed alternatives, and setup, run and cleaning times. Routings are revisioned, and a released routing is locked until you raise a new revision.

Production scheduling software with a Gantt board

Schedule forward from a start date or backward from the due date, on each workstation's shifts and holidays. Drag a booking to another allowed machine, split an operation across parallel stations, or lock it so a reschedule leaves it alone.

Manufacturing work orders tied to demand

Create a manufacturing order from one or more customer order lines, or build to stock. The order copies the current routing and BOM, reserves components, and shows Late or Material short as soon as either is true.

Shop floor control from a tablet

Operators pick their workstation and start, pause with a reason, record good and rejected pieces, and finish. A supervisor can act for anyone in their team, and a stage can never record more pieces than the stage before it passed on.

Production tracking and OEE

Availability, performance, quality and OEE per workstation, with downtime by reason. Per employee you get hours, good pieces, efficiency and reject rate, with a daily trend and Excel export.

Quality and tool checks at the machine

If a stage has an in-process inspection plan, recording output opens an inspection and holds those pieces until it is decided. If the stage needs a mould or die, the operator picks one at start and sees any tool life or PM warnings first.

Connected

Manufacturing doesn't live alone

MRP proposals convert into draft manufacturing orders. The first start of an order issues its reserved components from Inventory, the last finish receives the finished part, and stages with an inspection plan raise in-process inspections in Quality Inspection.

Standards and industries

Shop floor data collection software for automotive and aerospace plants

IndustryStandardWhat you get
AutomotiveIATF 16949Production scheduled to customer demand, records of who ran each job and when, rejects logged with a reason
Aerospace and defenceAS9100Work instructions on each routing stage, controlled routing revisions, production records per order
General manufacturingISO 9001Controlled production with planned and actual records for every manufacturing order
FAQ

MES questions people ask

Still unsure? Ask our team.

What is the difference between MES and ERP?

ERP covers the business side: sales orders, purchasing, stock and money. MES covers the floor: which job runs on which machine, in what order, and what came off it. In YourBrand, the MES works on the same customer orders, stock and BOMs as the sales, purchase and inventory products, so there is no interface to maintain between them.

What is a routing in manufacturing?

A routing is the ordered list of stages a part goes through, such as turning, drilling, powder coat and cure. Each stage names the workstation that does it and the setup, run and cleaning time. The scheduler uses those times to work out how long a job takes and when it can finish.

What is a work order in manufacturing?

A work order, called a manufacturing order in YourBrand, is the instruction to make a quantity of one part by a due date. It carries a copy of the routing and the BOM at the time it was created, so later engineering changes do not alter a job that is already planned or running.

What is shop floor control?

Shop floor control is tracking work as it happens: starting and stopping jobs, recording output and scrap, and logging why a machine stood idle. In YourBrand, operators do this from a tablet at the workstation, and every pause carries a downtime reason such as breakdown, setup issue or waiting for material.

Does the MES take data straight from machines or PLCs?

No. Start, pause, quantities and downtime are recorded by operators and supervisors on a tablet or PC at the workstation. There is no PLC, sensor or IoT connection. The productivity reports are calculated from those entries and the workstation shifts.

Can we run the MES in the cloud?

Yes. YourBrand runs in the cloud or on-premise, and the shop floor screen works in a browser on a tablet.

Is it a good fit for a small plant?

Yes. You can start with workstations and routings, then add manufacturing orders and scheduling, and switch on the shop floor screen when your operators are ready. Workstations and routings can be imported from Excel to get going quickly.

See your next week of jobs on the machines that will run them

We walk through it with your own parts and documents. It takes about 30 minutes.

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Related: Production and supply suiteMRP softwareQuality inspection softwareTool management softwareGeneral manufacturing