In an industrial plant, data is an invaluable tool. It allows us to know the status of the machinery, the consumption of resources, the state of production, prevent failures, schedule maintenance and optimize processes. If we capture this data in real time, our decisions will be faster and more efficient, which translates into a reduction in operating costs.

In order to optimize our industrial processes and operations, it is essential to be able to properly collect our data and extract value from it. To this end, there are different tools (ERP, MES, SCADA, CMMS…) that have traditionally been used in industry. But the reality is that, for the needs of today’s industry, there are alternatives to MES and industrial ERP that are worth knowing about. Knowing this…

 
Are you clear about which tool you need for your data 🤔? We give you the keys below.

The Traditional Automation Pyramid 🗻

Before we start comparing systems and showing alternatives to MES, it is useful to clarify a number of concepts that will help us to better understand how to structure automation and data capture in our industrial plant.  

When we talk about automation in the world of manufacturing, our first mandatory stop is the traditional industrial automation pyramid. The industrial automation pyramid is the backbone of production systems.

This pyramid gives a very useful overview when looking for the solution that will turn our factory into an intelligent and interconnected environment. It consists of five different levels, each with its own specific purpose and technology.

Automation Pramid Levels:

Level 1. Field / Process
– Physical devices: includes sensors and actuators, which interact directly with the plant environment.
– Functions: They collect data from the production process and control physical actions in real time. They use communication protocols such as Modbus and Profinet. 

Level 2. Control
– Logic devices: PLCs, DCS, PIDs, PCs…
– Functions: They supervise operations at the field level. They process sensor data and make decisions to control machinery and production processes.  

Level 3. Supervision
– Data control and acquisition: SCADA systems and HMI interfaces enable centralized supervision and control of automated processes.

Functions: They monitor certain plant processes, generate alarms and allow decisions to be made based on the data collected.

Level 4. Operation / Planning
– Management and optimization: This level traditionally includes MES (we will look at alternatives to MES later).
– Functions: It supervises the manufacturing process from raw materials to finished product, optimizing efficiency and reducing waste. The MES uses data from the previous levels to make decisions at the planning and preventive maintenance level.

Level 5. Management
– Integral business management: The ERP carries the corporate management of the company (inventory, purchases, accounting …), being able to include production modules.
– Functions: Provides a complete view of business operations, allowing informed decisions and optimization of overall performance.

Data transitions between each of the 5 levels must be seamless if we are to ensure transparency and process control. And we will see how alternatives to traditional MES and ERP are necessary to achieve these results.

Different Systems for Our Industrial Plant 🏭

Now that we are clear on the concepts of the traditional automation pyramid, let’s take a closer look at the systems that are commonly used in industry:

1. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

ERP is a very important tool for companies, but it is the top of the pyramid. It is very valid at enterprise level, but inadequate as a source of information for plant indicators or other field data. 

ERP production modules are effective for long-term planning, inventory, order and cost management. However, they are unspecialized as they are not designed to handle real-time operations and detailed production process data. 

ERP Issues:

🔺 Unsuitable for production: ERPs have been designed for the financial department so, at the production level, they are unspecialized.
Their modules are costly to implement and are not designed to give detailed information about what happens on the shop floor. In addition, the data collected tends to be focused on the financial department. 

 🔺 Difficulty in maintaining data: Maintaining data linked to manufacturing is confusing, tedious, and time consuming. Production modules are not intended only for production. To feed the data that maintains the item or route master, you have to go to different screens, which is cumbersome. In practice, the data is not kept up to date. 
 
🔺 Poor integration with real-time operations: It is true that ERPs are excellent for the overall view of the business. But at the production level, they often lack the ability to integrate real-time data from the shop floor. This can lead to decisions based on outdated information.
ERP’s focus on transactions and historical data is therefore not suited for quick operational decisions. 

 🔺 Operational rigidity: ERPs offer a limited level of customization. This makes it difficult for them to adapt to the reality of companies and their processes (which do not always follow a linear pattern). Sometimes Excel is used to achieve greater flexibility, with the problems that this entails.  

🔺 Dense Interface: Some ERPs are excessively complex due to the amount of functionalities they offer. Many are unnecessary in day-to-day business, causing the interface to contain information that is not relevant to the end user. 

2. MES (Manufacturing Execution System)

MES specialize in optimizing manufacturing operations. They oversee the entire transformation process of materials from the beginning until they become finished products. 

The MES is responsible for executing production orders, quality management and maintenance in real time.  

They are beneficial systems as they increase productivity (OEE), reduce quality issues and provide visibility to make operations more efficient. The MES provides a layer between the management level (typically ERP) and plant control devices. It provides accurate and up-to-date data to facilitate operational decision making. 

However, MES also has its limitations, sometimes avoidable, but sometimes inherent in how these systems work. Hence the interest in finding alternatives to MES.  

MES Issues:

🔺 Complex and time-consuming implementation: As the MES is a comprehensive system, its implementation is often a major task. It therefore requires balancing the interests of stakeholders across the company.
This process can take months to years. According to Gartner, the average implementation time for an MES is 15-16 months. 
 
🔺 They are rigid and can be costly and complicated to customize: The MES is a rigid system with well-defined features and system architectures. Customizing a serial solution can be difficult, time-consuming and costly. 
 
🔺 You will need to adapt your workflows to the MES:  MES architectures have a rigid nature. It is often easier to change your operations to fit the MES rather than changing the MES to fit your operational needs. This adaptation comes at a cost. 
 
🔺 They complicate system changes: As operational needs change on the shop floor, your MES can slow the pace of improvement. This is because they need to be customized to fit new processes. And this is a key feature that we will have alternatives to MES. 
 
🔺 They are production focused: MES are designed to be used in production. They are not made to be used by management or other departments, lacking versatility in this aspect.

🔺 They are designed for IT, not for the shop floor: Although the MES is used by production staff, the system is built with IT in mind. That is, for IT to implement, customize and manage. This limits the contribution of those closer to operations to improve the MES. 
 
🔺 They don’t keeping pace with technology: Emerging technologies such as IIoT and cloud computing are transforming manufacturing. However, most MES vendors are lagging behind in incorporating these technologies into their solutions. 

🔺 Dependence on accurate data: The effectiveness of the MES is highly dependent on the accuracy and timeliness of the data it handles. It requires robust integration with other systems such as SCADA and ERP. 

3. SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) 

SCADA systems are focused on monitoring and supervised control of industrial processes in real time. They are designed to collect data from sensors installed in the plant and provide a visual interface. With this interface, operators can monitor and adjust processes automatically or manually. 

SCADA is ideal for managing complex operations where constant control and monitoring of plant conditions is required. 

SCADA Issues: 

🔺 Data security: Because SCADA interacts directly with production processes, any failure in its security can have critical implications. 

🔺 Integration with business systems: Although SCADA is strong in real-time monitoring, it often presents challenges in integration. Especially in its effective integration with ERP or MES systems, which can result in information silos. 

🔺 Unattractive interfaces: It is not uncommon for SCADA manufacturers to include too much information in their interfaces. As a result, they end up being complicated and unattractive to the user. Their screens can be confusing with their mix of lists, diagrams and unclear information.

🔺 No alarm filtering: It is common for SCADAS to have no alarm filtering. This ends up overloading both the system and the workers with notifications that are not important. This noise will make users feel uncomfortable with the application.

4. Common system issues  

The reality is that ERP, MES and SCADA integration can be problematic because of their inherently different platforms and approaches.   

The effectiveness of an ERP, a MES or any of the alternatives to MES that you implement on the shop floor will depend on several factors. Among them, the most important factors are their ability to accurately model and report on the manufacturing process.  
 
Without real and accurate plant floor data, these systems can create a distorted reality, leading to erroneous decisions and inefficient use of resources. It is not uncommon for critical data such as part counts, cycle times and OEE to be inaccurate. This can be due to manual data collection or disparate plant software that muddies the data ERP receives. 

 
Poor data quality is not only counterproductive, but also costly. Decisions based on inaccurate data can lead to over- or underestimates in inventory, misinterpretations of market dynamics, ineffective improvement processes, and so on. And this makes it essential that we consider alternatives to MES and ERP for the industry, from a more modern and versatile approach.

Alternatives to MES: Towards Monitoring and Transversal Analytics ↕️

Knowing all this… What would you recommend me to use 💡?  

  
First, we must take into account that the reality of today’s industry is more complex than the lifelong automation pyramid. The structure of modern companies is often variable in many ways. This includes the data capture systems and methods they may be using, the financial and personnel resources they have available…

Therefore, it becomes necessary to look for alternative cross-cutting solutions to MES and ERP that allow to get value from data, especially in production.

It is essential to ensure that production data is captured accurately in real time and that it is also integrated correctly. In this way, we will ensure that business status and operational performance are fully aligned. 

In this case, an industrial monitoring and analytics system that works transversally in the automation pyramid is the ideal solution. This solution would function as one of the alternatives to MES (MES Lite) and offers multiple advantages in terms of flexibility, visualisation and access to data.

Advantages of a Monitoring and Analytics System:

✅ Centralize data from different sources: These systems are capable of collecting data from a wide range of information sources. It does not matter whether they are sensors, forms, databases, APIs, Excel sheets, CSV and even the ERP or MES itself.
Monitoring platforms have the ability to integrate data from multiple systems and platforms, eliminating information silos. This gives us a consistent and complete view of operational performance. 

✅ Collect relevant information from minute 1: With these monitoring systems, it is possible to set up a small and quick implementation project (~1 month). This agility will allow us to evolve, test, change things and grow in a simple way. Thus, it will be possible to gather relevant information from the beginning that will help us in decision-making.  
 
✅ Flexibility: Since we are able to start from a small project (such as monitoring on one of the production lines), the flexibility gained is enormous. Changes, corrections and improvements can be made without a great deal of effort. 

✅ Significant savings: These systems not only make it possible to start using the data much earlier. In addition, there is a much lower risk (and financial outlay) before the results can be seen.
 
✅ Continuous Improvement: This kind of monitoring systems are agile, adaptable and very flexible. You can make mistakes without fear and, thanks to this flexibility, make corrections and improvements. This is basically the cycle of Continuous Improvement that every company should follow. 

✅ Focused on different profiles: Unlike systems such as MES, monitoring systems are able to adapt perfectly to the needs of different company profiles.
Because a plant operator does not need the same data as a quality manager or an executive, these systems focus on each profile to provide them with valuable information, without added noise.

✅ Adapted and relevant visualization:This aspect is fundamental. Monitoring platforms allow us to create simple, attractive and configurable dashboards. They are the perfect tool to show valuable information in real time to every user, from operators to executives. 

When designing our dashboard, we must take into account different aspects:
– Size (larger objects are perceived as more important).
– Shape (shapes that stand out from the background attract attention).
– Colour (bright colours that stand out from the rest will attract attention).
– Logical alignment of elements (we tend to see the elements on the top left first).

If you wish to know how to create the best visualisation for your needs, visit our Tips for Creating the Perfect Dashboard with Industrial Grafana. 

✅ Real-time access (when needed): Depending on the need, data can be presented in real-time or compiled for periodic analysis and reporting. This offers flexibility and depth in monitoring. 

✅ A design for the future: These types of systems have been created with a greater focus on data analytics and incorporating new AI algorithms than traditional systems. This is especially useful at a time like the present, when the industry is undergoing a major technological evolution.

Conclusion ✍️

 
Having an industrial monitoring system with an up-to-date approach that works transversally in the automation pyramid offers multiple advantages. It will allow us to improve our responsiveness, internal communication and decision making at all levels of the organization. 

These alternatives to MES and industrial ERP are cheaper, faster and more readily available. You can access them from anywhere and you don’t need to have a high level of monitoring knowledge. 

Want to see our Minerva Industrial Monitoring Platform in action?
Visit our demo 👇