Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
10in6 MES collects counts, run time and stops from your machines, has operators add the downtime and scrap reasons at the line, and builds the live boards and shift reports from that record. Nobody types up the shift report, and every line reports the same way.
What is an MES?
A manufacturing execution system (MES) tracks and guides production as it happens: what each machine is making, how fast, why it stopped, what was scrapped, and how the shift is doing against target. It sits between the ERP, which plans orders and materials, and the machines that run them.
A good MES collects most of that automatically from machine signals, lets operators add the reasons, and turns it into reports and live boards people use every shift. OEE, downtime tracking and production reporting are all MES functions.
The problems MES solves on the floor
Every shift counts differently
Production numbers live in spreadsheets, on whiteboards and in people's heads, so leadership can't compare one shift or line with another.
Downtime reviewed after the shift
Downtime and scrap get analyzed once the shift is over, when it's too late to prevent the next occurrence, and the same stops repeat week after week.
Improvement efforts stall
Without reliable, real-time data, continuous improvement depends on a few key people and stalls when they're pulled to other priorities.
Every module in our MES
Select any module to explore what it does and how it fits into your operation.
OEE Tracking
Overall Equipment Effectiveness calculated from live machine signals instead of estimates, with Availability, Performance and Quality tracked per machine and per shift. OEE shows on floor displays and management dashboards while production runs.
- Availability captured from real machine run/stop signals
- Performance measured against configured ideal cycle time
- Quality built from operator-entered scrap and reject counts
- Drill from plant OEE to line, machine, shift, and product
- Shop floor displays and management dashboards updated live
- Alerts when OEE drops below threshold mid-shift
Production Reporting
Production reports by line, shift and operator, built from machine data instead of counts typed into a spreadsheet. More than thirty standard reports come ready to use, and shift reports are emailed automatically at the end of every shift.
- 30+ standard reports — OEE, throughput, cycle time, and more
- Automatic downtime categorization by reason code
- Scrap and rework tracking tied directly to production counts
- Late-start and early-stop detection
- Automated shift reports emailed to supervisors and managers
- Drill down by line, shift, operator, or product
Downtime Tracking
Every downtime event is captured, categorized and timestamped the moment it happens. The operator picks the reason code at the machine while the stop is still in front of them, so nobody guesses at it at the end of the shift. Pareto analysis ranks the causes by lost time, so improvement work starts with the most costly.
- Real-time capture of every downtime event
- Operator-assigned reason codes at the machine
- MTBF and MTTR tracking per machine and line
- Pareto charts by reason code, shift, and department
- Immediate escalation alerts to maintenance or management
- Trend analysis to identify recurring failure patterns
Scrap Tracking
Operators log scrap and rework at the machine as it happens, by defect type and reason. Quality and engineering work from those records to find root causes and track whether each fix reduced the waste.
- Real-time scrap and rework entry at the operator console
- Classify by defect type, defect reason, and location
- Scrap rate automatically factored into OEE quality score
- Trend charts and Pareto analysis by line, shift, and product
- Alerts when scrap rate exceeds configurable thresholds
- Tied to production counts for accurate cost-per-unit tracking
Constraint Manager
On any line, one operation sets the pace: the constraint. Constraint Manager identifies it and keeps the operations around it from being charged for losses they didn't cause. If an upstream operation is down and can't feed parts, the downstream operation isn't penalized. If a downstream operation is full and can't accept parts, the upstream operation isn't penalized either.
- Identifies the constraint operation on any line
- Protects OEE for operations starved by upstream downtime
- Protects OEE for operations blocked by downstream conditions
- Points improvement work at the bottleneck
- Keeps starved and blocked time from distorting OEE
- Dynamically updates as production conditions change
Digital Schedule Delivery
Send the current production schedule straight to operator consoles instead of printing it or passing changes along by word of mouth. Push changes to the floor as priorities shift, manage job sequence across lines and machines, and connect to your ERP for schedule download and production upload.
- Paperless delivery of the current schedule to the floor
- Real-time schedule changes pushed instantly to operator consoles
- Job sequencing and prioritization across machines and lines
- ERP integration: schedule download and production upload
- Recipe download to machines for changeover guidance
- Actual vs. planned order progress tracked in real time
Andon Calls
When a machine stops, a quality issue surfaces or a changeover is due, the operator triggers an Andon call with a single button press. Maintenance, quality or a supervisor is notified immediately through the Andon board, email or SMS. Every call is tracked from trigger to resolution, so supervisors can see response times and which problems keep coming back.
- Single button press to escalate any production issue
- Routes alerts to maintenance, quality or management
- Real-time Andon boards visible across the shop floor
- Email and SMS notification delivery
- Tracks response time and resolution time per call type
- Pareto of call types and departments to guide improvements
Real-Time Visibility
Live production dashboards accessible anywhere — on shop floor screens, wall-mounted Andon boards, mobile devices, or any browser. See performance against targets as it happens. Supervisors and managers don't need to walk the floor or wait for end-of-shift reports to know what's going on.
- Live OEE, throughput, and downtime on shop floor displays
- Mobile-accessible dashboards for managers on the move
- Current performance vs. target shown in real time
- Colour-coded status indicators for instant recognition
- Configurable views by line, plant, or shift
- Data updates continuously from the floor
Shift Notes
Operators and supervisors leave structured notes against a machine, a product running on it, or the whole plant. The incoming shift sees what happened, what to watch for and what's been escalated, and past notes stay searchable.
- Per-machine or plant-wide notes visible to all shifts
- Tie notes to specific products on a machine
- Timestamps and author tracking for every entry
- Incoming shift sees active notes immediately at login
- Searchable history for recurring issues or patterns
- Reduces verbal handover gaps and missed communications
"Left rear bearing running warm. Monitor closely — maintenance notified."
"Recipe updated for Part #A-421. New cycle time: 22.4s. Running well."
Process Variable Collection
Collect any signal from your equipment on conditions you define: a time interval, a value range, or any time the value changes. Collected variables feed trend charts and alerts, and build a history of each process parameter. Collection rules are set in the 10in6 interface, with no custom programming.
- Collect any PLC or sensor signal on configurable conditions
- Time-based, range-based, or change-triggered collection
- Trend charts and historical analysis for any variable
- Alerts when variables move outside defined limits
- Link process variables to specific products or jobs
- Foundation for SPC and quality parameter monitoring
Scrap by Component
Set up the Bill of Materials and product routing for any product, then track and scrap individual components as the part moves through each stage of the process. Instead of knowing only that a finished part was scrapped, you know exactly which component failed and at which operation — giving you precise material consumption and waste data.
- Configure Bill of Materials and process routing per product
- Scrap individual components at each process step
- Track material consumption through the full production flow
- Identify which components and operations drive the most waste
- Component-level scrap tied to overall OEE and quality data
- Supports accurate cost-per-unit and yield calculations
From the PLC to the shift report
Connect to your equipment
10in6 connects to the PLCs and machines you already have, in most cases without new hardware, and starts collecting data as soon as it is connected.
Operators interact via the Console
Operators use a touch-screen Operator Console built for the shop floor, set up for their role and usable by someone with no computer background.
Real-time dashboards go live
Production data appears on screens around the plant and on your phone, so a stopped line shows up while it is still stopped.
Reports deliver automatically
Shift reports, OEE summaries and custom KPIs are emailed to supervisors and managers on a schedule, with nobody building them by hand.
"When we started using 10in6, OEE improved without specific fixes — just displaying the numbers enabled operators to react quicker."
Pair with quality and operations modules
All 10in6 modules share the same data foundation. Add quality or maintenance capabilities when you're ready.
Set up around how your plant runs
Standardized platforms expect the plant to change to fit the software. Do-it-yourself platforms leave your team to build and maintain everything. With 10in6, we configure the system around your equipment, codes and reports, and your team runs it day to day.
Your equipment, codes and reports
Your machines, your ERP, your part numbers, your shift structure and your reports.
Your team runs it day to day
Operators, downtime and scrap codes, products and targets, shift schedules, checks, alerts, emailed reports and real-time boards are managed by your own people. Everyday changes need no support ticket and no invoice.
A project manager for the bigger things
New machines, new modules and custom reports go through a 10in6 project manager who already knows your deployment, so nothing starts from scratch. If you would rather we made everyday changes too, we can.
Still here years later
The system keeps being refined after go-live, and new capabilities are added without rebuilding it. Some of our customer relationships have run for 12 years, and 97% of customers say they would never go back.
“Our 10in6 Project Manager has been very responsive and the software is flexible enough to be configured to our specific needs.”
How the 10in6 delivery model works →
MES questions
- What is an MES (manufacturing execution system)?
- Software that tracks and guides production as it happens on the shop floor: what each machine is making, how fast, why it stopped, what was scrapped and how the shift is doing against target. It sits between the ERP, which plans orders and materials, and the machines that run them. OEE, downtime tracking and production reporting are core MES functions.
- What is the difference between MES and ERP?
- ERP plans the business: orders, materials, inventory and costs, usually in days and weeks. MES runs the floor: what is happening on each machine, minute by minute. They work together. The ERP sends orders and schedules down, and the MES sends production counts, scrap and downtime back up, so the ERP reflects what actually happened.
- How long does it take to get started with an MES?
- With 10in6, a focused first deployment, such as one line with the standard operator console and your downtime and scrap codes defined, typically goes live in two to four weeks. Larger rollouts typically take four to eight weeks, and ERP integration is usually the longest part.
See the MES module applied to your operation
Tell us what equipment and lines you run and where you lose the most time. We'll work out which MES modules you'd start with and what they would cost.