Efficient Plant July/August 2020 - 23

MES solutions

Why Your
MES Struggles
Grzegorz Fura
Andea

DIFFICULTY DEFINING REQUIREMENTS
Accurately defining solution requirements is vital. In most cases, mistakes, surprises, bugs, or problematic issues faced during the project
result from not properly defining requirements during setup. This stage
demands involvement from management, key project personnel, and
SMEs (subject-matter experts). SME involvement is crucial.

INSUFFICIENT INVOLVEMENT FROM
INTERNAL TEAMS

A program or a new solution that will change work methods will fail if
people do not have a voice in how it is implemented. People will only
buy-in, help, and use your system if they helped implement it or at
least provided feedback that was taken into consideration.

MISSING MASTER DATA BEFORE A GO-LIVE

One of the most critical and often ignored facets of MES implementations is the master data that drive the system. Its importance is often
downplayed because setting it up takes time. Without a final and
complete set of master data, you cannot have a successful go-live.

PROJECT IS OVER BUDGET, BEHIND SCHEDULE

Very often, companies estimate a project budget without a clear list
of requirements. That is because the executive team needs these estimates to determine whether the project will be approved. These early
estimates then end up being the actual budget for the project. As the
project goes on, adjustments or new requirements will inevitably come
up, and they might not be within the forecasted budget. If possible, do
not finalize your budget and timeline before defining the final scope.

If your new MES is struggling, addressing these factors may help you get
things back on track.

MES (MANUFACTURING EXECUTION SYSTEMS) can
significantly benefit your company, but implementation may be
somewhat overwhelming. Here are some factors to consider when
setting up an MES or to help you troubleshoot an existing system.

ROLLOUTS ARE NOT AS EASY AS EXPECTED

Just because you went live with the solution at one site does not
mean that you know how to roll it out. Planning rollouts that were not
considered in the MES implementation strategy from the beginning
is asking for trouble. A thoughtful deployment needs to be conducted
with the people from the plant and should include developing global
process templates and double-checking site requirements.

TOO MANY BUGS AFTER GO-LIVE

The reason behind technical breakdowns and bugs is often the same:
lack of proper requirements from specialists. Typically, their know-how
and experience could have helped avoid this glitch, but no one asked.

LOW USER ADOPTION

Grzegorz Fura is Vice President of Services and Co-Founder at Andea
(andea.com), and MES consultancy. The company's U.S. location is Brea,
CA. For more MES implementation help, download an e-book from Andea at:
https://www.manufacturo.com/blog/ebook-what-can-go-wrong-withyour-mes-implementation.

JUL/AUG 2020

EP2007rmcandea.indd 23

Your system is user friendly, meets all the functional requirements, and
the implementation went smoothly, but your employees are not using
it. Primary reasons are lack of knowledge about the solution, a nonintuitive interface, or lack of involvement in the process. Make sure
you have project sponsors who can promote the solution and ensure
there is employee buy-in. EP
EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM |

7/15/20 2:31 PM

http://www.andea.com https://www.manufacturo.com/blog/ebook-what-can-go-wrong-with http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

Efficient Plant July/August 2020

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