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SYSTEM INTEGRATION
Many companies have numerous, complex and critical IT systems within their business enterprise to manage financial, scheduling, production, inventory and quality data. Over the course of time, business needs change and technology advances, so it is common for companies to implement and/or upgrade systems in various areas of their business processes.
When the data owned by these various systems is synchronized between areas and visible throughout the enterprise, companies avoid duplication, maximize their IT investments and stay ahead of the competition.
Benefits of System Integration
There are numerous reasons for linking various systems together to share data:
Visibility of plant-floor data in real-time or near real-time at a global level
Standardization of processes
Increased operational excellence
Lower operating costs
Provides accurate manufacturing costs based on productivity
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
With an emphasis on MES systems, the professional consultants at EIS have extensive experience integrating these systems to share relevant information.
ERP: While MES directs operator activity on the production floor, it may not be the owner of the database. When an ERP system, such as SAP or JDE, is that owner, on-the-floor material consumptions must be reported in real-time to ERP to keep the inventory levels accurate. These material lot consumptions establish product genealogy, providing complete history information to ERP. Batch start & stop times assist with finite scheduling. Additionally, lot changes in QC status and/or expiration dates must be reported in real-time to ensure product quality.
LIMS: The use of Laboratory Information Management Systems is widely used within the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Automatically registering samples to the laboratory system and receiving sample results on the production floor in real-time expedites production activities, minimizing any delays due to product sampling. MES can use and record this data to help ensure the quality of materials and products that are consumed or produced by production-related activities. Stored in a single database, this data supports efforts to track genealogy for a specific batch or lot.
CAPA: MES systems are often the first to detect out of specification conditions. When these situations occur, interfacing to a Corrective and Preventive Action system provides a single place where all process deviations are logged and the appropriate corrective action is maintained.
DMS: Document Management Systems may be used to create and track Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other production & quality related documents. When properly interfaced, MES systems are able to retrieve documents directly from a DMS and display them on-screen for the operator at the time and point of use. Keeping electronic copies at the production operator’s fingertips eliminates the need for hard-copies throughout the facility, and minimizes the chances of referencing out-of-date revisions.
Reports: When an MES system directs operator activity and records operator data entry, all information is stored in a centralized database. From this single storehouse of data, reporting software can be used to pull and display any type of data for any specific event/task. For example, genealogy for a given production batch can be determined in seconds, savings thousands of dollars, and hours/days/weeks of time. Available electronically from anywhere within a company’s secure network, these reports can help save time, money, lost product, and help ensure the quality of the output product.
Extensive experience in numerous MES-related projects has cultivated a deep skill set within our consultant team, in all phases of a given integration project. From assistance with problem identification, project scoping and user requirements to developing and implementing technical solutions, EIS professionals help ensure successful synchronization and optimal operation of the systems that are the business lifelines of our valued customers.
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