Overview

Analytics compact: Key production figures with top MES

Why new solutions are needed for business intelligence in MES

When it comes to key production figures, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the undisputed number one. In almost every manufacturing company (of a certain size), the key performance indicator OEE is regularly determined and reported, and occasionally actually used to control and continuously improve production. The Manufacturing Execution System, which records, processes and consolidates the necessary operating data and machine data, plays an important role in this. In principle, this works in the same way for all MES. However, there are significant differences in the details – for example in terms of aggregation and filtering options and visualization.

What else is needed in addition to OEE

However, MESs differ not only in terms of overall equipment effectiveness, but also in terms of their entire analytics arsenal. Because even if OEE is number one, other key figures are usually just as helpful. In this respect, the question of which standard analyses and standard reports a manufacturing execution system has on board is interesting, as is the extent to which individual evaluations can be carried out.

Preparation of analyses: visualization instead of tables

And something else also plays a role: visualization. First of all, results are just numbers that can be displayed unpretentiously in a table, for example. However, they are difficult for people to consume in this form because the message cannot be grasped at a glance. Graphical presentations are therefore not just a nice-to-have, but an absolute must-have if something is to be gained from the results.

And a business intelligence solution?

At this point, it could be argued that there are dedicated business intelligence solutions for all kinds of analyses. While this is true, it ignores the reality in many manufacturing companies. An additional BI solution must be licensed, introduced and operated. High-performance interfaces are necessary to enable an exchange. And experts are needed to carry out analyses with the BI solution. All of this is a lot of effort that is only worthwhile in the rarest of cases and for really large companies – at least in terms of production.

There is therefore a discrepancy between the analysis-specific functional scope of MES and the complexity of dedicated BI solutions. We wanted to close this gap. And what could be more obvious than analyzing the data directly at the point where it is created and stored? With technology that works integrated in the SAP system and enables access to all necessary data without interfaces?

Dashboard Designer, the BI solution from top MES

That’s why we have equipped our SAP-based Manufacturing Execution System top MES with analytics features that enable comprehensive and detailed insights on the one hand and can be implemented and used without great effort on the other. The Dashboard Designer – the name of the new BI module – is a UI5 application that enables key users in companies to carry out even the most sophisticated analyses and visualizations completely independently and to create and design dashboards and reports with complete freedom. The Dashboard Designer offers a graphical interface for this purpose, on which the components for a dashboard or a report can be inserted, freely arranged and graphically designed using drag-and-drop.

Unlock the full data potential with the Dashboard Designer

A large number of widgets display predefined key figures – including their calculation with direct access to the data in the respective SAP database tables. The key figures can be flexibly set with parameters and visualized in different variants, creating individual views. This means that results can be prepared in a targeted manner for different target groups and use cases: from aggregated statements for top management to detailed information and real-time displays for those responsible for operations in production to info boards on the store floor or order-related data at individual workstations.

Where the desired findings cannot be made with the predefined key figures, i.e. individual data and calculations are required, these can be made accessible to the Dashboard Designer with the help of specifically created OData Services – including almost any graphical representation and visualization. The entire database of the underlying SAP system can then be accessed, which also enables evaluations far beyond the production sphere. Other components can also be integrated – from photos and documents to content from the Internet and third-party applications.

Dashboards and reports are typically made accessible to user groups via the SAP Fiori Launchpad. The user experience therefore fits seamlessly into the SAP Fiori standards.