Oracle on April 3 announced the availability of Oracle Manufacturing Execution System for Discrete Manufacturing (Oracle MES for Discrete Manufacturing), a new application that enables manufacturers to deploy Oracle Applications directly on the shop floor without complex and costly integrations with third-party manufacturing execution solutions. Part of the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, this latest manufacturing offering gives companies with low- to medium-complexity environments increased shop floor visibility, and the ability to reduce manual activities and lower the total cost of ownership.
"We already use Oracle directly on the shop floor and are very excited about the new capabilities available in the Oracle MES for Discrete Manufacturing module that is now available in Release 12," said David M. Rudzinsky, Hologic Inc. vice president for information systems and chief information officer.
Faced with new challenges as a result of globalization and increased demand for made-to-order, customized products, manufacturers today need solutions to simplify production and control costs. Oracle Manufacturing Execution System for Discrete Manufacturing is completely integrated with Oracle's enterprise resource planning and manufacturing applications, giving customers enterprise-wide visibility to adapt to unpredictable changes in demand. Shop floor supervisors have a single launching pad to view key performance indicators as well as detailed shop floor status, and can monitor resource loads and rearrange production schedules as required. This latest release also equips manufacturers with new workbench capabilities to allow shop floor personnel to efficiently and effectively execute, record and monitor activities.
"Our motivation to deploy Oracle's Manufacturing Execution System for Discrete Manufacturing is two-fold: to improve shop efficiencies through improved visibility and to enhance the user's experience through increased functionality," said Hanover Compressor CIO and VP Stephen York.
Reducing Tactical,
Manual Processes
Oracle
Manufacturing Execution System for Discrete Manufacturing includes a new
Operator Workbench with a simplified, easy-to-use interface for shop floor
operators to deliver critical information needed to complete daily tasks.
Activities may be performed simultaneously with direct access to relevant
information, which minimizes system interaction time while improving
productivity and efficiency.
Operators will benefit from list-driven prioritizing capabilities that enable work to be completed in the desired order of priority. Additionally, new configurable work content and sequential displays allow companies to go "paperless" while a clock in/clock out feature captures actual time. The new workbench also streamlines transactions to significantly reduce tactical, manual activities on the shop floor.
Enhanced Shop Floor
Visibility and Control
Managerial
functions available in the Supervisor Workbench enable users to maintain greater
control over manufacturing activities and proactively resolve issues that
prevent work progress. Key usability features include exception resolution
allowing supervisors to easily assign alternative resources, anticipated
capacity resource shortages for proactive staffing changes and a supervisor
dashboard for real-time views of the activities on the shop floor.
