Factory Orchestration vs MES: Why Execution Needs a New Model
Manufacturing leaders face a universal truth: complexity is increasing, but the time available to manage it is not. Every day, operations managers and CEOs navigate a delicate balance between meeting production targets, maintaining quality standards, and managing costs. For decades, the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) has been the cornerstone of this effort. It served as the digital ledger, the system of record that tracked what was made and when. However, as production environments become more dynamic and the demand for real-time responsiveness grows, many leaders find that traditional MES architectures struggle to keep pace with automation and orchestration
The Definitive Guide to Factory Orchestration Systems
Every manufacturer faces the same daily challenge: keeping work moving with limited time, limited labor, and rising complexity. For decades, traditional systems like Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) have been the standard for managing shop floor operations. However, as supply chain processes grow more intricate and customer demands intensify, these legacy systems struggle to provide the real-time coordination and flexibility needed to thrive. This guide introduces the definitive solution for modern manufacturing organizations: the Factory Orchestration System (FOS). A Factory Orchestration System is a dynamic, intelligent software platform designed to coordinate and optimize all moving parts of your factory
Manage Your Shop Floor With Time Tracking
Time is money on the shop floor. But for many manufacturers, knowing exactly how that time is spent—by people, machines, and processes—remains a frustrating black hole. That’s where shop floor time tracking comes in. By capturing real-time production data on labor hours and machine usage, shops can eliminate guesswork and finally connect their workforce activity to costs, delivery schedules, employee schedules, and quoting accuracy. Yet most shops still rely on outdated methods like paper logs or distant terminals that take operators away from their machines and eat into productivity. Harmoni changes that with a smarter approach to labor tracking
Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing: for Factories and Machine Shops
Introduction: The Manufacturing Shift That’s Already Here The way things get made is changing—and not slowly. Across the country, machine shops and mid-size manufacturers are adopting smarter tools, collecting better data, and making faster decisions. This shift is powered by what’s known as Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing, also referred to as the fourth industrial revolution and smart manufacturing. Fueled by technologies like the industrial internet and advanced data analytics, it’s not just for the big guys anymore. If you’ve ever wondered what these terms actually mean—or how they apply to your operations—you’re in the right place. At its core,
Measures of Success: Understanding TEEP vs OEE
Metrics That Matter Most manufacturing shops have two primary focus points when considering metrics: efficiency and performance. Understanding efficiency and performance is essential to increase production output, improve operations effectiveness, and enable competitiveness. Uncovering just what is holding your shop back from high performance and efficiency can drastically improve the shop flow and prevent unnecessary expenses in the hope of artificially correcting these numbers. Shops that want to increase efficiency and performance must measure and utilize two key metrics in their manufacturing operations: TEEP (Total Effective Equipment Performance) and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). Utilizing these metrics through machine monitoring provides
