What is the difference between a MES software and a DMS software ?
Digital transformation opens the doors of automation and growth to the manufacturing industry. It is a new industrial revolution, which involves new challenges and requires companies to adopt a real change within their organization. It is no longer a question of questioning the usefulness of a production management tool in the company, but rather to quickly discover the available software and choose the most suitable one according to the needs.
Among these tools are MES software and DMS software. These software applications, often confused, are indeed different. In this article, we will explain the difference between a MES software, or Manufacturing Execution System and DMS, or Daily Management System, and their use in the shop floor.
What is a MES software (Manufacturing Execution System)?
It is an industrial production management software that optimizes the productivity and profitability of the company through production process monitoring, from planning to delivery.
The objective of using a MES in a factory is to verify its results at any time. This is in order to obtain total traceability of the manufacturing process, improve production efficiency, and reduce costs.
Directly integrated into the company's information system, the MES software connects the production workshop to the ERP management software by sending it information with real-time manufacturing data processing, to provide decision-makers with the information they need to make the factory more efficient and optimize production processes.
What is a DMS software (Daily Management System)?
DMS software, or Daily Management System, is a tool that allows regular monitoring of all actions planned in a production site at the operational level.
The implementation of a DMS tool, also known as Lean Daily Management System, aims to achieve predefined goals and, if necessary, to implement the necessary actions to improve processes in a timely manner.
One of the essential pillars of DMS is gemba walks. The frequency and duration of these site tours vary depending on the cases, but it is important that they be regular and effective, to guarantee compliance with the standards defined by the company.
The daily management system also relies on an action plans, documents frequently used in a factory to respond to an operational problem. It facilitates daily monitoring of the actions taken to achieve the goals of a project.
What are the differences between a MES software and a DMS software?
MES (Manufacturing Execution System) software and DMS (Daily Management System) software are often confused. However, they are not the same thing. Indeed, the MES software is a production management tool in the factory: it collects real-time production data and provides total traceability of the manufacturing process. Thus, it allows for the dissemination of a certain amount of information to the various stakeholders.
As for the DMS software (such as fabriq 😉), it is a tool of operational performance management: a set of best practices (such as gemba walks and other typical routines of the shop floor), which ensures the alignment between the operational goals of a production site and the results obtained.
In this sense, the Daily Management System is more in line with a lean approach, aiming to optimize processes by reducing the production time while reducing waste.
MES and DMS software are complementary and can coexist within the company's information system.
What are the advantages of a DMS software over a MES software?
A first distinction is the DMS software simplicity of deployment and use. Moreover, as a visual management tool, it clearly displays the shop floor performance on a given day and makes it easier to identify any gap. How ever, the real added value of the Daily Management System compared to MES is that it guarantees a quick and effective response to these gaps, by accelerating and improving problem solving.
Indeed, daily management allows all involved employees to identify gaps in relation to predefined goals, encouraging them to take the necessary measures to quickly solve the problem and restore the expected level of performance.
To summarize
MES (Manufacturing Execution System) software and DMS (Daily Management System) software are two different solutions: the MES software is a production management tool in the shop floor, while the DMS is an indispensable tool for solving problems in the shop floor. These solutions are complementary and can be integrated into the company's information system. The DMS, easy to deploy, has the enormous advantage of providing a quick and effective response, pushing for improvements and necessary changes to pursue operational excellence.
