BreconRidge gains flexibility along with MES traceability
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 9/1/2005 6:00:00 AM
A "big bang" manufacturing execution system (MES) deployment can be a risky proposition. An MES is tasked with managing production and recording as-built history—i.e., it's at the heart of what manufacturers do. But when Nortel sold its microelectronics group to BreconRidge, the newly formed manufacturing solutions group needed to get off of its legacy MES as quickly as possible. After evaluating options, the group—an Ontario-based contract manufacturer to high-tech OEMs—selected an MES from Eyelit.
According to Mark Tremblay, director of manufacturing, the group knew Eyelit from a GUI that Eyelit had provided for the legacy MES. "They certainly weren't strangers to MES," says Tremblay. "We probably would not have considered their tool had it not been for the previous experience, which was quite good."
The quick time line for getting onto Eyelit's MES carried challenges, says Tremblay. One was data migration. "We were deeply embedded in the past system, and had about six years of data we needed to keep," he says, adding that Eyelit provided translation scripts that cleanly mapped the past history into the MES database.
The implementation took less than 90 days. The early focus was on matching past MES functionality. To speed that along, says Tremblay, deployment of reporting was delayed to concentrate on the core work-in-process (WIP) tracking functions.
Tremblay says there were some "teething pains" from unanticipated functionality that needed to be added, partly to accommodate new business practices under BreconRidge. But by February 2004, the MES and its reporting were fully up and running, providing the detailed traceability needed in microelectronics manufacture. "We actually track which wafer die goes into which package, and from there, into what lower-level and higher-level assemblies," Tremblay says. This level of traceability is needed for BreconRidge's deliverables to military suppliers.
Improvements with the new system include better electronic work instructions that hyperlink from specific work tasks to the needed documents. Tremblay says the system also highlights processes that have been put on hold, and triggers associated follow-ups by engineering or equipment managers.
Changing the MES to track product variations is simple, Tremblay reports. "I can quickly create a new process flow by copying a current process flow and editing it," he says. "The whole thing can be done in minutes."
Next up, BreconRidge will begin real-time, two-way integration between the Eyelit MES and its ERP system from SAP. This integration makes use of the MES's embedded integration layer, which contains configurable business logic and integration brokers known as plug-ins.
