As in any tech industry, acronyms and standards flourish in the technologies used in manufacturing.
One of these is MES, Manufacturing Execution Systems. Simply put, this category of software is used to track and document the process of converting raw materials into finished goods. An older, yet pretty similar term, is PIMS, Process Information Management System.
Over the years, vendors have tried to standardise MES. The two most commonly used MESA and ISA-95 are both pretty old. MESA (Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association) is a 25+-year-old organisation established to "educate the world about Smart Manufacturing and the role and value of using IT in Manufacturing", to use their own words.
MESA's first attempt, MESA-11, was announced in 1996. Arguably the most referred to model, which has later evolved into C-MES in 2004 and "Strategic Initiatives Model" in 2008. This year, 2022, they will release their newest version, "Smart Manufacturing".
So what does it really imply? Basically, a typical MES offers features such as:
Data Collection and Storage: Collect data from operators, production equipment, laboratories (LIMS) etc. and store this in a contextualised database (typically a relational data model, RDBMS, like Microsoft's SQL Server).
Product Tracking / Genealogy: Track all relevant information about the produced item, for example, laboratory samples, who did what, online measurements, etc.
Process Management: Production orders typically originate from an ERP system (SAP, M3, Dynamics and the likes). The MES will take this information, perhaps together with recipes, visualise for operators what to do when, and send production information to the underlying control systems.
Quality Management: Comparing process readings with recipes and expected quality parameters, providing alarms and alerts to personnel, and helping the production team rectify any issues before producing out of specifications. Some systems (such as Mikon) provide sophisticated functionality like SPC (Statistical Process Control.)
Analytics and Reporting: Reporting tools for improving performance and quality, typically by showing relevant KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) in dashboards. OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) is an example of a KPI that has gained popularity. However, it can sometimes be too complex. For instance, a typical KPI might be the "number of kilograms of prime product produced per hour".
There is often an overlap between MES and connected systems. For instance, an ERP system may well handle resource allocation and personnel management, like time reporting.
Mikon is often implemented as a fully-fledged MES, but what really matters isn't what you call it, but what it does. That's why we say the Mikon family is "Industrial Reporting Systems - For better productivity, safety and quality."
