For IT and digital leaders
You know ERP inside out. The shopfloor speaks a different language. Architecture and data, without the turf war.
Most IT leaders I speak to know enterprise systems inside out. Then someone asks for AI on the shopfloor, or a new line needs connecting, and the conversation lands somewhere much less familiar. PLCs, MES, OEE, OT security, data with no context.
The good news is that the principles carry over. Clear ownership of data, and integration that's designed rather than accumulated. The detail is just different.
The architecture
Start with how the pieces fit. ERP plans and records the business. MES/MOM runs and records the shopfloor. Between them and the equipment sit the control and connectivity layers. ISA-95 gives you a shared vocabulary, and my integration patterns article covers how to connect it all.
Be deliberate about where each capability lives.
Integration and master data
Decide who owns materials, BOMs, routings and work centres, and how changes flow. Most delays I've seen come from master data, not software. Read the ERP master data MES needs.
Point-to-point interfaces are often the safest option, because the sending system gets a response. Keep them to a standard pattern and documented, so upgrades stay predictable.
Data and security
AI on operational data needs contextualised data captured at the point of work. ERP holds the business context for every order, but on the shopfloor it sees the order start and finish and very little in between. That's where MES/MOM and a deliberate data architecture come in. See contextualised data and OPC UA, MQTT and UNS explained.
Bring OT security in from the start, not as a gate at the end.
Common questions
What should IT know before an MES project?
That the shopfloor runs in real time, on equipment that can't simply be patched or rebooted, with users wearing gloves. The big decisions are where each capability lives, who owns master data, how systems integrate and how OT security is handled. ISA-95 gives IT and operations a shared language for all of them.
Is ERP enough to support AI on the shopfloor?
Usually not on its own. ERP gives AI the business context, but it records an order starting and finishing and very little of what happens in between. AI that learns from operations needs real-time, contextualised data from the point of work, which is what MES/MOM and the connectivity layer provide.
Start with these articles
Connecting MES/MOM to everything else: integration patterns that last
Point-to-point, middleware, event-driven or UNS. How to connect MES/MOM with ERP, PLM, WMS and QMS, and choose a pattern that survives upgrades.
Your ERP master data isn't ready for MES
MES/MOM needs more detailed master data than ERP was set up with. Why routings built for costing aren't enough, and how to fix master data once.
IT vs OT: why the two worlds think differently, and where MES/MOM sits
IT protects data; OT keeps machines running safely. Why the two worlds think differently, where MES/MOM sits, and how to make convergence work.
Raw machine data is worthless. Context is what makes it useful
A machine signal that says 'stopped' tells you nothing. How MES/MOM turns raw data into contextualised information, and where context gets lost between systems.
Cloud vs on-premises MES: how they compare
Cloud vs on-premises MES/MOM compared on security, scalability, upgrades and cost, and why most multi-site MES already depends on the network.
Other roles
Stuck on something? Ask me.
A question about your project, or about something you've read here. I read every one, and the useful ones become articles or FAQ answers, with names and companies left out.
This is a peer conversation, not a sales call or a consultancy. I work for an MES vendor, so I won't recommend a product, mine included.
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- Written from real implementations, not brochures
- Shopfloor AI, smart manufacturing and MES/MOM
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