Integration of Manufacturing Execution System and Simulation

This paper presents a concept of development of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) by using simulations. MES is one of manufacturing systems that are used to bridge the data between the gap of the bottom layer (such as the shop floor control) and the enterprise system layer (such as Enterprise Resource Planning: ERP). The paper focuses on the functions of MES which link the levels of operations management and shop floor control, especially in continuous slab casting processes. In order to illustrate the roles and the advantages of simulations to MES, the dominant and problematic issues, which directly affect the system development, the system maintenance, and the shop floor control, are described. Recent researches in the field are presented. The paper provides possibility for improving performance and reducing the maintenance cost of MES via simulations. By incorporating the efficient output data exchange system of the simulations, the higher level of MES (such as production planning) is feasible.