As the line of demarcation between the digital and the physical worlds blurs, more industries tap into the radically changing economics of manufacturing and distribution. Manufacturing companies are transitioning into smart factories with advanced production processes and IoT for real-time access to a variety of shop floor data. Accelerating the trend for real time reporting and capturing data digitally to enable shop floor transparency, is Orland Park based MPDV USA. When Prof. Dr.-Ing Jürgen Kletti, Owner, Managing Director and CEO, MPDV Group, started off his career with projects on Machine Data Collection (MDE), Shop Floor Data Collection (BDE), Time and Attendance (PZE) and Shop Floor Scheduling (HLS), his company was amongst the early birds in the industry to link business planning and shop floor systems. Since its inception in 1977, MPDV grew from a programming lab to an international supplier for integrated manufacturing execution systems (MES) implementing standardized and modular applications for the smart factory.

As smart technologies are penetrating into shop floor, manufacturing companies using old machinery and processes need to overcome the traditional process of uploading the aggregated shop floor data to local ERP system. “Pushing data from each machine directly to the ERP overloads the system. A system is needed in-between to aggregate data and calculate relevant sum values for the ERP to connect to. In addition, companies need exact data to perform process optimization–an ERP system typically is not made for handling such highly granular data,” reveals Kletti. Tending to this need, MPDV developed HYDRA, the first standard application for production management and a fully integrated MES for shop floor data collection and scheduling. HYDRA performs horizontal integration with a central database that enables analyzing quality data along with correlating smart data like orders and energy consumption data to detect upcoming defects in tools or machines. “HYDRA is a solution that is made for the shop floor users to technical report builders and everyone in-between,” adds Kletti.

HYDRA is a solution that is made for the shop floor users to technical report builders and everyone in-between

MPDV’s Machine Data Collection module, HYDRA-MDE, collects data from connected machines via standardized interfaces like OPC, file transfer, industry specific protocols like EUROMAP 63 for building reports and displaying current values and KPIs. Other elements of the company’s MES solution, HYDRA-BDE for order data collection and the scheduler HLS, act as an important bridge between the ERP system, the shop floor employees, and the machines, assisting in order scheduling before the data is finally uploaded into the ERP. In addition to this, the various manufacturing model functionalities of HYDRA also include analyzing over multiple production sites, fine planning, tool and resource management, tracking and tracing, and much more. “Our user-friendly MES covers all needed functionalities regarding manufacturing control, human resources and quality management in one modular system. Its maturity and modularity allows us unrivaled short ramp-up times in greenfield projects as well as in existing IT system landscapes,” extols Kletti.

Discernibly, the fourth industrial revolution spurred by interconnected digital technology is cruising in with cyber-physical production systems for improved shop floor management. Catering to the need for real-time interactions, MPDV USA employs in-vogue technologies to develop tools connecting machines, sensors and systems to the shop floor IT infrastructure. The company’s Shop Floor Connectivity Suite and Smart MES Applications (SMA) connect the machines to MES and handles data on mobile devices respectively.

Marching ahead, the company meanwhile operates with 11 offices on three continents and looks forward to offer more consulting and implementation services for manufacturing companies. “We never stop to improve processes and our products. The Future Concept MES 4.0 pertaining to Industry 4.0 or IoT and mobility in manufacturing drives innovation at MPDV,” concludes the CEO.