Collaborative manufacturing execution systems: Using real-time information to support lean production

Lean production is now a wildly adopted philosophy to eliminating waste and string towards continuous improvement in production but what a software solutions to support is still a hot point. Collaborative manufacturing execution systems (CMES), as a brand new concept deriving from manufacturing execution systems (MES), may be the right carrier in shop floor. First, the concept of CMES and Lean production discussed and the domain model of CMES was analysis, which includes not only the core functions of MES but suppliers management to adapt to Lean production. Later, the structure of CMES is introduced to show what CMES can do for Lean production, which includes collaborative project management, collaborative scheduling management and collaborative monitor management. Last, it was discussed that how the technology of hierarchy electronic boards to provide real-time information to support Lean production, includes planning boards, progress boards, activity boards and process boards.