DIAMES FAQ

Inhalt

• What makes DIAMES different from other systems?
• What industries is DIAMES suitable for?
• Where is DIAMES situated within the company environment?
• What is a MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and what are the benefits to the customer?
• How important is real-time data?
• How does DIAMES handle exceptions, anomalities and failures?
• How can users access the information on the DIAMES server?
• What are the "Shop Floor Tools" (SFTs) and how do they benefit the DIAMES user?
• What ERP system interfaces does DIAMES support? 
• Does DIAMES support "Backflushing"?
• Can I use DIAMES at several desks at once?
• What information does DIAMES provide to planners etc?
• Does CSM supply a Demo system to present the entire workflow?
• What are the costs of such a system?

What makes DIAMES different from other systems?

DIAMES is an active MES (Manufacturing Execution System).
It consolidates all production-related data on a single platform. Production data can be made available to any user on the shop floor, in the plant, or anywhere that internet access is available using the integrated VPN facilities.

DIAMES provides the interface between the production machines on the shop-floor and your ERP system on the top-floor to optimize the workflow and thruput, eliminate bottlenecks, avoid unnecessary downtime and eliminate paperwork.
The DIAMES Server is connected to the companies ERP via the LAN. The HMI functionality provided by the MIC (Manufacturing Information Center) or to the intelligent controller of production machines provides the link to the individual work centers on the shop floor.

Some of the many benefits of DIAMES are:

exceptions are detected automatically with automatic alerts sent to the appropriate associates,
schedules can be managed in accordance with the actual production process.
a single server can be configured to generate customized reports on time providing decision makers with the
    information that they require to implement the necessary remedies and to increase productivity.

What industries is DIAMES suitable for?

The flexibility and the vast amount of customization options and settings make DIAMES suitable for nearly any continuous production facility.

Amongst others, we have successfully implemented DIAMES in ...

the wire and cable-manufacturing industries,
automotive component manufacturers,
stamping and press operators,
metal processing industries,
plastic extrusion and injection moulding industries.

Where is DIAMES situated within the company environment?

What is a MES (Manufacturing Execution System)
and what are the benefits to the customer?

An MES bridges the gap between the ERP and systems on the shop floor (HMI interfaces, intelligent production machines, SCADA systems, etc.) eliminating manual intervention and paperwork.

The core functionalities and benefits of DIAMES include:

• shop-order management in accordance with the actual production situation
  (improves production-related decision-making)
• makes the status of shop-orders available in real time
• effective scheduling, rescheduling, splitting etc. of production runs
  (assists/guides associates to execute production schedules properly)
• exception management with automatic notification and escalation
  (enables associates to respond effectively to unplanned events)
• increases the accuracy of information
• manages material movement to reduce WIP
• tracks production units automatically
• automates shop-floor data acquisition
• records scrap and rework reasons/quantities
• reporting facilities
• human resource planning and assignments

The traditional focus of ERP systems is on sales and inventory.

DIAMES provides real time data related to every individual stage of the production process that is monitored and controlled by DIAMES. This means that DIAMES collects information on production progress, batch numbers, quality, downtimes, tool changes, raw material consumption, scrap and rework quantities, etc. These figures enable associates on the shop-floor to improve both the productivity and the quality of the final output.

How important is real-time data? 

DIAMES receives notification of production related events and activities from work centers in real time.
The DIAMES "Management by Exception" principle automatically notifies the designated associates of bottlenecks, failures, downtime, etc. Any delay prevents these associates from correcting problems in good time.

Any production related details that are available to DIAMES are immediately passed to the ERP so that you know the exact status of your production any time.

Real-time data means greater efficiency, higher productivity, reduced down and better overall effectiveness.
 

How does DIAMES handle exceptions, anomalies and failures?

DIAMES is "aware" of the specific environment on the shop floor. This "awareness" is provided by customized options, settings and limit values that are defined and "fine tuned" for the different production processes, work centers and/or machines.

When DIAMES detects an anomaly or exception the appropriate g Shop-Floor-Tool alerts the responsible associate with details about the respective event. This person then determines what happened and how to the problem must be corrected.

The optional MDS (g Message Distribution Service) component of DIAMES can be configured to automatically distribute any exceptions and other messages to designated persons on an escalating scale (in accordance with a set of profiles that are defined for this purpose).
 

How can users access the information on the DIAMES server?

DIAMES supports user-access to information via intranet/internet connections and the g "Shop-Floor-Tools" applications. These consist of a number of data retrieval and visualization clients that are installed on the users PC and provide user-customized, password protected access to the data.

The shop floor tools provide the user with quick, customized access to the data on the DIAMES server using GUIs and textual displays.

The SFTs include:

• MEM - the g Manufacturing Execution Manager focuses on shop floor execution, supervision, shop floor management by exception, manufacturing access nodes, and full remote control of MICs.
• SFM - the g Shop Floor Manager that provides the supervisor with control and monitoring functions for operations, production machines, production quantities, etc.
• LEV - g Log Event Viewer to display events and related information.
• HRM - the g Human Resource Manager to manage persons, production crews, crew members, sign on/off, etc.
• DPV - the DIAMES g Production Visualizer provides the user with a simple shop floor data analysis (history) tool to assess work loads, trends, and a certain level of reporting.

The potential benefit to the users is that they enable the user to manage the complex daily business on the shop-floor much faster and more efficiently when they are using easy to use graphical tools.

What ERP system interfaces does DIAMES support? 

The DIAMES system has facilities to interface with most major ERP systems.

Interfacing is provided for SAP™, BaaN™, PeopleSoft™, JD-Edwards™ and other systems that support standard data exchange facilities and mechanisms.
CSM Systems AG has certified these type of interfaces for some time now and we have gained a lot of experience in this respect.

DIAMES can also be interfaced with systems that have facilities to exchange data using XML-based mechanisms.
As an alternative, DIAMES also supports a "macro-batch file based" data-exchange mechanism (FTP via TCP-IP).  

Interfacing between DIAMES and ERP systems requires completion of a detailed sub-project to define required protocols and data structures.
DIAMES has certified interfaces for SAP™ (under COMIS-X, the predecessor of DIAMES) and BaaN™ and CSM Systems AG has accumulated a lot of experience in this respect.

Does DIAMES have an interface to Syspro? 

Yes the DIAMES environment has such interfaces!

Since Syspro has facilities to exchange data by means of an XML-based mechanism it is possible to configure DIAMES accordingly.
As an alternative DIAMES also supports a "macro-batch file based" data-exchange mechanism using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) via TCP-IP.

Both types of interface require a completion of a detailed sub-project to define the required protocol and data structures.
CSM Systems AG has certified this type of interface for some time now and we have gained a lot of experience in this respect.
We are also able to support your IT experts (or a specialized third party) to effectively implement their solution on the Syspro side.

Does DIAMES support "Backflushing"?

Yes – even better than any classical "Backflushing" functionality!

"Backflushing" is the classical but very inadequate report-back mechanism for the following situations:

• No physically valid "work in progress" information is available from the shop floor.
  In this case the actual value of the work order operation is set equal to the planning data.
  DIAMES is capable of permanently reporting to Syspro the exact quantity produced and exact time spent (run time as well down time for each particular reason).
  
  The classical  "Backflushing" operation is replaced by true and up to date "effective activity based costing" figures.
   
• No work in progress information is available for non-critical work order operations that are not under the full control of the shop floor.
  In respect of DIAMES, CSM strongly suggests that any value-adding activity at shop floor is added to the scope of supervision of the DIAMES system environment in order to optimize the productivity of any single manufacturing process activity to its fullest capacity.
  
  In this respect, "Backflushing" is used to update "skipped" work order operations with the values of the subsequent operation. These figures, however, ignore the scrap component as well as the wasted time.
  
  

Can I use DIAMES at several desks at once?

Yes. The DIAMES environment is based on a Server system. This server permanently communicates with each individual production machine and the respective operator or crew. It also simultaneously communicates with the Production Planning or ERP environment.

The DIAMES -> "Shop-Floor-Tools" components provide every PC-user (with the appropriate access rights) with permanent and concurrent access to all the production information that is controlled by the DIAMES Server.
Users can access this information by means of a PC or a Lap-Top via the company’s LAN or Internet based VPN (Virtual Private Network) links at any place and at any time.

What information does DIAMES provide to planners etc?

Planners can use the -> "Advanced production Scheduler" or APS to view the actual capacity and work load of each production machine as well as the sequence of planned production activities.
The APS is a graphical planning tool with a user-friendly and effective MS-Windows based GUI that is complementary to the DIAMES family of products.

The actual or past work in progress of each particular work order operation can be displayed.
A special system configuration visualizes the estimated remaining production time at the stroke of a key.
Bottlenecks and lost or unused production capacities are displayed to all planners as well as production management.

Does CSM supply a Demo system with a fictional company to present the entire workflow?

We prefer a live presentation at a fully operational plant of a actual system-user. There we will discuss your particular configuration requirements and provide you with an impression of the best results you can expect from your manufacturing environment.

Every company and/or enterprise is different, and your scope for improvements should be measurable for immediate success with DIAMES.

What are the costs of such a system?

Cost depend on the answers that you provide to number questions, i.e.:

• How many production machines will you manage?
• What is your business structure (by locations)?
• How is production planning and execution performed at your facility?
• What production related IT has been implemented (besides your ERP system)?
• What are your measurable business goals – and what is the respective time frame?
• What are your unsolved "pains" in your manufacturing environment?