iTAC Presents Milestone at productronica 2021: MES Becomes MOM

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The MES specialist iTAC Software AG will present an important milestone in its product development at productronica 2021: The iTAC.MES.Suite becomes the iTAC.MOM.Suite. The company is thus decisively further developing the existing Manufacturing Execution System for the digitalized factory world. The solution, which is being developed in cooperation with iTAC's holding company Dürr AG, has significant new features for controlling, optimizing and predicting production processes in real time. It is based on a completely new, open architecture and can therefore be integrated into existing ecosystems. iTAC will be attending the trade fair from November 16 to 19, 2021 in hall A3 at booth 161.

"With the major release 10.00 of our MES, we are initiating a paradigm shift. It is the starting signal for the new MOM solution. It enables factories to complete the digital transformation in their production and meet future requirements for an entirely digital process chain," explains Peter Bollinger, CEO of iTAC Software AG, a subsidiary of Dürr AG.

MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management) from iTAC is a holistic manufacturing management system. It covers all the functions required for the networking and automation of processes. It has a modular and scalable design and, thanks to its openness, can be seamlessly integrated into customers' digital platform strategies. iTAC's new MOM solution has the following key advantages:

• Extensive system: The MOM solution enables the control, optimization and prediction of production processes in real time. MOM combines the typical MES functions with solutions for control, planning and analytics. It functionally covers all processes that take place on the shopfloor, i.e. in the area between the machines and the ERP system, but also offers the connection of interfaces to higher-level systems (ERP, PLM, etc.).
• Modular platform that grows with the demand: iTAC's previous MES solution was expanded with new modules and services and elevated to an open architecture. This means that it can be used on a modular basis as needed.
• Raising efficiency through prediction: By integrating analytics functionalities, the MOM offers new possibilities for predicting production data based on captured IIoT and MES data. These predictions can address quality and production performance as well as potential manufacturing downtime. Prevention and prediction services, as well as edge technology, create more value and data sovereignty.
• Always up to date: MOM is based on the latest technological standards. This ensures that the customer can participate in innovation cycles emerging worldwide in the long term. The integration of low-code tools to simplify the integration of customer-specific business processes is just one central component of the new MOM architecture.
• Seamless integration into the customer's digital platform strategy: The new technical architecture can be adapted to the customer's digital platform strategy. From the wide range of services and modules, an individual, flexible MOM solution can be put together for each user, which can be used autonomously or integrated into existing ecosystems.

Previous features easier to use with changeover to Release 10.00

With the major release 10.00 and the associated expansion of the MES.Suite systems to the MOM.Suite, various existing features have also been adapted. The CRP, TR and PM services and applications are now available in the iTAC.Workbench – a browser-based framework for integrating any HTML5-compliant applications. They thereby have a new, consistent and simpler user interface.

All three services are part of the classic MES functionalities. The Continuous Replenishment Process (CRP) is a process whose main task is to ensure the continuity of production without interruptions on the production line or station and to monitor the planned production. The Traceability (TR) module supports the identification and tracking of a product from its point of origin throughout the order fulfillment process and the recording of its manufacturing history, for example, to detect errors. Production Management (PM) is responsible for shopfloor data collection and material management.

"We are still relying on the well-established MES functions, but we are placing them on a new foundation and combining them with new services for networked, efficient, forward-thinking and self-organizing production environments. The openness of the system and the fact that it adapts to all requirements enable our customers to position themselves competitively in Industry 4.0 at all times," explains Peter Bollinger.