In manufacturing, MOM stands for Manufacturing Operations Management: the software that plans, runs and records production across a plant, covering scheduling, execution (MES), quality and performance. 

Many plants manage these activities in separate systems. However, in isolated systems, information exchange can be fragmented, meaning that should a machine break down, the schedule can very easily fall behind and get out of date. There are several key elements to choosing a high-performing MOM suite.

The following five questions are the MOM software selection criteria that will help you choose an effective Manufacturing Operations Management Suite.

1. When a machine stops, does the schedule update by itself, or does someone have to re-key it?

The scheduling system should use shop-floor updates to trigger or support replanning, with no one re-keying the information. Downtime, work-in-progress (WIP) and other shop-floor changes should flow from execution into scheduling, and the revised schedule should flow back to the floor.

Ask how long that loop takes, and how much of the released schedule survives it. A good replan keeps disruption to the existing schedule as small as possible, so staged materials, crew assignments and supplier sequences stay in place. Ask who controls how much change is allowed, and at what level: line, product or order.

2. Do planning and production work from the same data, or does one export a file to the other?

Planning and production need timely access to consistent data. A shared data model can reduce hand-offs between scheduling and execution, while separate systems need reliable interfaces to keep information aligned. 

Ask the vendor to show where the schedule reads its WIP and downtime from, how often that information updates, and how exceptions are handled. If the answer is a nightly file, the schedule may be working from stale information until the next transfer. Where systems stay separate, ask how the vendor detects and resolves discrepancies.

3. Can you measure people and machines separately (OLE and OEE) across every plant?

The software should set standards independently for labor and for machinery, and track Overall Labor Effectiveness (OLE) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) against those standards in real time. A line can look slow because it is short of trained operators while the equipment itself runs well.

OEE shows how the machines performed. OLE shows where labor time went, which matters most when one operator covers several machines, or a crew moves between jobs during a shift. Ask whether the productivity model stays accurate when labor or assets are shared across work centers, teams or jobs. Then ask how each metric is calculated and which data feeds it.

The gains from measuring labor on its own terms can be large. One tube bending manufacturer we worked with increased operator productivity by more than 20%, with operators at 50% efficiency reaching 70% to 80%.

For multi-plant operations, check three more things:

• Common definitions. Each metric uses consistent, documented calculation rules at every site, so plant-to-plant comparisons are meaningful.

• Downtime tracking. Each stop is captured with a reason code at the moment it happens.

• Root cause. Downtime and quality events can be traced back to the machine, shift, material lot and operator involved.

4. How many connections does it take to link ERP and PLM?

One point of integration is far easier to maintain than a separate integration per system. Every extra connection is another interface to test at each upgrade, and another place for data to fall out of step.

The international reference here is ISA-95, a standard from the International Society of Automation. It provides models and terminology for integrating enterprise systems with manufacturing operations. Ask vendors which ISA-95 models and interface concepts their integration uses, what information is exchanged, and which extra interfaces or mappings are needed. Confirm who owns each ERP, order entry and PLM connection after go-live.

5. Are electronic signatures, audit trails and cybersecurity part of the system, or add-ons you validate separately?

Look for these controls within the system, with clear documentation of how they are configured, tested and maintained. Separate modules or integrations can add validation and maintenance work, so ask what must be re-checked after an upgrade.

This matters most in regulated plants. For medical device manufacturers, 21 CFR Part 11 sets the FDA's requirements for electronic records and signatures within its scope. These include:

• Limiting system access to authorized individuals

• Secure, computer-generated, time-stamped audit trails

• Signed records that show the signer's name, the date and time, and the meaning of the signature

Aerospace and defense suppliers often carry contract cybersecurity requirements, and semiconductor fabs run equipment networks that need the same access discipline. Ask each vendor to walk through user roles, access control, audit trail review, and how security updates are tested before they reach production.

Using these questions in a MOM vendor evaluation

Turn each question into a scripted demo on your own data: "Stop machine 3 and show us the schedule." "Show OLE and OEE for the same shift." "Trace this lot back to its operator and machine." Run the same script with every vendor so the results compare directly.

Then check scalability across your plants, the implementation support on offer, and references from manufacturers like you. For a structured process, the LNS Research Manufacturing Operations Management Solutions Selection Guide and the MOM Solution Selection course from the MESA Global Education Program are good starting points.