Smart Barcode Scanning in MES 11.2

Smart Barcode Scanning in MES 11.2: Accelerating Shop Floor Operations#

In manufacturing, speed and accuracy go hand in hand. Every second spent typing, clicking, or searching for information is a moment taken away from value-added work on the shop floor. When operators handle hundreds of materials a day, small inefficiencies compound quickly.

Smart Barcode Scanning brings a faster, more reliable way to interact with Critical Manufacturing MES. With a single scan, the system can interpret complex barcode strings, extract multiple data, and instantly populate the right fields - no matter the order they appear in.

From material creation to tracking and storage, this feature eliminates manual entry, reduces errors, and ensures that operators can focus on production, not paperwork.

What Is Smart Barcode Scanning?#

Smart Barcode Scanning simplifies operator interactions by automatically filling multiple UI fields from a single barcode scan. Instead of manually entering material attributes, operators scan a 1D or 2D barcode - such as GS1, ECIA, or Mat-Label - and the system extracts and maps each encoded value to the correct field in the interface.

This reduces manual input, increases data accuracy, and provides a faster user experience on the shop floor.

How It Works?#

Smart Barcode Scanning relies on two core configurations:

1. Telling the system how to read a barcode.
2. Telling it what to do with the data it finds.

Once these pieces are in place, MES can take a single scanned string and automatically map each encoded value to the correct field on the GUI.

1. Define the Barcode Label Specification#

The first step is teaching the system the structure of the barcode you plan to use.

In the Configuration entity, set the /Cmf/Guis/Configuration/Common/Barcode/LabelSpecification/ configuration entry to the appropriate format (for example, GS1).

This value must match an existing entry in the Label Specification Lookup Table.

By defining this specification, you are telling the MES which parsing rules to apply - including how prefixes are structured and how segments are separated - so it can correctly extract the data embedded in the barcode string.

2. Map Barcode Segments to GUI Fields#

After defining the format, the next step is specifying which values MES should extract and where they should appear. This is configured in the Label Specification Field Generic Table.

Each record in this table describes:

• Prefix - the identifier the system looks for inside the barcode.
• Target Field - the MES field that receives the extracted value.
• Sequence - optional, useful if you want to enforce ordering.
• Data Type - such as String or Long, depending on the expected value.

Tip To speed up setup, you can bulk-import all barcode properties using the Master Data Packages tile by uploading the Label Specification Field template.

When a barcode is scanned, MES splits the string using the defined delimiter (commonly %) and evaluates each segment. The prefix of each segment is matched against the Label Specification Field table, and the corresponding GUI fields are automatically populated - regardless of the order of segments in the barcode.

As an example and to understand how the mapping is done let’s take this sample barcode string:

1ACookie01%2AProduction%3ALot%4BOrder123%6CCookieFactory%9DMixing

At first glance, it may look like a secret message from a cookie-obsessed cryptographer, but it is simply a set of encoded field/value pairs. Each segment, such as 1ACookie01, contains:

• a prefix (1A) that tells the MES which field this belongs to;
• a value (Cookie01) that tells the MES what to put in that field.

The system evaluates these segments one by one, applies the configured mappings, and fills in the GUI accordingly.

Demo: Barcode Scanning in Action#

One of the biggest advantages of Smart Barcode Scanning is that a single barcode can be reused across multiple MES wizards. As long as the prefix–field mappings are configured, the system automatically extracts the relevant values for each operation - whether you are creating a material, storing it, or running entirely different workflows.

The example below shows how the same GS1-formatted barcode can be used to Create a Material and to Store a Material, but the exact same principle applies to any other wizard that supports Smart Barcode Scanning.

To enable this unified behavior, configure all required prefixes in the Label Specification Field Generic Table. This combined GS1-style configuration includes both standard AIs and internal-use AIs reserved for MES-specific fields:

Once these records are saved and the application is refreshed, your MES is ready to interpret the barcode across every wizard that contains one or more of these fields. And in case repetitive configuration is not your favorite pastime, remember: the Master Data Packages feature exists so you do not have to populate these entries manually.

With the configuration in place, the same barcode used to create a material can also be used to store it - no duplication, no rework, just one scan serving multiple workflows. The demo below shows this concept in action:

Now that you have seen it in action, let’s break down the exact barcode used in the video:

Which translates to the following GS1-style payload:

91Cookie012%92Cookie 012%93Production%94Cookie Factory%95Cookie-A%96Lot%97CookiesFlow%98Mixing%310020%99Kg90Order123%88Storage-Resource-02%89126

Each segment follows the same structure:

• Prefix + value = one field
• % = segment separator
• Order = irrelevant (MES matches by prefix, not position)

Each wizard simply picks the prefixes it needs and ignores the rest:

• The Create Material wizard uses prefixes 91–99, 90, and 3100.
• The Store Material wizard uses prefixes 88 and 89.
• Any additional wizard can do the same - as long as its fields have prefixes configured.

The result is a highly flexible system where the same barcode can support multiple operations, reduce repetitive work, and significantly improve operator efficiency.

Why It Matters?#

Smart Barcode Scanning reduces operator workload, eliminates data-entry errors, and speeds up common shop-floor workflows such as:

• Material creation
• Tracking and dispatching
• Storage operations
• Custom UI Page interactions

Final Thoughts#

Smart Barcode Scanning is a simple but impactful feature that significantly improves usability and efficiency in high-throughput environments. Once configured, it becomes a seamless part of everyday MES operations.

Looking for additional scenarios? The Smart Barcode Scanning Tutorial walks through more use cases end to end. If you want to dive deeper into how the feature works under the hood, see the architectural overview in Smart Barcode Scanning for Developers.

Author#

Hi! My name is Carolina Hora.#

After completing my PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering, I decided to take on a new challenge and joined Critical Manufacturing as a Technical Writer. Fun fact: in my spare time, I love reading and playing tennis!

For more, you can follow me on LinkedIn!