Mass-customization production (MCP) companies must fight with shop-floor uncertainty and complexity
caused by wide variety of product components. The research is motivated by a typical MCP company
that has experienced inefficient scheduling due to paper-based identification and manual data
collection. This paper presents an RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system (RT-MES).
RFID devices are deployed systematically on the shop-floor to track and trace manufacturing objects
and collect real-time production data. Disturbances are identified and controlled within RT-MES.
Planning and scheduling decisions are more practically and precisely made and executed. Online
facilities are provided to visualize and manage real-time dynamics of shop-floor WIP (work-inprogress)
items. A case study is reported in a collaborating company which manufactures large-scale
and heavy-duty machineries. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed RT-MES are evaluated
with real-life industrial data for shop-floor production management in terms of workers, machines and
materials.