CIMAG MES Reviews

“centralized MES with strong shop-floor support”

Pros

Across our facility, IMCO-CIMAG serves as a central part of the operation and is used at every station. It has cut down data entry time significantly by automatically capturing production data, which lets our team spend more time on higher-value work. Tasks are digitized and standardized and operators get guidance throughout each step of the process. IMCO-CIMAG also delivers the applications and interfaces tailored to our requirements, all brought together within the MES solution. The built-in document management adds much better visibility and control over documents and procedures.

Cons

Because this was such a key project for our company, rolling out IMCO-CIMAG meant setting up a dedicated team and giving them a lot of autonomy. The real challenge was evaluating how mature the business was and how ready it was to adopt new tools and concepts.

“packaging automation boost”

Pros

Our packaging workflow has been fully automated with the IMCO-CIMAG solution, covering everything from work-in-progress management with dedicated handheld terminals to production order planning and scheduling, barcode label creation, shipping and adding delivery slips. Before this, the whole process was handled on paper, which meant wasting time writing things down, re-entering data into Excel and carrying information between workshops. With the ERP and PLC integrations, we can now share production and maintenance data in real time across departments, which has helped us respond faster and improve overall productivity. Barcode handling has also strengthened product traceability and made shipments more dependable especially with the portable terminals built specifically to work with IMCO-CIMAG. On top of that we now have production and maintenance indicators available instantly so monitoring packaging performance is much more immediate.

Cons

Nothing to complain about. Everything has been working well.

“consistent production visibility”

Pros

Choosing IMCO-CIMAG Production along with its scheduling module helped us bring more stability to our production and keep a dependable eye on everything happening on the floor. We're able to check all of our key indicators very quickly and see the progress of production in real time. That gives us trustworthy data to support our decisions instead of relying on guesswork. On top of that the production schedule is better optimized now and we have a much clearer and more precise view of both production timelines and delivery dates. The software is easy to use, quick to learn and the Alpha-3i and IMCO support teams have been very responsive whenever needed.

Cons

Because the system is interfaced with our ERP some of the same data ends up being stored in both the ERP and the MES.

“reliable real time planning boost”

Pros

Since adopting IMCO-CIMAG MES, we've cut printed documents by 95%. It captures production data in real time and sends it to our ERP every day. Because the production data is so reliable, we're able to keep improving our planning and meet customer delivery deadlines much more effectively. The IMCO-CIMAG planning tool was also specifically developed for our needs, which has helped automate a large portion of our production scheduling.

Cons

It's a great program, I have nothing bad to say about it.

“stable MES with smooth ERP link”

Pros

After our in-house MES became impossible to maintain once the original developers left, moving to a market solution became essential to keep our production and time tracking secure and dependable. We decided on CIMAG MES from Alpha-3i and IMCO and we're very happy with that choice today. It allowed us to restart production while keeping our specific management rules in place for medical devices like knee and hip prostheses. Entering operating times and production data is very user friendly, which has been a big advantage. We were also able to train all of our operators quickly and give them more independence. On top of that the integration with our existing ERP system, Sage X3, was not an issue at all.

Cons

One limitation is that the reporting tools seem to be designed more for machine related reports than for labor reporting. It would also help if the creation of customizable reports were made simpler for users who are not already familiar with that process.

“visual OEE insights and control”

Pros

Using this solution has become our first choice especially on the operator panel. Operator management is quick and efficient and the supervision KPIs are highly visual, which makes real time monitoring of productivity, quality and team performance much easier. Another big advantage is the ability to build custom widgets based on our specific needs, which really helps us stay aligned with how we want to manage and steer the workforce. When bugs come up, the support team responds quickly and handles things efficiently. On the results side, the OEE monitoring feature gives us much more accurate production cost tracking. It also lets us run very precise performance analyses over a defined period and the OEE analysis updates automatically on a regular basis. Overall, we've cut downtime by 10%. The detailed machine downtime data also makes it easier to manage continuous improvement actions and support our investment requests with solid justification.

Cons

Getting it in place does require having a project manager available to guide the transition especially to support operators and team managers. Adjusting the OEE calculation method can also be tricky at the beginning since it changes the performance benchmarks used by management, workshop supervisors and team members. An MES rollout is somewhat expensive, even if it does justify the cost in the end. It also takes internal resources to act on the improvement initiatives highlighted by the MES.

“real time production visibility”

Pros

To improve machine efficiency and support ongoing manufacturing improvements, we implemented IMCO-CIMAG Production and it has been a very flexible solution for us. It connects to our ERP without much trouble through different methods, whether that is direct database links or file-based exchanges. A custom interface developed for DIXI Polytool gives us real time visibility into the exact status of our production orders. Because production times are declared in the system, we can update them quickly and keep daily scheduling as accurate as possible, which helps us provide more reliable delivery timelines to customers. On the operator side, the interface lets staff record scrap quantities at the end of production and classify them properly. That information is then automatically collected and reviewed by the quality department. We also added tool management, which shows operators which tools should be used during production. This has helped standardize our manufacturing process and reduce production variability. On top of that IMCO-CIMAG has enabled us to set up performance monitoring indicators for our machines. With the software, we can supervise all machines instantly and get a clear view of machine statuses along with production rates for each one.

Cons

I can't think of any downside to this software.

“great traceability and visibility”

Pros

Since we started using IMCO - Cimag Production, work order traceability has improved a lot thanks to the computerized process. The operator just scans a paper document and it is sent straight to the control screen, which removes the risks that come with manual data entry. All production records and machine operations are accessible to employees and properly archived. We also reduced our work orders from around twenty pages to a single A4 sheet, which has saved us a lot of paper. This MES solution has really helped optimize our team's work. Information is captured in real time and transferred immediately and workshop managers now have constant visibility over the entire shop floor.

Cons

Because our requirements were a bit specific, the time between development, testing and the actual production launch ended up being quite long. It was frustrating to feel blocked after the first tests and not be able to move ahead faster. Aside from that, I don't really have anything else to point out.

“live visibility across sites”

Pros

At Custom Performance Colors (CPC), we really needed a way to automate weight entry and finally move away from writing everything down on paper. Once CIMAG Production was implemented, we very quickly got access to reliable indicators. It has helped us save more than 4,000 to 5,000 sheets of paper every day and, more importantly, a lot of time that used to go into collecting and re-entering data, organizing schedules, monitoring inventory and more. Now the whole team works with the same information at the same time, in real time. The software was also rolled out to the group's other sites in 10 different countries and the processes were fully adapted thanks to the support from Alpha-3i and IMCO.

Cons

everything is great

“proactive production and full visibility”

Pros

At first, we rolled out CIMAG-Production mainly to improve product traceability but we've ended up using every feature available. We also introduced visual management in the workshop so operators can instantly see project progress and scheduling as soon as they arrive at a machine. On top of that it's much simpler to anticipate busy periods and check resource availability ahead of time. Our ERP is integrated with the MES as well, which means work orders are sent automatically to production managers and we avoid mistakes from manual entry. Overall, our production process has become proactive and dependable.

Cons

There's no negatives I can point out

“valuable ERP-MES visibility”

Pros

Connecting our ERP with the MES was a key requirement for us so we could recover as much data as possible and avoid entering the same information twice. Throughout the project, the Alpha-3i and IMCO teams stayed responsive and available whenever needed. The solution itself is visual and user friendly. We now have production indicators that really matter to us, such as return rate, machine time allocation, quantity balance, WO balance and more. Another real benefit is that operators can quickly and effectively report production issues like breakdowns or raw material shortages directly from the machine. On top of that each operator gets a personal view of their own activity and production tracking, including WO progress, return rate, scrap rate and similar metrics so everyone always knows where things stand.

Cons

Because there is so much information available in the system, it really needs a recent database; otherwise, response times can become a little slow. Indicator updates are handled fairly quickly through customer service but it would be even better if we could adjust those settings ourselves directly.

“faster tracking”

Pros

Deployment on-site went quickly and the benefits showed up almost right away. One of the biggest gains has been the time saved: when there's a breakdown on the production line, the operator enters the relevant information into the MES and it automatically creates an intervention request in the CMMS. Rolling out CIMAG Production also gave us much better visibility into our production process. When a claim comes in, we can now find the work order and all related production data much faster and with far less effort. Before that, tracking down the documents could take as long as a full day. Now, we can get the information we need in under an hour.

Cons

Only negative is that setting up the configuration requires IT knowledge.

“traceability boost”

Pros

Our customers have been genuinely impressed by the level of process control and traceability. It has also improved quality noticeably, with a strong increase in first-pass production. On top of that the system is customizable and connects well with other systems.

Cons

The user documentation is not always fully up to date. Reporting features feel somewhat limited and the scheduling tool could use an upgrade.

“solid traceability, weak scheduling”

Pros

One of the strongest parts is the traceability module, which lets you maintain the specific type of production traceability we need. The interaction with the ERP is also reliable and stable.

Cons

Its scheduling module doesn't fit our particular manufacturing process very well and updating it takes a considerable amount of time.

“flexible production visibility”

Pros

Having the production plan visible right on the shop floor has been a big plus especially for tracking task time, delays, efficiency and scrap levels. It also gives us more accurate control over production follow up, including priorities and workload. The system is flexible and has been adapted well to our specific needs. On top of that pulling data out and exporting it into other systems is really easy.

Cons

The documentation could definitely be improved. The software offers a lot of options but it's not always clear how to use them.

“powerful scheduling and real time visibility”

Pros

The scheduling capabilities are incredibly powerful and the system is very user friendly for operators on the shop floor. The real time flow of information is also a big advantage.

Cons

There is a connection to IMCO's Energy Management System but it is not a direct integration. It needs to connect through Power BI over the Internet.