BlackBelt Enterprise

Pros: We deployed a system that met our immediate needs for internal supportability and DVT/SVT visibility under budget. We measured a 70 percent reduction in engineering hours spent producing weekly reports related to DVT and SVT. This means our R&D engineers are able focus their limited time on product design and value-add tasks rather than compiling and distributing reports. By using the well-documented IntraStage CSV format, we are able to internally support the data output from our equipment. We could also adjust and update our reports and analytics without needing database or software people. The automated reporting means we can share on-demand audits with our customer without needing travel and facetime, which gained increased importance during the COVID pandemic.

Cons: The custom reports were not off-the-shelf at the time of deployment, so they did require up-front development time and effort. However, that does mean we received reports tailored to our needs.

Pros: The architecture behind their data model is well document and extremely easy to follow. Once all our manufacturing data was transferred over it made analysing data simple and genealogy of models easy to follow. IntraStage have their own XML file spec which is far better than anything other companies can offer! It is robust and well documented. The custom reporting feature is simple to use once you get the hang of it, and incredibly useful when sorting your reporting needs. I specially like how reports can be sorted into folders. Another notable feature is how easy it is to get email alerts on reports with an easy to use logic form. The support we have received from IntraStage is second to none. We work in completely different timezones (8 hours apart) and they have made the effort to work with us at times that suit us (which can be very early for them). Their team is great to work with and very knowledgeable in their field.

Cons: The software can be slow at times when generating reports. There are also a couple of bugs sometimes here and there that can result in some of your changes to reports not being saved. However every time I have encountered a bug IntraStage have been quick to fix it. The pre-built adaptors work relatively well but sometimes it can fail. We have found some of our measurement data to be missing and this can be quite hard to find with very large data sets. This is a relatively easy fix as IntraStage can create custom adaptors for your specific data but it is something to be aware of. The UX design can be quite difficult to get your head around initially but you do get used to it. There is a lot of learning required when first configuring the software. Luckily IntraStage provide handy training and their system is well documented!

Pros: Very friendly user and easy to access. Data collection very useful and helping during reviewing in manufacturing processes for debugging/troubleshooting. Having excellent supporting from vendor.

Cons: Recent modernization and security protocols in Azure has been challenging.

Pros: Using the SW in remote manufacturing for over 10 years and early struggles with XML adapter and data access/visibility have been resolved. Working with the Intrastage development team has been a positive experience and we have resolved all challenges together.

Cons: Recent modernization and security protocols in Azure has been challenging. But our data is now more secure.

Pros: Ability to perform a wide variety of SPC functions as well as ease of use and access to our PCBA Manufacturing data from our CM.

Cons: Some data was not accessible. Considerable investment of my time in developing the database and XML adapters to translate the data from its native form to a form consistent with Intrastage database.

Pros: IntraStage's open architecture and open API's allow us to gather data from a wide variety of systems. The architecture also allows us to gather a wide variety of data from test system measurement data, to Failure Analysis data, to human input data, to engineering data. We have transitioned to a 'data driven' environment and IntraStage has been a key part of that transition. Since its initial implementation back in 2012, the volume of data we have been gathering has grown exponentially and the engineering community here has now come to expect data availability. As stated above, the open architecture presented by IntraStage allows us to solve our data problems in ways that are the best for our needs and does not force us to change our methodologies to meet the structure of the software.

Cons: As our data volumes have grown we are experiencing some challenges with the response times of getting data out of the database. IntraStage is currently developing their next generation system (based on Microsoft's Power Platform technologies) and we have high expectations that this transition will greatly improve our data access speeds.

Pros: Once you are familiar with the reports, is very useful in a daily basis. Able to see current status of the units. Able to edit, and update different fields. Able to have summary and detail reports.

Cons: Very slow to run reports. Takes time to get results. There are some reports that takes to much time to open. Another issue is when you update and submit, sometimes takes to do the submit few times to updated.

Pros: There is a lot of flexibility in reporting. I have worked with other companies that did not provide the ability to create custom reports and charged a lot of money to generate even a simple custom report. IntraStage allows me to create my own custom reports. Using IntraStage we also have the ability to trace the history of a product from the field failure back through the manufacturing process. The customer support is world class! The team is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. When we were initially talking to the IntraStage team about getting field return and shipment data into the system for tracking return rates, they had a working prototype (using our data) for us in about a week. They have been awesome to work with!

Cons: I'm not a big fan of Report Builder (from Microsoft) and that this the tool used to develop custom reports. But, honestly, that is a personal preference issue and not a problem with the software. There are no real Cons that I can think of regarding the software.