Getting started: your first week with Qontiv

Most MES implementations are measured in months. Large enterprise deployments with legacy integrations and custom configuration are six-month projects. We designed Qontiv to be different — you should be capturing real production data on day one, not day sixty.

Here’s a realistic picture of what a first week looks like for a new Qontiv customer.

Day 1: Core configuration (2–4 hours)

The foundation of any MES is the data model: what equipment do you have, what items do you produce, and what routes do those items follow through your equipment?

In Qontiv, this takes a few hours, not weeks. The admin interface is designed for a production engineer, not a systems integrator.

Equipment: Add your production equipment. Each equipment record has a code, name, type, and optional site assignment. For a 15-machine shop floor, this takes 20 minutes.

Items: Add your manufactured items (finished goods and key sub-assemblies). If you have an item master in your ERP, we’ll show you how to import it.

Routes: Define the sequence of operations for each item — which equipment processes it in what order. A simple discrete part might have three operations: machine, inspect, assemble. A complex sub-assembly might have twelve.

By end of day 1, you have the foundational data model. You can already create work orders and start tracking production manually.

Day 2: Machine connectivity (if applicable)

If you have modern machines with OPC-UA or MQTT output, day 2 is when you connect them.

Install the Qontiv Edge Gateway on any Linux machine on your factory network (a Raspberry Pi or industrial PC works fine). Configure one or two machine connections using the admin UI. Within an hour, you’re seeing machine signals in Qontiv.

If your machines don’t have network connectivity, skip this step — manual OEE entry and cycle time tracking still work well. Machine connectivity is additive, not required.

Day 3: Quality configuration

Define your quality characteristics — the measurements your operators need to take during production. Each characteristic has a target, spec limits, and a chart type for SPC.

Add your inspection plans to the relevant route steps. Operators will see the measurement inputs as part of their work instructions.

If you have historical measurement data (from a spreadsheet or CMM output), this is a good day to import it — your SPC control limits will be calculated from real data, not defaults.

Day 4: Work order and operator flow

Create your first real work order for a part you’re actively running. Assign an operator. Walk through the Qontiv operator interface on a tablet or touchscreen at the machine.

The operator flow is: receive the work order, step through the work instruction, enter measurements at quality checkpoints, complete operations as they finish. The system tracks cycle time and OEE automatically.

This is also the day to configure your downtime reason codes — the list of reasons an operator can select when a machine stops. Keep this list short and meaningful (15–20 reasons maximum). Too many reasons creates option paralysis; operators default to “other” and the data loses meaning.

Day 5: OEE and reporting

By day 5, you have real production data. Run your first OEE report. Look at the Availability factor — the downtime breakdown will tell you where you spent your unplanned time this week.

Set up a shift-end review meeting with your floor supervisors where you review the day’s OEE, downtime reasons, and any quality flags. This is the behavior change that converts data into improvement.

Week 2 and beyond

Once the core flow is working, week 2 is about depth:

• EWI authoring: convert your critical work instructions from paper to Qontiv’s step-based format. Start with the operation that has the highest quality risk.
• Scheduling: set up the scheduling board to manage your work order queue and machine utilization.
• Shift configuration: configure your shift patterns so OEE is calculated correctly against planned production time.
• Alerts: configure threshold alerts so supervisors get notified when OEE drops below a threshold or a quality flag fires, rather than finding out at shift end.

Most customers are running a full production cycle through Qontiv within two weeks of starting. The goal isn’t a perfect configuration before go-live — it’s getting real data flowing and iterating from there.

Ready to start your first week? Sign up free — no credit card required, and you can have a work order running in under an hour. Or request a demo if you’d like a guided tour first.