Fastems Work Cell Operations (WCO) brings digital production planning, scheduling and shop-floor execution to stand-alone machines and manual manufacturing operations that may still be managed with paper, spreadsheets and disconnected processes. Fastems currently offers a free trial period for both its cloud and on-premise WCO editions, with the cloud trial described as lasting three months.

Not every manufacturing operation is connected to a robot, flexible manufacturing system or fully integrated MES.

The machining center may be automated.

But inspection may not be.

Fastems WCO managing stand-alone machines and manual manufacturing operations

Parts may still travel manually to washing, deburring, assembly, packaging or another stand-alone machine.

And somewhere in the middle of all that?

There is often an Excel spreadsheet.

Maybe several of them.

Fastems Work Cell Operations, or WCO, is designed specifically for those gaps.

Rather than requiring every machine and workstation to be automated before production can be digitally planned and controlled, WCO lets manufacturers bring stand-alone equipment and manually operated workstations into a common production-management workflow.

And unlike many Manufacturing Operations Management vendors, Fastems gives potential customers an opportunity to try the software in their own production environment.

What Is Fastems Work Cell Operations?

Work Cell Operations is manufacturing execution and production-planning software from Fastems.

Fastems describes WCO as a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) designed for production planning, scheduling and execution across stand-alone work cells.

It can be used:

  • As part of Fastems Manufacturing Management Software (MMS)
  • Alongside Fastems automation systems
  • With stand-alone CNC machines
  • With manually operated workstations
  • As an independent cloud solution

This last point is important.

You do not have to purchase a complete Fastems flexible manufacturing system simply to use WCO.

Fastems says WCO can operate independently as a cloud application, which makes it considerably more accessible for manufacturers that want to digitize existing manual or stand-alone production processes before investing in broader automation.

What Problem Is WCO Trying to Solve?

Walk through many machine shops and you can find an interesting divide.

Some of the most sophisticated machines in the building may be connected to advanced CAD/CAM, automation and production systems.

Then a few feet away, another part of the process may still be coordinated using:

  • Printed travelers
  • Whiteboards
  • Excel spreadsheets
  • Paper work instructions
  • Verbal shift handoffs
  • Manually updated production schedules

That is the gap WCO targets.

Fastems specifically identifies problems including excessive paper and spreadsheets, limited production awareness, inefficient material flow, poor communication between shifts and ineffective planning and scheduling.

WCO turns those disconnected activities into scheduled, visible production operations.

WCO Combines MES and APS Functions

WCO does not fit neatly into only one traditional manufacturing-software box.

Fastems describes it as combining important functions associated with both MES and APS — Manufacturing Execution Systems and Advanced Planning and Scheduling.

That is a useful way to understand it.

WCO does more than record that an operation occurred.

It also helps determine:

What should happen next?

The system can plan and prioritize work based on production requirements and available resources, then present operators with the tasks they need to perform.

That makes WCO particularly interesting for high-mix manufacturing environments where priorities, resource availability and due dates may change throughout the day.

Automatic Production Planning and Scheduling

One of WCO’s core functions is detailed production planning.

The software can provide:

  • Real-time production optimization
  • Upcoming production schedules
  • Time estimates
  • Identification of missing resources
  • Prioritized operator task lists
  • Capacity visibility
  • Order-progress information

Instead of building a static spreadsheet schedule and then manually rebuilding it every time something changes, the goal is to maintain a more current view of what production should be doing.

For managers, that can provide better visibility into production capacity and expected order delivery.

For operators, it answers a much more immediate question:

What should I do next?

Resource Management Before the Job Reaches the Machine

A schedule is not particularly useful if the machine is ready but something else is missing.

WCO can track production resources including:

  • Raw materials
  • Cutting tools
  • Fixtures
  • NC programs
  • Setup information
  • Work instructions

The software can identify resource shortages before the associated work is due to begin.

That matters in high-mix production because machine utilization is frequently lost not because the machine itself failed, but because something needed to run the next job was not ready.

The goal is to uncover those problems while there is still time to fix them.

Paperless Production and Digital Work Instructions

WCO also acts as a digital execution layer for operators.

Production documentation can be associated with part master data and individual production tasks so operators have access to current information at the workstation.

Instead of hunting for the right paper traveler or asking whether the drawing beside the machine is still current, operators can receive digital instructions connected to the work they are expected to perform.

That can include the documentation required for setup and execution as well as prioritized task lists.

For manufacturers trying to move away from paper without implementing an enormous enterprise MES project all at once, that is potentially a compelling starting point.

WCO Can Include Manual Work

This may be the most interesting part of the product.

A manufacturing operation does not have to generate machine data to become part of the WCO production plan.

Fastems specifically positions WCO for both stand-alone equipment and manually operated workstations.

That means the broader workflow could include operations such as:

  • Sawing
  • Manual machining
  • Inspection
  • Deburring
  • Washing
  • Assembly
  • Material movement
  • Packaging
  • Other manually performed production steps

The operator can report task progress even when there is no sophisticated machine interface feeding status information automatically.

That makes it possible to build a more complete production picture without waiting until every physical process has been automated.

Material Logistics Management

WCO also addresses the movement of materials between production operations.

The system can generate transfer task lists for internal or external logistics so the next piece of work is not simply sitting somewhere waiting for somebody to realize it needs to move.

For high-mix environments, this can be particularly useful because work-in-process may travel through different routes depending on the part being produced.

Fastems positions improved material management as a way to reduce unnecessary WIP and improve production flow.

Fastems WCO Cloud vs. WCO On-Premise

Fastems currently offers two primary WCO deployment approaches.

WCO Cloud Edition

The cloud edition is hosted on Microsoft Azure.

Fastems says:

  • No machine interface is required
  • A free trial period is available
  • Post-trial licensing is subscription-based
  • Pricing is based on the number of machines or manual operations, which Fastems calls work units
  • The cloud product is offered as a standardized service rather than a customer-specific development platform

The WCO Cloud edition may therefore be the easier route for a manufacturer that primarily wants digital planning and execution without initially integrating directly into machine controls.

WCO On-Premise

The on-premise version provides additional integration possibilities.

Fastems says it can:

  • Integrate with existing or new automation systems
  • Support higher-level machine functionality through machine interfaces
  • Be customized or extended with customer-specific functionality
  • Use subscription licensing based on machines or work units
  • Include a free trial period

Machine-interface setup may require a one-time fee.

This option appears better suited to manufacturers seeking deeper connections between production software, machines and automation.

Does Fastems WCO Have a Free Trial?

Yes.

Fastems currently states that both the WCO Cloud Edition and WCO On-Premise have a free trial period.

Fastems’ broader Digital Manufacturing page is more specific about the cloud version and describes a three-month WCO Cloud trial, with a small setup fee.

So this is more than a vendor demonstration.

You can actually put the software into use and evaluate it within your production workflow.

That deserves significant credit.

Try Fastems WCO for 3 Months Free

Current evaluation access

Trial available: Yes
Published cloud trial duration: 3 months
Self-service signup: No
Cloud option: Yes
On-premise option: Yes
Vendor onboarding: Yes
Training: Part of the onboarding process
Use in your own production environment: Yes — that is the purpose of the trial
Cloud trial setup fee: Fastems currently says a small setup fee applies
Sales/consultation contact: Required

Fastems previously ran promotional trials with the setup fee waived. Unless such a promotion is currently active, evaluate the offer based on Fastems’ standard published trial terms rather than assuming setup will be completely free.

The Trial Starts With Your Production Problem

Fastems does something we wish more manufacturing-software vendors explained clearly.

The evaluation process does not begin with a generic product demonstration.

Fastems describes an onboarding process built around the manufacturer’s actual production operation.

Step 1: Identify the bottleneck

Fastems recommends first determining what production problem needs to be solved.

Examples might include:

  • Too much WIP
  • Poor order visibility
  • Manual scheduling
  • Missing production resources
  • Paper work instructions
  • Difficulty tracking stand-alone machines
  • Poor shift-to-shift communication

This is an excellent way to begin an MES or MOM evaluation.

Do not start by asking:

What can WCO do?

Start by asking:

What problem are we trying to fix?

Step 2: Consultation and demo

Fastems then conducts a consultation/demo meeting to understand the factory’s equipment, resources, users and production challenges.

This is also where success criteria can be established.

Step 3: Implementation and training

Once the evaluation environment is defined, Fastems implements the system and trains users.

Fastems says onboarding can often be completed in about a day and that much of the work can be handled remotely.

Step 4: Use WCO in production

Then comes the part that matters most.

You use it.

Fastems describes this stage as user testing in which the manufacturer applies WCO to actual shop-floor operations.

Fastems support remains available during the evaluation.

Step 5: Analyze the results

At the end of the trial, Fastems says it compares the results against the success criteria established earlier in the process.

That is exactly how manufacturing software should be evaluated.

The question should not be:

Did everybody like the demo?

It should be:

Did the software measurably improve the process we selected?

What Should You Test During the Fastems WCO Trial?

Three months is long enough to conduct a meaningful manufacturing-software evaluation.

Do not waste it simply reproducing your current spreadsheet inside a new system.

Choose real problems and measure them.

1. Test production scheduling

Pick a production area where schedules change frequently.

Then introduce realistic disruption:

  • A rush order
  • Machine downtime
  • Missing material
  • An unavailable operator
  • A tooling problem
  • A delayed upstream operation

See whether WCO helps the team recover more effectively than the existing planning method.

2. Measure operator clarity

Ask operators:

  • Do they know what to do next?
  • Are work instructions easier to find?
  • Can they see priorities clearly?
  • Are they spending less time asking supervisors for information?
  • Are shift handoffs improving?

An MES can look excellent on a management dashboard while making life more difficult for the person standing beside the machine.

Do not evaluate only from the office.

3. Track WIP

Measure how much work accumulates between operations before and during the trial.

If WCO’s planning and logistics capabilities are working, unnecessary queues should become easier to identify.

4. Test resource readiness

Track how often work is delayed because of:

  • Missing tools
  • Missing fixtures
  • Missing material
  • Missing NC programs
  • Missing instructions

Then determine whether WCO provides enough advance warning to prevent those interruptions.

5. Include a manual operation

Do not evaluate WCO only on the easiest connected machine.

One of its differentiators is its ability to include non-automated work.

Put an inspection station, manual process or stand-alone operation into the workflow and see whether WCO actually improves coordination.

6. Ask operators what they think

This one matters enormously.

If operators bypass the system after the trial ends, the project failed regardless of how impressive the scheduling screen looked.

Ask the people performing the work whether WCO gives them better information with less administrative effort.

Who Should Consider Fastems WCO?

WCO appears particularly well suited to:

  • CNC machine shops
  • High-mix, low-volume manufacturers
  • Job shops
  • Manufacturers with stand-alone CNC equipment
  • Plants combining automated and manual processes
  • Companies still scheduling portions of production in Excel
  • Manufacturers using paper travelers and work instructions
  • Existing Fastems automation customers
  • Companies planning gradual rather than all-at-once factory digitization

It may be especially interesting for manufacturers that feel caught between two extremes:

Spreadsheets are no longer enough, but a massive enterprise MES implementation feels like too much.

WCO offers an intriguing middle path.

Is Fastems WCO MES, APS or MOM?

In practice, it crosses those boundaries.

Fastems calls WCO an MES solution.

But its automated production planning and scheduling capabilities overlap with APS.

And because it coordinates planning, resources, execution, material flow and manufacturing visibility, WCO also fits naturally within the broader category of Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) software.

For EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com, we classify WCO under Manufacturing Operations Management because that best reflects the manufacturing problem it is trying to solve.

Fastems WCO Trial Verdict

Evaluation access: Excellent

Fastems deserves credit here.

A three-month production evaluation is far more useful than a polished hour-long demonstration of an idealized factory.

WCO is also unusual because its value depends heavily on how well it fits the messy middle of manufacturing: the stand-alone machines, manual processes, missing resources, changing priorities and disconnected operations that do not always show up neatly in an enterprise architecture diagram.

That makes real evaluation particularly important.

What we like

  • Real trial access
  • Three-month cloud evaluation period
  • Cloud and on-premise options
  • Can operate independently of Fastems automation
  • Designed for manual as well as automated operations
  • Real production onboarding
  • Defined success criteria
  • Trial-period support
  • Post-evaluation results analysis

What to clarify

Before beginning, ask Fastems to document:

  • Exact trial duration for your selected edition
  • Cloud setup fee
  • Number of machines/work units included
  • ERP integration available during the evaluation
  • Machine-interface availability
  • Data export after the trial
  • Support coverage
  • What happens to your production data if you do not continue
  • Post-trial subscription pricing

EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com Take

There is a lot to like about Fastems’ approach to evaluation.

WCO addresses a manufacturing reality that larger software presentations sometimes make disappear:

Factories are rarely completely automated.

There may be robots and sophisticated machining centers on one side of the aisle while somebody is still walking a paper traveler to the next operation on the other.

WCO is designed to connect those worlds.

More importantly for an evaluator, Fastems is willing to let you test whether it actually works in yours.

Three months gives a manufacturer enough time to encounter schedule changes, missing resources, rush orders, operator questions and the other everyday disruptions that determine whether manufacturing software is genuinely useful.

Use that time wisely.

Don’t ask Fastems to show you a perfect production workflow.

Make WCO prove it can improve your imperfect one.