With a desire to increase efficiency and enhance its competitiveness, the Brematech machine shop made the decision to undertake a digital shift. This project was supported by PME MTL and its network of experts.
Specializing in precision machining, Brematech was founded more than 35 years ago in Montréal. Brematech manufactures parts for the military communication sector, power meters and medical devices, among others, and meets the demands of many customers with diverse needs. Since 2012, the company has experienced significant expansion, which led its President, Silvano Bressan, to consider ways to improve productivity. The solution? Increasing production capacity and making significant investments in high-precision, numerically controlled machinery. But it didn’t stop there, because production methods had to be maximized and the company needed to enter a new era.
We are in the 21st century and it is essential to innovate in our ways of doing things
Personalized training and coaching
“We are now in the 21st century, and it is essential to innovate in our ways of doing things”, Silvano Bressan points out, along with the fact that the Canadian and Québec machining industry is lagging behind their European and Asian competition from a technological perspective. It soon became apparent that undertaking a digital shift would be crucial in terms of overcoming this challenge. Up to this point, Brematech had operated “the old way”, and still used numerous printed documents. This resulted in a lack of communication between the shop and the department in charge of managing orders from clients. At the end of the day, production planning was not always optimal.
Leila Aliyeva, Industrial and Sustainable Development Commissioner at PME MTL Ouest-de-l'Île, was responsible for Brematech’s file. She explains: “We recommended that they integrate Circuit 4.0, or in other words, the digital shift in manufacturing businesses program offered by PME MTL.” Circuit 4.0 gives manufacturing entrepreneurs an opportunity to discover technologies that can improve their productivity. They are also given access to coaching from experts in the field.
Silvano Bressan explains: “We received training to help us better understand the new 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing sector and to acquire the IT skills required in this industry. We also took advantage of many hours of individual coaching with an expert in the integration of technology in order to implement our digital transformation plan.” Thanks to this personalized support, a production management automation project was developed, as well as the timetable for its implementation and its financial package.
Gaining access to experts in the field of digital transformation is very expensive, and SMEs don’t always have the resources or the time to take full advantage of this type of expertise.
According to Leila Aliyeva: “Over time, this will lead to the transformation of this traditional machine shop into a smart shop, while promoting the application of sustainable methods.”
PME MTL’s Fonds Développement industriel et durable (Industrial and sustainable development fund) was used to finance this innovative project and allowed Brematech to access a subsidy from the Programme PME en action of the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation. A subsidy from Emploi-Québec paid for the cost of training the Brematech teams so that they could become familiar with the new tools they would be using in the shop.
Leila Aliyeva notes that gaining access to experts in digital transformation is very expensive, and SMEs don’t always have the resources or the time to take full advantage of this type of expertise. “PME MTL helped Brematech to finance the project from A to Z, including implementation and the full testing and trial phase”, she concludes.
Because of the pandemic, there was a delay in implementation, but the benefits are already palpable thanks to better production planning and task allocation. "Currently, we are collecting a lot of information and data, which, when formatted, will help to significantly improve our processes," says Silvano Bressan. Thanks to the digital tools in place, several tasks have now been automated, which facilitates planning and reduces production costs, as well as helping with decision-making.
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Brematech is supported by PME MTL Ouest-de-l'Île.
For more information concerning Circuit 4.0 (in French)