Parallel orders
Employees
Turnover
Optimization of production processes using tracking technologies
The initial situation
AAE B.V. is a manufacturer of ultra-modern, precise and specialized industrial machines and components. The company supplies customers from high-tech sectors such as medicine, pharmaceuticals, automotive and food with individually developed components, some of which are produced in a build-to-order process under clean room conditions and as one-off production with a batch size of 1. Almost all orders are individual.
Challenging contract manufacturing
Due to the large number of orders to be processed at the same time and individual requirements, production planning and control is becoming an art form. It must be flexible, fast and, ideally, always one step ahead of the industry standard. In particular, the coordination of the various production steps, constant adjustments to production capacities, sometimes necessary rework requirements and the monitoring of work steps outsourced to suppliers represent a major challenge. It is also correspondingly challenging to achieve the necessary transparency regarding the current status of process handling, e.g. by digitally monitoring production.
The motivation
The company was looking for an end-to-end digital solution that would increase efficiency by automatically updating order locations in real time and thus automatically recording work in progress. The integration of real-time data for the digital monitoring of dwell times in the process steps and the automatic comparison of the actual process flow with the process plan should provide valuable information for production planning and control in order to optimize processes and minimize non-value-adding activities. Data-based analyses of the stored histories of the actual material flows are also used to support continuous improvement processes and to optimize the material flow and increase throughput.
The project approach
AEE has established a digital eye in production based on the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER to digitally monitor production to the required extent. This solution has enabled production planning processes to be digitized and control processes to be automated. Errors and non-value-adding activities were significantly reduced and throughput times significantly shortened.
The solution with INDUTRAX
By integrating the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER into the existing IT infrastructure, we were able to work with AAE to ensure seamless recording, visualization and storage of real-time data on order movements and processing. The order data is automatically transferred from the ISAH ERP system and combined with the position data from the Quuppa Intelligent Location System in the INDUTRAX software. By using contextual data from the factory's digital shadow , precise, industry-standard events of the actual process are created and stored in a central database.
This solution enables AAE to make data-based decisions that optimize material flow, promote efficient production control and ensure continuous improvement in production planning.
The result:
- Based on historical order movements, well-founded, data-driven analyses can be carried out to continuously improve processes.
- The transparency of production processes has increased enormously.
- Sources of error have been reduced and non-value-adding activities, such as the manual documentation of movements, have been greatly minimized.
"By introducing the solution as an extension of our existing production control system, we gain insight into events that we cannot capture in the traditional way. We are now benefiting from the solution to enable optimized production so that we can serve our customers even better at
."
Kurt Wils
Manager Improvement/ Strategy bei AAE B.V.
The solution design
The implementation of the digital eye of production based on the INDUTRAX application PRODUCTTRACKER, ISAH ERP and the Quuppa RTLS enables automated order tracking and recording of process handling across the entire production process.
The following technologies and systems were integrated:
RTLS Tags
Equipment of the order accompanying documents for automatic location tracking:
The folders for storing the order receipt were equipped with Quuppa-certified BLE tags from the manufacturer BlueUp (in card format) to ensure end-to-end transparency for orders in the production process.
RTLS infrastructure
Indoor location tracking with Quuppa RTLS in the building:
The production halls, adjoining rooms and clean rooms were equipped with Quuppa RTLS locators, which enable exact positioning and presence detection of Quuppa-certified BLE tags from the manufacturer BlueUp. The position or presence data supplied by the Quuppa system is processed by the INDUTRAX software.
ISAH ERP Integration
Automatic synchronization with ISAH/ERP:
Order data is automatically transferred from the ISAH ERP production planning and control system via the INDUTRAX software's open HTTP REST API. In the INDUTRAX software, this order data is assigned to the RTLS tags used to record material movements in real time and compare them with the production plans. This enables error-free and efficient production control.
MS PowerBI Integration
Comprehensive, data-driven analyses and dashboards:
The industrially reliable material flow information prepared by the INDUTRAX software serves as the basis for the creation of lean and location-aware reports, which can be used directly in MS Power BI via client-side integration. In addition, the data is available in an open database for direct access in MS Power BI, so that comprehensive reports can be created in combination with machine data.
The result and the outlook
With the introduction of the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER, AAE was able to achieve the following results:
- Optimized overview of the current status of production orders
- Shortened identification of orders for the next processing step
- Erhöhung des Durchsatzes durch präzise Auftragsverfolgung
- Reduction of non-value-adding activities thanks to automated notifications of undesirable situations using Poke-Yoke
- Continuous improvement of production planning and production processes through the use of reliable material flow histories
The PRODUCTTRACKER gives AAE a clear overview of the production status and provides reliable historical data on actual material flows. Unwanted situations can be identified and rectified immediately using the poke-yoke approach, thus avoiding errors and reducing non-value-adding activities.
In the future, the company plans to further expand the INDUTRAX solution and invest more in the digitalization of production. One focus will be on extending the solution to new production sites and expanding the functions for continuous process improvement.
Key data and facts about the company.
Business lines
Turnover
Employees
simultaneous orders
Kurt Wils
Manager Improvement/ Strategy bei AAE B.V.
Your contact for INDUTRAX
Would you like to find out more about the benefits of digitalization with INDUTRAX in logistics and production? Would you like to know how our tailor-made solutions and digital tools such as the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER can increase transparency, optimize material flow and minimize sources of error? I would be happy to advise you and show you how we can take your production to a new level.
Simply fill out the contact form and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Dr. Andreas Schürzinger
Principal Consultant IoT
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