Insights that make a difference in industrial processes

In my recent post I touched upon a topic of optimization of industrial areas. While describing one of the best-known management models in the world — Toyota Production System, I realized that seemingly trivial things can lead to delays and sometimes even to downtimes at work. During the preparation to the launch of our new product, InSites 4.0, I had the opportunity to conduct numerous interviews with owners and managers of factories and warehouses.

When it comes to the system of property maintenance, there was particularly one issue my respondents had in common: they said there was no simple system, which would help in factory floor monitoring. That’s why I decided to show the possibility of reducing the production time and costs by controlling the movement of forklifts.

For those who don’t work for a manufacturer or run their own production site it may seem somewhat impossible that the movement of such machines is of real importance to production processes. But everyone running their own business knows that every second counts. How can you optimize their traffic? Well, take a closer look at the optimization possibilities InSites 4.0 opens up.

A typical work cycle without floor monitoring

Imagine the everyday movement pattern of a forklift in a production hall. Let’s take a look at its example assignment — material distribution in a factory. A truck with raw materials arrives at the factory, about an hour late, fifth time this month. Instead of waiting, a person responsible for the unloading went on to perform other duties. Now, when the truck can be unloaded, he cannot use a forklift, since every machine is occupied by another employee. After minutes of searching and waiting for a free trolley, he is now able to do his job, and the goods are being finally unpacked.

Everything seems okay, doesn’t it? Materials were delivered and the production moved on. But in production processes every second counts, so industrial managers do care about traffic fluency and want their businesses to function in full swing. To ensure optimised use of crucial resources, they should think of implementing precise indoor positioning in their factories and warehouses. Why?

Imagine that at the initial stage of production there is a shortage of raw materials, which were supposed to be delivered at that time. In this situation, delayed delivery and consequently delayed unloading disturbs the entire production cycle.

Smart floor monitoring changes everything

A truck with raw materials arrives at the factory, about an hour late. This time the delivery company will get the collected data about delays from the Analytical Dashboard. We can negotiate better delivery conditions, otherwise we could simply change the supplier and choose a more competent one.

A person responsible for the unloading the truck won’t have any problems with the availability of forklifts. On the basis of observation of traffic, with the use of statistics and heat maps, logisticians are able to define hours of the highest demand for trolleys. Thanks to this, the number of trolleys is adapted to the needs, so there are no additional delays.

Observe and improve

As you can see, the solution gives measurable business benefits. In this case, just a simple implementation of InSites 4.0 in an industrial complex may bring an efficiency increase of up to 20–30%. The cost of implementation can pay off already in the second quarter. And this is just the use of InSites 4.0 for forklifts.

What else can InSites 4.0 be used for? Tools that enable traffic analytics provide amazing opportunities to support everyday factory and warehouse processes. An example is health & safety assistance. InSites allows to set up special zones which only authorized persons have access to. After the zone is crossed by an unauthorized person, the manager gets a e-mail or SMS notification. Another example is the ability to determine optimal paths. By analyzing traffic, you can designate the most frequently visited places, as well as designate ergonomic workplaces.

The possibilities indoor positioning gives are innumerable, it all depends on your company’s portfolio and your needs. Who likes unused opportunities? Indoorway will allow you use your space to the fullest.

For more visit: https://www.indoorway.com and read the post about InSites 4.0