Challenge
Leverage existing hardware assets while providing a turnkey part replenishment solution.
Solution
A health check of the existing sensor network, solution design, updated WhereCall buttons, updated and added WhereLAN sensors, a MotionWorks Enterprise server, Material Flow software configuration, and the customer’s existing tablets for material handlers.
Story
A new high-tech automotive company purchased a decommissioned GM factory to begin manufacturing its newly designed all-electric truck. The facility has a 6.2 million square foot footprint and can produce up to 600,000 vehicles per year. With it, the customer inherited many existing assets, including components of a digital part replenishment system: WhereCall wireless call buttons and WhereNet sensors. These are part of a Zebra Material Flow solution, but they needed updates and additions for adequate coverage, and there was no software to turn button presses into actionable part requests so material handlers could deliver the right parts to the right location in the correct order by route and priority.
Zebra MotionWorks Enterprise is a middleware platform that aggregates large amounts of data into actionable events across a variety of data collection and location technologies, with a single integration point for business applications. It is required for Material Flow deployments and also provides real-time location and historical data for people, equipment, and supplies, indoors and out.
Zebra Material Flow is a web-based, enterprise-level software package that delivers real-time execution management with visibility and communication throughout the plant. It helps customers move from disjointed, labor-intensive replenishment to a real-time, enterprise-wide, demand-driven system. Replenishment reporting provides historical calls, open calls, graphs and dashboards, and data export, which lets management raise productivity and accountability while limiting excess inventory, delivery times, and downtime.
Could your facility benefit from digital part replenishment or another form of real-time locating? Contact EMP today to find out more.
