THE PROBLEM: MANAGING THREE DIFFERENT TRACKING NEEDS WITHIN ONE MANUFACTURING FACILITY
Crystal Group, a leading provider of custom ruggedized computer and network equipment solutions, had three distinct tracking needs within its manufacturing facility. The company required a system to track its 900 assets, which included calibrated tools & gauges, sales order carts, and government-owned assets. The manual method of tracking with clipboard and pen proved challenging. With many kinds of assets in each category and varying movement/tracking protocols required, finding a single tracking solution proved challenging. The manual method of tracking was inefficient, error-prone, and time-consuming. This resulted in significant amounts of wasted time and resources.
THE SOLUTION: WISER SYSTEMS
The WISER ultra-wideband (UWB), real-time location system (RTLS) was deployed by Crystal Group to effectively track their calibrated tools and gauges, sales order carts, and government-owned assets all in one platform. The solution provides the ability to organize assets by assigning tags to specific groups, resulting in stream-lined tracking processes for each one. The WISER application allows for custom views, so internal to the organization the same app can be used by three different groups of staff, all tracking three different types of assets. Groups of assets are color-coded and can be toggled on or off in the viewing pane, allowing a de-cluttered view for the tool technicians, customer service staff, or the operators in charge of government-owned assets (GOA).
Crystal works with a wide variety of gauges, each requiring careful calibration to stay in compliance. With hundreds of gauges all requiring an annual calibration, this meant there were 10 to 20 gauges every single week that needed to be collected and tuned. Traditionally, a technician would scour the floor manually looking for the correct gauges to certify. At best, this was like finding a needle in a haystack. Hours and hours were spent running around the floor finding the correct gauges to calibrate.
With WISER, locating any gauge is trivial. The system knows where all the tags are on the map, and the software links each tag with a gauge’s name, so a technician simply types in the gauge they are trying to find… and there it is on the map.
Crystal Rugged also conducts project work for the government, which includes regular inventory checks of government-owned assets (GOA’s), i.e. supplies and equipment, at their site. These periodic audits used to require multiple people and a significant amount of time running around the site manually searching for the GOA’s. With the WISER system, generating an inventory report is now as simple as exporting and printing—taking just minutes instead of hours. Additionally, rules and alerts are set up to notify the site when a GOA is brought out of the closet and onto the floor, and when it is returned.
Work orders move from station to station fluidly within Crystal’s process, depending on when a technician was able to complete their task on the work-in-process (WIP). In the past when a customer called and asked how soon their work order would be ready, it was a challenge to track down the specific item and what station it was currently located in. With WISER, tags are placed with the workorder paperwork, so locating an item’s current station is as simple as typing in the work order number.
Crystal Group also made the front-end visualization available on a large designated kiosk on the manufacturing floor, allowing operators to easily search for assets, as well as making an appealing visual for their customers who visit the site.
THE OUTCOME: ENHANCED MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
The successful integration of WISER Systems has significantly enhanced Crystal Group’s manufacturing operations and delivered remarkable efficiencies. The platform has achieved full adoption among operators, resulting in heightened efficiency and compliance. Leveraging the system has saved valuable time for multiple different groups of staff, streamlining processes and boosting overall productivity.
“The company is gratified by the simplicity afforded by applying the same solution to the company’s diverse tracking needs. With the Wiser system, we can get immediate access to tool and cart locations that would previously take a large amount of time to find. With over 700 tools and 200 carts that need to be located, it has made us more efficient and allowed us to focus on value adding operations instead of searching for assets. We have had a great experience with the Wiser team, they are constantly working to improve the system and service their customers. We are looking forward to continuing to find ways to utilize the Wiser System to make Crystal Group more efficient.”
— Jacob Grover, Industrial Engineer with Crystal Group
