Enormous search effort for carrier vehicles
The production of high-quality work platforms is a complex process. Specific carrier vehicles are required for each production order, which are gradually equipped and assembled with components.
Ruthmann faced a logistical challenge familiar to many growing industrial companies: coordination on the factory premises.
With multiple production halls and large outdoor areas, locating order-specific vehicles became a daily test of patience. Without a central digital system, employees had to search various areas of the plant before finding the appropriate carrier vehicle for the order.
The challenges at a glance:
- Enormous search times: Valuable working time was lost just to find out where the vehicle or the appropriate components were located.
- Production bottleneck: If the vehicle was not at the assembly site on time, subsequent steps could not begin, threatening delivery deadlines.
- Dependence on staff knowledge: Often only certain contacts knew where a vehicle was parked. If this person was sick or on vacation, the information was missing, and the process stalled.
Real-time tracking of carrier vehicles and components
To end this situation, Ruthmann sought a technology that is not only robust but also scalable. The choice fell on the Asset Tracking solution from SmartMakers.
This is how the solution works in detail:
- Intelligent hardware: Carrier vehicles and key components are equipped with robust IoT Trackers designed for industrial use.
- Seamless location (indoor & outdoor): The solution's particular strength lies in its ability to provide precise position data both in enclosed production halls and on the open spaces of factory premises.
- The Digital Twin: Through the cloud-based Real-Time Operations Platform thingsHub, all locations are visualized on a digital map in real-time.
SmartMakers not only provided the software and hardware but also accompanied Ruthmann throughout the entire implementation process with intensive consulting and training to ensure high acceptance among the workforce.
Measurable efficiency gain in production logistics
The introduction of the tracking solution not only brought marginal improvements but fundamentally changed the way logistics and assembly work.
- Drastic reduction in search times
The most impressive figure of the project: Ruthmann has reduced search times for carrier vehicles by 90%. Instead of searching the premises for the appropriate vehicle for the order, a glance at the tablet, smartphone, or PC is now sufficient to determine the exact location of a vehicle. - Independence and process security
The exact locations are now accessible at any time. It is no longer stored in the minds of individual employees but is retrievable in the system for all authorized personnel. Production continues smoothly even in the event of employee absences. - Accelerated handovers
Not only does production benefit. Sales can also locate completed vehicles more quickly and hand them over to the end customer, increasing customer satisfaction. - Data basis for the future
In addition to operational relief, the Trackers provide valuable data. Ruthmann now uses the gained transparency for internal audits and in-depth process analyses to uncover further optimization potential.
The project at Ruthmann shows that Asset Tracking is much more than just ensuring the findability of vehicles or other operating resources. It is a tool for stabilizing the entire value chain. Through the partnership with SmartMakers, Ruthmann was able to eliminate downtime and ensure that highly skilled employees can focus on what they do best: building world-class work platforms.
