3 WAYS REAL-TIME TRACKING
POWERS DIGITAL FACTORIES
Information surpassed materials as the catalyst for
activity in manufacturing plants more than two decades
ago, but the digital factory—where organizations
digitally plan and project the entire lifecycle of products
and facilities—has only recently become a reality.
The breakthroughs that make the digital factory
possible are:
• mass adoption of embedded sensors, which
can pass information among machines, devices,
products and software in real time;
• advances in wireless communication that move
more data faster; and
• cloud computing, which removes the need to be
on-site to access process data.
The convergence of these breakthroughs birthed the
Internet of Things (IoT), which is the backbone of a
digital factory.
“The IoT basically gives a digital voice or a virtual
voice to assets, physical things,” explained Zebra
Technologies CEO Anders Gustafsson in an
IndustryWeek article. “The digital voice enables them
to communicate something about themselves. It can
be what they are, where they are, their condition, their
temperature, and so forth.”
Digital voices are everywhere in a digital factory. In
this brief, we’ll elaborate on the technology tools
digital factories use for three common functions:
asset management, production planning and materials
replenishment.
A Zebra Technologies Executive Brief
Equipment and tools are in high demand in modern
factories because production is planned in shorter
intervals than in the past. Their maintenance, status
and location can’t be left to chance—if they can’t
be located when needed, activity stops. Downtime
is costly, and the larger the factory, the bigger this
problem potentially can be. Digital factories use
real-time location systems (RTLS) to track assets.
Such a system could consist of unique identification
“tags” affixed to assets that send out pulses, which
can be picked up by sensors. The sensors can pass
on the location information via a local network or the
Internet. Ideally, a RTLS will integrate seamlessly into
existing asset-management software solutions.
ASSET LOCATION/STATUS
2
In today’s just-in-time plants, even a slight deviation
from the hourly/shift/daily production plan must
be identified and addressed immediately to avoid
bottlenecks that stop workflow. One way that
digital factories maintain flow is to track work-in-
process cycle times, which can identify and address
constraint points. To accomplish this, they use
a variety of solutions, including barcoding, radio
frequency identification (RFID) labels and readers,
and RTLS; the output of these solutions is detailed
analytics. Production planners can analyze this data
to plan responses to demand shifts or to identify
opportunities for increased profitability via higher
throughput with the same assets.
WORK-IN-PROCESS
A Zebra Technologies Executive Brief
INVENTORY PLANNING/MATERIALS REPLENISHMENT
CONCLUSION
3
Manufacturers are managing inventory levels more
precisely than ever before—not only to avoid the
carrying costs of idle raw materials and finished
goods, but also because global sourcing requires
ongoing supplier engagement and management. In
a digital factory, lean “signal” systems have evolved
into multi-facility digital links by which suppliers can
see directly into a customer’s raw materials inventory,
and automatically respond with appropriately sized
shipments for replenishment. Software and real-time
tracking solutions combine to create these links
and, in turn, increase a manufacturer’s flexibility and
responsiveness. Keeping inventories low improves
cash flow and reduces inventory-carrying costs for
both the producer and the supplier.
Digital factories use the IoT to manage multiple
functions, including product development and
lifecycle, operations, asset management and
inventory. But fast-moving information is just one
ingredient in the fuel that powers a digital factory.
Software, sensors, ID tags, RFID readers and labels,
barcoding and real-time location systems turn
fast-moving information into actionable cues for
automated or manual responses. Manufacturing
companies are stronger and have brighter long-term
outlooks because of these technologies, so it’s
imperative that plants invest in solutions that bring
them closer to being digital factories.
©2013 ZIH Corp. All product names and numbers are Zebra trademarks, and Zebra and the Zebra head graphic are registered trademarks of ZIH Corp.
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3 Ways Real-Time Tracking Powers Digital Factories
Projecting and planning are two main components in today’s product and facility lifecycle. To ease the process, three technological breakthroughs are incorporated; embedded sensors that pass information in real-time, wireless communication and Cloud computing. In this whitepaper, Zebra will help you better understand the “Digital Factory” and how these tools are used to manage your assets and more.
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