Cami Automotive, a joint venture between Suzuki Motors and General Motors of Canada, initially used RFID to improve the replenishment of parts on the automotive manufacturing line. Now, Michael Denomme, chief technician of the plant's RFID system, said that RFID technology has been extended to improve the management and safety of the storage yard.
The Cami Motors manufacturing facility in Ontario produces Suzuki XL7, Chevrolet and Beetle Passat cars for the Canadian and US markets. Denomme said that before installing the RFID parts replenishment system, the factory had employees dedicated to the assembly line to check the types and numbers of parts that needed to be replenished. At other manufacturing plants, assembly line workers must verbally notify parts to replenish.
Five years ago, the company installed RFID material systems or EPS systems. The system uses WhereNet's active RFID system and receiver. When a line worker finds a shortage of a certain type of part or component, he can press a button on the workbench of a WhereTag II active RFID tag. The tag sends the tag's ID number, along with the part number, workbench location, user location, and timestamp, to the nearest WhereNet antenna. The WhereNet system runs at 2.4 - 2.483 GHz.
WhereNet's WhereCall wireless material system receives and processes the signals of the WhereTag II tag. The software validates each request, processes approximately thousands of requests per day, and then applies business logic based on the most recent parts replenishment record for the department on the manufacturing line, along with the number of cars recently manufactured by the manufacturing line, thereby prioritizing various requests. Sort. The software then sends a replenishment request to a forklift operator. Each forklift is equipped with a WhereTag III active tag to track the position of the car in the factory. The system determines which forklift will transport the required parts based on the replenishment request and the position of the forklift. Once a forklift is identified, the system sends a message to the driver's computer; the computer screen displays the part part category, quantity, and shipping destination.
The use of the RFID system has received significant benefits, Denomme said. Before implementing the system, manufacturers had to store parts that often needed replenishment near the manufacturing line. When used in the WhereNet system, these parts can be stored elsewhere, with 50% more production space. The company is now putting the vacant space into production. “We used to have 175,000 cars per year and now we have 275,000 units a year,†Denomme said.
Denomme said that last year Cami Automotive began using RFID to solve another growing problem: storage yard security. Every day, there are as many as 500 trucks carrying parts, road test vehicles and some visiting group vehicles entering and leaving the storage yard. Between RFID, the two security guards at the site had to manually check in and out of the vehicle. However, the number of vehicles entering and leaving is large, and the security load is too heavy; therefore, when the security guard manually records the entry into the vehicle, the door is always open, which often leads to safety problems.
The WhereTag II tag is installed on 5,000 trucks, test vehicles and employee vehicles by installing the WhereNet exciter and antenna at the entrance and exit of the gate. Automakers have successfully used the technology in different places.
Cami connects the WhereNet hardware and middleware to the security gate controller, and when an authorized vehicle approaches the storage yard, the gate opens automatically. The WherePort exciter and the WhereLAN access point located around the storage yard locate the location of the labeling vehicle. Through the factory computer network, managers can view the entry and exit records of the vehicle.
Much of it is due to the factory's existing experience with WhereNet hardware and middleware applications, and Cami successfully installed the system within 60 days. In addition, Denomme said that the factory received a return on equipment investment after 18 months. The management efficiency of the storage yard has increased by 75%. In fact, the storage yard now requires only one security guard and saves labor costs.
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