Leaner than Lean: How digitalization transforms manufacturing (Part 2)

Inside the plant, custom kit carts are loaded with the components required for each step, arranged in the order they are used. This reduces unnecessary time and motion and also helps maintain quality standards by ensuring that no parts are forgotten during assembly. Sensors record how the carts are used, and the results are color-coded: green for on-time completion; yellow for delay of a few minutes; and red for a delay of 10 minutes or more.

If complications arise during production, Hino’s “eAndon” (or “eSignal”) system relays a message specifying the time, place and substance of the problem. A worker can generate an alert using a QR code or pull-down menu on a nearby computer terminal — and managers can receive it via a wearable device.

The system allows real-time monitoring of the entire production process — which is especially critical on the manufacturing lines for precision ultrasound probes and CT scanner detectors. This work requires considerable skill and technical knowledge, entails working with lots of tiny parts and permits virtually no margin of error. Some flawed products, like ultrasound probes, cannot be salvaged and must be scrapped.

To avoid such costly errors, the ultrasound probe production line uses sophisticated Enterprise Pulse Insight (EPI) software running on Predix — GE’s software platform for the Industrial Internet — to show workers what they need to know about inventory, output and work in progress (WIP).

Wireless beacons track operator movement in order to optimize equipment layout. Workers are also testing wearable smart glasses to see if they can eliminate the need to lug around laptops or reference materials. The glasses may also enable remote instruction or training for workers.

The attention to detail and precise definition of tasks mesh well with the quick, iterative improvements behind the brilliant factory initiative. “We’re targeting precisely defined tasks for digitization — taking out 30 seconds here, or eliminating five steps there, with some really simple solutions,” Mauermann says. “And because of that, we can be really cost effective about it.”

Each digital solution provides additional data that can then help pinpoint what to target in the next Kaizen activity. It’s circular and progressive at the same time, accelerating the pace of Lean — in effect, making Lean even leaner over time.

Source: GE Report