No overview of the location of the correct carrier vehicle
Thousands of identical carrier vehicles, but which is the correct one for the next production order?
Putzmeister manufactures custom special vehicles for customers worldwide at its Aichtal site. A standard truck chassis is fitted with customer-specific superstructures, such as concrete pumps or mixer vehicles. Each order is different, and accordingly, the requirements for the respective carrier vehicle also vary.
Numerous chassis are always ready on the expansive factory premises. From the outside, they look almost identical. However, they differ significantly in detail, such as axle configuration, engine type, or equipment features that are crucial for the later superstructure.
Without a tracking solution, this meant a significant search effort for the production staff. For each new production order, someone had to go out and find the appropriate chassis on the premises. Since the vehicles are hardly distinguishable from the outside, many of them often had to be checked individually until the right one was found.
The effort did not end there. Carrier vehicles at Putzmeister are not manufactured in one piece but pass through several assembly stations in succession, where individual components are mounted. Between these steps, the vehicles are parked on the premises. With each new work step, the search began anew.
In total, considerable search times accumulated. Time that was more urgently needed elsewhere in production.
The solution: RTLS tracking for real-time localization on the factory premises
Putzmeister has opted for the RTLS Tracking from SmartMakers. Each carrier vehicle on the premises is equipped with a robust Tracker that sends location data to the Real-Time-Operations platform. There, the vehicles are visualized on a digital map, transparent, reliable, and understandable at a glance. Dispatchers and production staff can see in real-time where each chassis is located.
This is how the solution works in detail
- Intelligent hardware: Each chassis was equipped with a small Tracker that sends location data to the platform.
- Real-Time-Operations platform: The data of all carrier vehicles is centrally collected in the platform and visualized on a digital map.
- Quick implementation: The introduction of the solution was accompanied by the SmartMakers team. After implementation, the experts continue to be available for optimization and support.
Uncomplicated introduction without infrastructure effort
The introduction was uncomplicated. The solution works without extensive infrastructure and the data can be integrated into existing IT systems. This is exactly what makes the solution particularly attractive for industrial environments, especially where digitization does not start from scratch but must be further developed in the middle of ongoing operations.
