Your team controls the material flow in real-time and intervenes before an order stalls.

An RTLS (Real Time Locating System) is a system for real-time tracking of orders, materials, load carriers, and equipment in halls, on factory premises, and on large campus areas.

SmartMakers RTLS covers indoor and outdoor areas in one view and provides position, status, and dwell time per asset and zone. It is used in HMLV manufacturing, in clinics, and for on-site customer services on foreign premises.

SmartMakers RTLS combines GPS, WiFi, BLE, Wirepas, and LoRaWAN in a single system instead of a single radio technology. Each zone gets the technology that works best there. This avoids technology lock-in and keeps the solution adaptable, for example, when halls are changed, new stations or campus expansions are added.

RTLS solves the core problem of missing operational transparency: Orders, materials, and equipment are somewhere, but not where they should be or where they are expected. In HMLV manufacturing, search time per shift decreases by up to 70 percent on average, productive assembly time increases by more than 20 percent. In hospitals, search time per shift drops from 72 to under two minutes, and equipment inventory is reduced by up to 30 percent.

The right localization technology depends on the environment, required accuracy, and asset density. GPS is the choice for outdoor areas and assets that are often transported to locations without additional infrastructure. BLE for high-precision indoor localization in dense zones or at the bedside, Wirepas for large hall areas with mesh scaling, LoRaWAN for wide-area coverage, and WiFi where a strong WiFi infrastructure already exists. SmartMakers RTLS combines these technologies zone by zone in one system.

RTLS covers order tracking in single-piece production, tool and fixture management, WIP tracking of large assemblies, traceability for MDR and FDA, bottleneck detection, and intralogistics optimization in HMLV manufacturing. In special machine construction, special vehicle construction, medical technology, and building elements, each order follows a different route. The tags or trackers are attached to components or assemblies, making movements traceable through all stations. When a defined zone is reached, an event is triggered that changes the status and automatically books into the ERP.

SmartMakers RTLS integrates via REST-API and direct SAP connection into SAP, MES, WMS, KIS, and shopfloor systems. Geofence events automatically book into the target systems: a component reaches a zone, the status in the ERP changes. No parallel system is created alongside your IT landscape, but a data source that directly improves existing processes in the target system.

The introduction of the SmartMakers RTLS solution takes less than six weeks for a first productive application. This is made possible by a standardized product that covers around 90 percent of requirements without customization. A classic integration project with months of development is not necessary. The rollout typically starts with a pilot zone, followed by the full hall or station, and subsequent scaling to additional locations or the entire factory or clinic network.

No dedicated IT project team is required for RTLS. Since about 90 percent of the requirements are covered by the standard product, the IT effort is limited to network approvals, SAP or MES connection, and initial geofence configuration. SmartMakers accompanies the rollout from site inspection to productive application. The operation then runs with your existing IT team and without a dedicated RTLS specialist.