Traceability empowers the automotive makers

OMRON’s Total Traceability solution provides manufacturers the ability to trace & verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification. Considering one defective product can bring humongous loss and setbacks to the credibility of a brand, the solution holds a lot of importance to ensure zero -defects manufacturing system. This attains a great significance for automotive industry where assembling of multiple complex components needs constant checking at every step and product-recalls are witnessed quite often.

An ICE Automobile such as a four-wheeler is a complex machine created by around 30,000 big/small components and sub-assemblies – playing their respective roles in the overall functioning of the machine. These components/sub-assemblies can come from hundreds of part suppliers with each one of them having their own manufacturing process. For example, a four-wheeler manufacturer maybe sourcing a brake assembly from an ancillary who is itself using tens of components to build the brake assembly. Any defect in a particular component can lead to a failure of the brake assembly after a certain number of operations (say after the brake pedal is pressed a thousand times) leading to catastrophic consequences.

While every manufacturer wants to produce high quality components, variabilities like inconsistent processes, inferior raw materials, etc. can adversely impact the quality of the components which creep into the supply chain. Auto components are always produced in batches and a defective component can trickle down to the entire set and ultimately affects the vehicles of different variants and sub-brands. In the above example, once the automaker realises that there is a defective component, they may move to recall the vehicles from the market. Recalling a vehicle is expensive from a brand impact as well as cost (checking, servicing, etc.) point of view. If the automaker can recall precisely the affected vehicles, they can save cost as well as avoid inconveniencing their customers. But which ones to recall? Different batches of brake assemblies may have been mixed while installing these on the vehicles and not all of them may be defective. To make matters even more complicated, the defect may have originated from a defective batch of brake shoes (as an example) and multiple brake shoe batches may have been mixed while assembling the brake assemblies!

This is where traceability comes into the picture. Simply put, it is a multi-step process focusing on giving a unique identity (usually by way of bar codes) to every component and sub-assembly at every stage of the assembly process. Again, using the example cited above, with traceability the automaker can determine the serial numbers of all the cars that have been fitted with the defective sub-assembly that were produced using the defective brake shoes. But since these sub-assemblies were produced by their supplier and sub-suppliers, the accuracy of identification of the faulty vehicle can improve depending upon the adoption of traceability in the supply chain. Automation systems today can enable this kind of product traceability throughout the complete supply chain. It is essential for any automotive maker to have a strong product traceability to trace faulty or damage prone products and take steps to contain the issue. It starts right at the component level; showcases its magic at sub-assembly, assembly and final product level. Traceability empowers a manufacturer to quickly identify non-conforming parts and vehicles while avoiding checks on unaffected ones.

Further, Cloud computing and analytics are empowering the makers to utilize the data to create immense value at the shop floors. We have one of the largest product and solution portfolios in the segment ranging from Laser Markers, Barcode Readers and Verifiers, RFID readers as well as Machine Controllers that can read/write from the MES/ERP layer to support the implementation of traceability.

A lot of data is gathered from the shop floor using IIoT via smart sensors, vision, RFID, etc. OMRON’s advanced generation of PLCs not only control the machines but to also move this data very rapidly into the MES/ERP/cloud layer and thus give the shop floor managers a pool of valuable information to be worked upon which helps them to initiate real time measures such as predictive maintenance by identifying potential issues as well as implementing productivity solutions.