Work-in-Process Tracking Solutions

Manufacturers are under competitive pressure to fulfill the market demand of delivering quality products in shorter time frames while ensuring compliance with various regulatory bodies. This impacts every aspect of the company, especially manufacturing. In order to comply with customer requirements to maintain high yield and detailed component level traceability, niche applications need to be developed to provide the necessary data.

Manufacturing processes are becoming complex due to multiple product variations, multi-step process flows and varying production conditions. Current MES systems are only useful in coordinating and synchronizing production activities at the batch level. To manage the growing complexity, factories must become "Intelligent". They need to collect information at the item level at each step of the process so that each product can have genealogy information that contains all the components that comprise the product including the individual batch information of each individual component. They also need to perform process level validations in real time at the point of failure to reduce scrap and work-in-process inventory. 

To achieve component level traceability and process level validations, there is the need for WIP traceability software applications. These applications collaborate between the MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and WIP ( Work In Process ) application, as they will track not only all products manufactured, but the individual components that were used in the production.

The traditional MES or WIP systems do not have the ability to collect product genealogy information at the item level, perform validations, track defects at the point of failure or automatically route products for rework. They essentially are not geared to provide traceability and operational business intelligence in real time. 

KeyTone's SmartWIP platform has taken a unique approach to addressing the limitations of existing MES systems through a Work-In-Process traceability solution leveraging the fundamental value of RFID technology. Data collected and validated through the SmartWIP framework extends the granularity of WIP provided by MES systems transforming current manufacturing to "intelligent" manufacturing by providing: 

• The ability to track WIP in environments where traditional tracking will not work
  Work through hazardous and environment conditions that are not conducive to paper or barcode scanning. Operating conditions could involve high temp or chemicals
• Product genealogy containing component level traceability
  Identify not just the recipe that was used but the individual batch of the components of the BOM used during production to identify every component that was used in a product including its manufacturing information such as batch and version.
• Tool level validations
  Enables the products to be flagged at the point of failure and not just at the final test tools. The validations are performed as product enters a tool and also at the point of exit enabling the ability to manage defects at any tool in the process
• Improved Equipment Utilization
  SmartWIP provides visibility into the entire manufacturing operation to determine the current output and identifying areas of improvement to increase overall yield 

KeyTone's manufacturing traceability solution allows companies to improve overall profitability and effectiveness in manufacturing operations by combining RFID information with planning and execution systems to provide operational business intelligence. Companies will be able to achieve overall operational efficiency (KPI) in manufacturing by empowering its users with real time production information to take decisions on the factory floor.