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Product tracking

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GKN Aerospace's Landing Gear Business selects Pathfindr to collaborate on Production Asset Tracking Project, delivering GKN Aerospace's first UWB tracking solution.

CASE STUDY:PRODUCT TRACKING

Background & Challenges

GKN Aerospace Supply Chain identified an opportunity to enhance the visibility of their manufacturing work in progress, which would lead to more efficient use of time and resources. Enhancing WIP visibility to help further improve compliance and customer satisfaction.

With the recent geographical re-structuring of the Fokker businesses, GKN sought a light-touch solution to support their transition and enhance operations.

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CASE STUDY:PRODUCT TRACKING

The Solution

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GKN Aerospace and Pathfindr formed a strong partnership to tackle this project. We initiated a three-month pilot to track components throughout the facility with high accuracy.

 

When components were sent to external buildings, abroad for testing or subcontracting, a zonal detector was set up to track the receiving end.

 

This joint effort proved highly successful. Within two months of deploying the technology and tagging an initial 300 components for a specific product line, the visibility of components was significantly enhanced, marking the beginning of a long-term, productive relationship.

ULTRA-WIDE BAND (UWB) TAGS

Our UWB Tags provided a high level of tracking accuracy throughout the facility. This was achieved installing a network of Detectors throughout, and connecting these Detectors to a central Cellular Gateway. This approach is entirely free-standing, with no impact or disruption to existing infrastructure.

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CASE STUDY:PRODUCT TRACKING

The results

The benefits were remarkable and clearly demonstrated through user and product manager testimonials. GKN Aerospace reported enhanced control of parts on the shop floor, more precise escalations, and improved operational directions.

 

For example, an operator can now find parts in under 5 minutes, significantly boosting workflow efficiency. Additionally, the enhanced visibility has led to improved throughput, allowing more orders to be processed.

Pathfindr has greatly enhanced our visibility almost overnight. During audits, our customers praised it as a “best in class" solution, which is significant given they already use another tracking provider.

Chris_Grimshaw

Chris Grimshaw

Site Logistics Manager

GKN Aerospace

CASE STUDY:JOB CARD TRACKING

Before & after tracking

CASE STUDY:PRODUCT TRACKING

The Future

Rolls-Royce was able to achieve significant improvements in several key areas:

Metric
Before Pathfindr
With Pathfindr
Number Of Search Events Per Month
55
55
Average Search Time
1 hr 10 min
5 min
Annual Cost of Searching For Job Cards
£77,022
£5,497
CASE STUDY:JOB CARD TRACKING

Investment vs ROI

18 Detectors + 600 Ble Tags

=

=

ROI

Cost Savings - Investment

Investment

£53,765

Per Year

£1,480

Solution Cost Per Month

=

This results in an annual saving for each tracked job card of

£89.60

To cover the facility area, 18 Detectors were installed and 600 Tags placed onto Job Cards.

GKN Aerospace is now looking to expand the tracking scope across the entire site and implement high-precision tracking in other global locations.

In addition, to enhance sustainability efforts, GKN Aerospace are looking to measure equipment energy usage. This will measure equipment energy consumption and help implement new methods to reduce their carbon footprint using our 3-phase power monitor.

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