Edson Perin
Vestel, one of Turkey’s leading technology companies, implemented the UWB-based Real Time Location System from Wipelot IIoT&RTLS and achieved multiple savings with the technology. The project is RFID Journal Award’s finalist, in the Best RFID or IoT Manufacturing Implementation category. The winners will be known at RFID Journal LIVE!, May 9-11, in Orlando, Florida.
In the European market, Vestel is the top three as a TV manufacturer and top five as a white goods manufacturer. More than 100 motorized equipment are in use at Vestel City, the site where a variety of products such as home appliances, electronics and EVC are produced on a 1.3 million square meters area.
According to Damla Toros Caglar, product manager at Wipelot IIoT&RTLS, the unplanned downtime of a motorized equipment, its failure to follow the optimum routes, or its departure from work area during the production process cumulatively disrupted the operation and caused the production efficiency to decrease significantly.
“Since the industrial facility’s equipment is leased, there was a request to determine the optimum amount of equipment during the rental periods based on the needs assessment”, she says.
Tolga Özdenli, automation and project development manager at Vestel White Goods, wanted to ensure forklifts tracking to prevent losses. Led by him, Vestel started working with Wipelot IIoT&RTLS for a UWB-based Real-Time Location System. Ozdenli told that, after Wipelot installed UWB-based active radio frequency identification (RFID) devices on the production area to, Vestel was able to track real-time location of personnel and equipment, monitor routes taken based on date and time, and control equipment efficiency in short and long term.
Another benefit was to increase the visibility of the operation and to provide various analyses, he says. “After the implementation, Vestel achieved 50 cm precision with the UWB-based Real-Time Location System. During the renewal of manufacturing equipment rentals, the right type and quantity of each were better known depending on Vestel’s needs”.
According to him, Vestel had multiple savings with the technology, like decreasing shift start losses by 67%, with more productivity and efficiency, saving workforce by 3.1%, and reducing energy consumption by 3.1% and occupational accidents by 15%.
The case “Increasing Productivity and Efficiency with Equipment Tracking by Active RFID based UWB Technology” will be presented at RFID Journal LIVE! 2023.
