Challenges we solve

A manufacturer of agricultural vehicles wanted to enforce takt times at series of inspection stations to prevent overruns causing line stops. By keeping track of the activities within the inspection stations, SmartSpace could detect when inspectors were running behind pace and warn them with sufficient time to speed up and meet the takt time.

A manufacturer of space-qualified hardware wanted to reduce cycle time by ensuring that WIP did not sit idle waiting for tasks to begin. By keeping track of the location of all WIP and integrating with the build schedule, SmartSpace was able to detect when a product had not moved into a workstation on time, and to prompt supervisors to intervene.

A manufacturer of construction equipment wanted to improve throughput by prioritizing products which had spent too much time in the assembly process. By keeping track of the products, SmartSpace was able to monitor accumulated time in buffers to alert supervisors about aging inventory. 

An automotive manufacturer wanted to eliminate parts shortages caused by inefficient routing of parts delivery tuggers. By keeping track of the location of tuggers and the time of parts replenishment requests, SmartSpace was able to help drivers adapt in real-time with optimized routes to avoid late delivery.

A manufacturer of space-qualified hardware wanted to reduce the months-long lead time, and in particular eliminate the problem of WIP not moving through the steps. By keeping track of WIP, and understanding the difference between processing areas and storage buffers, SmartSpace was able to warn supervisors when WIP became stuck in buffer so they could reinsert them in the process flow.

A manufacturer of composite aerospace parts wanted to reduce wastage by carefully monitoring the time rolls of prepreg material remained out of cold storage. By keeping track of the location of prepreg rolls, SmartSpace was able to warn workers when the maximum out-time was being approached so the prepreg could be returned to cold storage and preserved for future use. 

An aircraft manufacturer wanted to improve throughput by ensuring that each workstation finished its set of tasks on time. By keeping track of the movement of tools and parts in the workstations, SmartSpace was able to monitor progress through the days-long cycle time, and provide pace warnings to workers to help them stay on schedule.

An automotive manufacturer with very high throughput wished to avoid line-side parts shortages caused by slow unloading at trailer docks. By keeping track of the parts on the trailer, and determining the pace of unloading, SmartSpace was able to anticipate overruns and direct supervisors to deploy additional staff to stay on track.

An aircraft engine maintenance facility wanted to reduce the additional rework costs caused by insufficient parts cleaning. By keeping track of the crane lowering parts into cleaning solutions, SmartSpace was able to automate the process removing all manual timing errors.