CUSTOMERS
Case Studies
“We did look at competitors, but it is not a level playing field; Ubisense are way ahead; on the technology side, they far outweigh other solutions in the market”
Leading Sports Car Manufacturer
Rising customer expectations and increasingly complex configurations are driving automotive manufacturers to constantly improve operations.
Aston Martin, world renown for performance and precision engineering, turned to Ubisense in order to achieve complete, automated and adaptable monitoring of their offline production process.
Volkswagen in Poznan, Poland, uses the Ubisense real-time location system to automatically identify products on the assembly line and enable the correct use and configuration of wireless tools when they are co-located.
By removing the need to manually identify each vehicle with a barcode scan, VW is able to save time and improve throughput, while also error-proofing operations and improving ergonomics for its workers.
The BMW car assembly plant in Regensburg, Germany, has a reputation for adopting new production methods ahead of the pack. Since 2007, Ubisense has provided a revolutionary new industrial tool control system.
The assembly line at the Regensburg produces BMW 1 Series, 3 Series and Z4 Sports cars, sequenced by the production planning system from customer orders. At any point on the assembly line, tools must have a torque programme installed corresponding exactly to the car being worked on.
CLAAS is a family business founded in 1913 and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural engineering equipment.
The AXION 950-920, AXION 870-800, ARION 650-530, ARION 460-410 and ATOS 350-220 tractor series, which between them cover a performance spectrum from 72 to 410 HP, are currently all produced in Le Mans.
“CLAAS offers an extremely wide choice of vehicle models in order to meet the needs of modern agriculture. By adding Ubisense technology to the facility at Le Mans, we will be able to best cope with product complexity while reducing waste.”
Aldric Pavec, Production Manager, CLAAS
Logiprotech (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Thai and Japanese capitals, established in June 2017. They provide breakthrough improvements in production and logistics operations in Thailand and the broader Asian region by developing custom IoT systems together with their clients using the most advanced and unique IT technologies.
There is significant demand for innovative solutions that improve production and logistics operations and Logiprotech selected Ubisense RTLS to play an essential role as a core technology in their projects. Ubisense brings unique benefits to Logiprotech solutions and the ability to prove the necessity and value of IT in countries where applications are at a relatively emerging stage is a clear advantage.
TPF is the main provider of public transport in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. In addition to managing the regional bus network in Freiburg, TPF also covers two urban bus networks. With an overall bus fleet of more than 250 vehicles, TPF are the second largest regional bus network provider in Switzerland. Like every depot management team, the team at TPF need to ensure that buses are scheduled correctly, arriving and departing as planned and on time. In order to ensure customer comfort and safety, a routine cleaning and maintenance programme must also be scheduled and maintained.
Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) is the main provider of public transport in the Swiss city of Luzern. Like every depot management team, VBL must ensure buses are scheduled correctly, arriving and departing as planned, and follow a cleaning and maintenance program to ensure customer comfort and safety.
Keeping track of a dynamic fleet of buses within a large indoor or outdoor space of 12,000 square metres is a challenge. Buses must be parked in the order they will leave the depot to avoid a complex shunting process, causing delays or unsuitable buses used for a particular route.
Out Board are market leading specialists in immersive audio and show control for live entertainment, presentation events and experiences. Their TiMax TrackerD4 solution incorporates Ubisense UWB location technology to track the movement of performers to add precise, localized vocals and 3D surround effects for highly atmospheric performances.
TiMax TrackerD4 reliably and automatically tracks performers to within 15cm on stage, eliminating the time needed to manually programme sound cues and reducing the risk of errors resulting in the distraction of inaccurately localized vocals.
In both fixed and temporary installations, from tracking theme park characters, opera singers at the Royal Albert Hall, or bringing Broadway and West End stage musical performances such as the King and I and Aladdin to life for audiences around the world, Out Board partnered with Ubisense for the accuracy and reliability of the UWB solution.
Other customer examples
An automotive company needed to make increasingly variable products on a complex and rigid assembly line. By using Ubisense SmartSpace, flexible workstations were defined in software allowing changes in real-time so workers could catch-up overrunning tasks or work-ahead without affecting other processes. This eliminated idle time waiting for products to enter workstations and by smoothing line flow, there was an 80% reduction in line stoppages from overruns.
A manufacturer of speciality materials and chemicals kept manual records of similar looking products over a wide storage area, which was error prone and wasted time searching for products, delaying shipments and impacting cost and customer satisfaction. With Ubisense, pallets of products were tracked and locations integrated with SAP to give real-time, accurate visibility of the shipping area at all times, reducing wasted search time and increasing levels of control.
An aerospace manufacturer needed to quadruple production of an aircraft while significantly reducing cost. Productivity was hampered by an inability to locate and monitor critical tools, parts and equipment across a large site. Ubisense gave real-time visibility of all production assets across the site and integrated with planning and manufacturing execution systems. Previously hidden process waste was highlighted, helping reduce cost, improve parts supply and ensuring production targets were met.
Assembly of increasingly complex and highly variable products were causing errors and a growing quantity of vehicles requiring rework. Repair bays often stood empty waiting for the next product increasing cycle time. Ubisense provided real-time search and mapping on mobile devices so products could be immediately located and scheduled for repair based on priority. Cycle time was optimized and costs reduced by increasing resource utilization and eliminated unnecessary overtime shifts to catch-up on backlog.
Planes manufactured across a distributed network of sub- and final-assembly plants, required complex forecasting, scheduling and sequencing of tasks. Manual data capture at regional sites was error prone and often delayed by up to one month, giving poor visibility of processes and inventory. Ubisense created a digital-twin of each sub-assembly plant, giving a real-world view of actual process against plan, synchronizing the shop floor with ERP systems, removing errors and delays.
A nation’s military runs a large number of simulated training environments, such as urban combat, to continually improve performance. Ubisense tracks the real-time movement of soldiers and simulated equipment in 3-dimensions to capture combat-relevant events and integrate into After Action Review (AAR) systems. Detailed review data and instant video indexing by location and event helps optimize soldier training programs.
A toxic waste landfill site was undergoing decontamination, requiring people to work safely in a very hazardous environment. Ubisense tracked workers inside the temporary building in real-time, logging last known position of workers. Workers were kept safe by ensuring safety protocols were followed and rescue teams were assisted in case of emergency. The site successfully closed after 5 years.
A leading logistics company required improved warehouse management to reduce insurance premiums across multiple sites. Ubisense tracks barcode scanners around the cross-docking warehouses. Whenever a package is scanned, the precise package location is determined and video recording started from one of many cameras around the building. The aggregate video stream for each package is a “video diary” that can be used to demonstrate correct handling of the package in case of an insurance claim.
A healthcare provider required more detailed activity monitoring to improve rehabilitation programs and patient outcomes. Ubisense tracks patients during their recovery with fine-grained location and movement sensor data, automatically assessing their mobility in hospitals and allowing comparison with rehabilitation plans.
A national primate research center conducting behavioural research programs required tracking of animal interactions. Ubisense tracked ape colonies, gathering data on animal movements around the facility, allowing researchers to understand the behaviour of the animals in greater detail.
A UK national sports team wanted to use data and analytics from training exercises to improve player performance. Ubisense tracked the precise location and movement of players in training, providing key performance attributes for analysis including speed, distance travelled, and challenges made.
A large Canadian department store wanted to improve customer experiences in store and reduce waiting time for accessing product experts. Key in-store personnel were given Ubisense tags, which allowed other members staff to quickly locate experts in any particular product line when customers asked difficult questions.
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Ubisense Limited
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