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Track Orders in Real Time: How Track and Trace Works With ����ý RTLS Pro

Can individual production steps be tracked and traced step by step so that you have a transparent overview of the status of a production order at all times? And can live information be provided to customers as live tracking — just like a private person knows from parcel deliveries? These were the questions posed by one of the world’s leading suppliers of aircraft structures. Premium AEROTEC found the answer with ����ý.

“Reliability and speed are two central attributes of our production. In order to keep track of the status of individual orders at all times, even with time-sensitive production orders, we rely on track & trace. But it should not stop there: In the future, we want to make this live information available to our customers as a service — similar to what you know in private from tracking your parcel delivery.”
— Damian Polis (Head of Digital Transformation at Premium AEROTEC)

One Solution for Several Sites

At the start of the project, an area of the size of two soccer pitches at the Varel site was equipped with ����ý UWB anchors. Since May 2020, connecting elements manufactured here could be tracked and traced in real time.

The project plan is to equip more locations with track & trace and to merge the data centrally in one platform.

About the Client

Premium AEROTEC is one of the world’s leading provider of aircraft structures and is a partner in the major European and international aerospace programmes. Its core business is the development and production of large and complex aircraft components from aluminium, titanium and carbon fibre composites (CFRP). Premium AEROTEC is Europe’s no.1 in this segment with roughly 9,000 employees and an annual turnover of €2 billion. Among the clients are Airbus and Airbus Defence & Space.

The Task

Connecting elements produced by Premium AEROTEC are shipped to the customer for further processing immediately after production. Some of these parts are particularly time-sensitive.

Information on production location and status should therefore be traceable at any time and in real time. The first step is employees should benefit from this. The second step is clients should be able to track live.

The Solution

In order to be able to track and trace the production process in the hall reliably and in real time, an industry-suitable real-time localization system (RTLS) is required.

����ý RTLS does not only meet the qualitative requirements, but also offers a comfortable, central data processing, which allows the coverage of several locations, with ����ý OS.

The Result

Within a short period of time, a network of 56 UWB anchors was installed, which records the live status of 300 production parts tracked via asset tags in a total of four hall areas.

The first use cases of the project in Varel were realized during lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Further locations are already being planned and will also be connected to ����ý OS.

“Of course, it was important for us that the data for the track & trace is precise and reliable. But the combination with a platform that can bring together different data and technologies was even more important. And that with a convenient, customizable user interface. ����ý convinces us in all these points and also accompanies us with commitment throughout the project.”
—  Dominik Bertram (Head of Speedline & Machining Cubic & Rotation at Premium AEROTEC)

����ý RTLS Pro

UWB-based real-time localization is considered the ​“GPS for industry.” No technology offers faster, more accurate and more reliable positioning data than ultra-wideband. With the real-time localization system ����ý RTLS Pro, Premium AEROTEC relies on one of the leading solutions in the industry.

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����ý OS

Generating data is one thing, processing it in real time across multiple locations and technologies is another. Therefore, the real-time IoT platform ����ý OS is the ideal complement to ����ý RTLS Pro for Premium AEROTEC. It offers all options to consolidate and scale the entire case in one software.

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����ý Services

Truly smart applications never work by the book. To tailor our products to the requirements of Premium AEROTEC, the ����ý project and consulting team follows a methodical and pragmatic approach. Few iterations and quick successes are the goals of our support.

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