The production control is further improved thanks to the A.ST.I.M.’s solutions think for a truly cutting-edge smart factory. In fact, the project of re-engineering in the Industry 4.0 key of the activity of one of the reference customers of the industrial business unit of the Italian company continues, specifically a player in the rubber and thermoplastic materials sector.
In this second phase of the project, after a first step that involved the implementation of a complete system, MES (Manufacturing Execution System), integrated with a PLM system (Product Life Management), integrated in turn with the MRP/ERP level, the evolution concerned the complete tracing of the produced product. In particular, thanks to the prior assignment of an RFID tag (in UHF band) to each package, this is “equipped” with an intelligence capable of containing and communicating via radio all the data useful for its traceability (lot number, product code, etc.), thus being univocally and automatically identified by the company information system that not only knows its entire production history, but is also able to identify its exact position at a given time. This is possible thanks to the presence of powerful gates, where the RFID is read (reading capability up to 10 meters away), which can be placed not only within the production area, but also in the warehouse and transit areas, so as to receive information on the progress of production. The writing and reading of data can take place “in the running”, ie without the need to stop the package, which is created within the information system during the filling phase (writing of the lot codes, package number, time, etc) and read at each transit, up to the last stage of the business process, or the loading on trucks for delivery to the final customer. In this way human operations and any errors associated with them are minimized.
Intelligent control of production and its efficiency and constant monitoring of product quality are the main advantages of A.ST.I.M.’s solution allows, thanks to the use of modern analytical and process techniques. The company led by Maurizio Minghelli will also be a technological partner for the subsequent phase of modernization of the plant and related business processes, in which the protagonist will be an even more innovative system, in the direction of what we can identify as “cognitive automation” and that, with A.ST.I.M., it is ready to become reality.