Thanks to the Wi-Fi-based active RFID technology, plant floor supervisors and facility managers now know, in real time, the throughput of each of five assembly lines that produce DeWalt power tools. The appropriate personnel or management can also receive alerts via SMS text message or e-mail in the event of any problems on the line, such as a need to replenish materials, a failed inspection of a finished product, or a mechanical error.
AeroScout Industrial has dubbed the solution—which includes its MobileView software, AeroScout tags and Cisco Wi-Fi nodes—the Connected Factory. According to Janet Chaffin, AeroScout Industrial's president, the company intends not only to expand the way in which the technology is being used at the Reynosa plant but to sell similar solutions to other businesses.
