The Location-Aware Software by INDUTRAX delivers up-to-date transparency about the whereabouts and the condition of loading aids used in the manufacturing sector, for example. This is done through tracking: The innovative software applications connect various technologies to detect locations of moving objects indoors and outdoors with applications for the management of logistics and production. As a result, businesses benefit from a reduction of the search cost as well as unnecessary actions and thus a reduction of the required total stock.
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Location-Aware Software: Digital location reduces time and costs
The business loses a considerable amount of time because the whereabouts and condition of operating equipment such as loading aids are not documented in a transparent manner. Precious working hours are spent on the search and the documentation of missing parts. In the end, high costs are incurred in logistics and production due to waiting times, rework, and unnecessary transport movements.
Standard and special load loading aids, transport boxes, etc., are often used by manufacturing companies in closed cycles in order to organise the delivery of raw materials, components, and assemblies as well as the dispatch of finished products. The loading aids are spread over large areas and, at times, are also temporarily stored wherever there is room. The challenge lies in organising the availability of suitable, available loading aids for the transport of goods with total stock as low as possible. An issue that moves logistics and production in the truest sense: Where do I have what, and how do I find it again when it has been moved? The solution lies in the digital location of movements by means of tracking and Location-Aware Software.
INDUTRAX delivers tracking solutions in the spirit of Industry 4.0
INDUTRAX is one of the leading providers of Location-Aware Software and solutions. The innovative software applications connect various technologies to detect locations of moving objects indoors and outdoors with applications for the management of logistics and production. Processes on the shop floor are mapped in real time to the digital image of the factory and enable paperless solutions in the sense of Industry 4.0. Various function modules are available for the simple and agile implementation of applications for the digitisation of processes and procedures. By combining different technologies, a wide range of indoor and outdoor applications can be covered.
Wirepas complements perfectly: no cables and high scalability
INDUTRAX has been a partner of Wirepas since 2021. Wirepas Massive Mesh Technology enables the creation of decentralised, highly scalable network applications without cabling infrastructure with an unlimited number of devices. The networks are efficient with low costs for investment in the required hardware infrastructure. Despite small battery sizes, a service life of several years for network hubs is standard. At the same time, Wirepas Massive Mesh Technology can be integrated seamlessly into the INDUTRAX Location-Aware Software. This combination creates cost-effectively efficient and scalable networks for tracking indoors and outdoors.
Demo of the application Finding loading aids in the INDUTRAX location test factory (picture: INDUTRAX)
What INDUTRAX and Wirepas offer
Wirepas Massive Mesh Technology delivers accuracy of 5 metres and an update rate of 5 minutes, which constitutes the right technology for many applications that merely require presence detection or limited accuracy. Automated tracking of material flow can thereby be implemented easily and efficiently in indoor and outdoor areas. Various hardware manufacturers such as BlueUp, Tatwah, or ELA Innovation offer battery-operated beacons and tags for industrial use. In addition, through the use of combination tags on loading aids, which connect the Wirepas Massive Mesh and BLE-AOA technology, in critical areas, it is possible to create precise tracking data with a solution of less than one metre and update rates of several times per second. Thanks to the INDUTRAX Location-Aware Software being independent of technology, it is even possible to operate optimised hybrid forms of tracking technologies.
e-Label in the spirit of sustainability
If the information from a warehouse management system or production management system is used for transportation processes, the loading statuses of the circulation containers are available, and it is, therefore, possible to indirectly track raw material, components, assemblies, semi-finished products as well as finished products. In addition, e-Labels can then be used on the circulation containers in order to dynamically display transport contents as wll as order data and render the use of paper print-outs for the accompanying order documents obsolete.
INDUTRAX software grows with the requirements
The requirements for production and logistics are diverse and require various solutions. The subject of tracking is still new for many businesses. Simon Gier, Marketing Manager of INDUTRAX, explains: “The reduction of search times is an application which provides the initial step for many clients and offers the basis for further use of the tracking and for the optimisation of processes.” The INDUTRAX Location-Aware Software and associated technologies can grow with these requirements and be used, for instance, in the commissioning, process monitoring in production or for process assurance in shipping. At the same time, the technology-independent approach offers creative freedom to the business. “We integrate many different source systems seamlessly and as a result create the basis for a wide range of applications in indoor and outdoor areas, which are tailored perfectly to the requirements of our clients”, says Simon Gier.
Security of investment without vendor lock-in
Several manufacturing companies in the SME sector as well as corporate groups are already using solutions based on the INDUTRAX Location Aware software. The objective: to quickly and efficiently gain transparency about the processes and identify inefficiencies in the production and logistics processes. As an initial solution, the creation of automated transparency of loading aids with Wirepas Massive Mesh Technology is possible across the board without major installation effort. Due to the technological independence of the INDUTRAX Location-Aware Software, the solution can easily be extended for additional applications by the digitisation of the warehouse and shop floor. This is how security of investment is created without vendor lock-in. In addition, the INDUTRAX Location Test Factory (ILTF), as demo and test environment for Industry 4.0 solutions, offers clients and interested parties the opportunity to experience solutions live.
