A manufacturer of custom moulded cable assemblies for the global medical and military markets has seen both compliance and productivity increase. This came after turning to digitalisation to enable connected working.
Carrio Cabling Corporation, based in Colorado Springs, USA, had been looking for new ways to identify assembly line bottlenecks. They also wanted to deliver a clear audit trail to satisfy regulatory requirements through connected working.
The company wanted to reduce wasted time due to frequent and often lengthy changeovers between multiple operations. This would help achieve better connected working.
It needed to digitise its paper processes to achieve this. However, its team was initially hesitant about moving away from existing ways of connected working. This is a common issue that many organisations face on their digital transformation journey.
Remove paperwork
Through its market research, Carrio came across Intoware’s WorkfloPlus – a mobile technology platform that enables businesses to digitise processes and tasks across industrial operations. The platform converts paper processes to be accessible via mobile, wearable technology and desktop devices.
The technology could be used through tablets on the factory floor to help streamline Carrio’s manufacturing processes. Therefore, the company signed up for a trial of connected working.
Miles Carrio, senior manager at Carrio Cabling Corporation, said: “Initially our assemblers were hesitant to any change to their existing approach. However, they quickly found using WorkfloPlus to have major benefits over the paper-based processes.”
At Carrio Cabling, 28 assemblers are working on several customer orders at any one time. It’s common for one assembler to change between multiple operations within a particular assembly several times a day, each with their own procedures.
Because of this, it was expected to take between nine and 12 months to fully train all of Carrio’s operators on the technology. It would also take that long to deploy WorkfloPlus throughout the business.
However, the team took to the technology quickly. Consequently, half of the assemblers were trained and using the software platform in just six weeks.
Miles added: “We quickly found that WorkfloPlus automatically compiles data faster and with greater accuracy than if our assemblers were to manually log this data themselves. Since we have thousands of lines that we can build, seeing how quickly we could digitise was key. Depending on the complexity, we can migrate and digitise an assembly in just 20 to 90 minutes.”
Previously, there was one large paper document shared for each assembly line at Carrio. This risked the document getting lost or being subject to unauthorised modifications. Now, every assembler has a tablet. All paper-based build procedures on the factory floor are now replaced by digital workflows using connected working with WorkfloPlus.
Unleashing the power of data
Digitising paper-based processes has also allowed Carrio Cabling to access and analyse a wealth of data in real-time. This means managers can generate hourly data reports, compare and contrast individual assembler rates, and improve efficiency. It also helps to prevent future production bottlenecks.
The company has also found that it ensures a thorough audit trail to satisfy both customer and regulatory needs. This is crucial to Carrio Cabling as an ISO manufacturer.
Miles said: “Before, an individual employee would gather and track the rate of production and what assemblers had built. By automating this work in real-time, it simply pales in comparison to what we’d pay an operator to complete the same work. Plus, we wouldn’t get the information as quickly to act on it as required.”
Keith Tilley, CEO at Intoware – the creators of WorkfloPlus, said: “Carrio Cabling is a great example of a manufacturing company that recognised the need to move away from paper-based processes to digital. This company is now reaping the benefits.
“As the business found, it is common for frontline workers to be initially hesitant about digitalisation. However, when rolled out correctly and with the right training and induction provided, it can enhance productivity. It also makes workers’ jobs much easier when it comes to audit trails and compliance.”