Computer Integrated manufacturing using RFID based RTLS system to improve production of plastic bumper

This research paper discusses the implementation of RFID based RTLS system in the manufacturing process of plastic bumpers. It explores the impact of this technology on the production activity and proposes a model for assessing its effectiveness. The paper also includes a literature review, research methodology, data analysis, and conclusion. The key findings suggest that the implementation of RFID based RTLS system has a significant relationship in improving the manufacturing process.

Abstract
Flow of material is one of the key elements
of manufacturing process that facilitates in
determining possible risk and challenges to
improve the production and manufacturing
sustainability. RFID based RTLs system has
been used within production of plastic
bumpers. It supports projects manager to
monitor multiple tasks at the same time that
reduce the risks of failure of any activity.
SPSS statistics tool has been used to
analyzing the collection of data and
information that upsurge the production and
effectiveness of a system. RFID based
RTLS system antennas tend to read the
information from the tags that are numeric
based that gives details of the exact bumpers
that were ordered by a customer. On getting
a positive result on the implementation of
this system, the company expanded its
solution to all industry locations worldwide.
Prior to this implementation, the company
found it challenging in tracking the location
of every bumper.
Key words: RFID based RTLs, plastic
bumper and discrete distribution of cycle
times
1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction
In this age of the Internet of Things (IoT)
digital transformation is increasingly
revolutionizing the functionalities at all
industries of various sectors. With time
digitalization has shown a significant change
in the automotive sector. The integration of
modern IT technologies helps in meeting
high-quality product demand. The
automotive industry faces an unprecedented
amount of competition and it is highly
essential to make use of lean technology for
developing products that help the business to
stay ahead of its competition. Innovation is
synonymous with this industry. Radio
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Computer Integrated manufacturing using RFID based RTLS system to improve
production of plastic bumper
Student name and student id

Frequency Identification (RFID) is a part of
one such innovation.
1.2 Background
The automobile industry is facing new
challenges every day with new and
improved versions of modern technology.
The manufacturing process is going through
a major and dynamic change to meet the rise
in demand and product variations. Radio
Frequency Identification Systems (RFID) is
a part of automotive technology that helps to
identify various objects and data through
radio waves. The implication of this
technology is not new in this line of business
industry and most commonly used to
increase efficiency and performance. Big
automobile firms such as Audi and BMW
have adopted this technology for identifying
and tracking their vehicles. Cars that are
manufactured with the implication of RFID
and other innovative technology tend to be
in high demand.
1.3 Research Aim
The aim of this research is to understand the
impact of using this technology (RFIP) in
the construction process of car bumpers and
to propose a model that helps to assess the
impact of this technology on the production
activity.
1.4 Research Objective
With the increase in digital transformation,
Industry 4.0 is ruling to add innovation in
the automobile industry. The major idea is to
shift to using such modern IT systems for
meeting the challenges and staying as per
the changing trend in business globally.
There are still a lot of industries that have
not made a shift to this change for not
having a suitable budget. The research work
is based on the implementation of modern
technology for the manufacturing process in
manufacturing car bumpers. The objective
of this study is to identify the possibilities
and advantages of using RFID based RTLS
system in the manufacturing process in the
automobile industry and provide more
knowledge for efficient production.
1.5 Research hypothesis
H0: Implementation of RFID based RTLS
system has no significant relationship in
improving the manufacturing process
H1: Implementation of RFID based RTLS
system has a significant relationship in
improving the manufacturing process
1.6 Problem Statement
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The research has helped to identify the
challenges that are involved with the
implication of the RFID based RTLS
system. The consideration of this research
theory should be considered for working on
the findings related to the subject.
1.7 Significance of Research
The significance of the research is to
provide practitioners with the details that
help to understand the production process
and how implementing RTLS system can
help in improving the accuracy [3]. This
research would help to provide a model that
helps in assessing the impact of RFID. It has
helped to provide empirical insights related
to the impact of this technology in the
production line but also in the logistics and
operations related to the automotive
industry.
2. Literature Review
Globally the automotive industry is one
competitive industry. There are ample of
choices available to the customer that makes
one company compete with another by
competitively keeping the prices and
reducing the profit margin to its limit. Due
to globalization and technology
development, the competition has become
fierce. Chinese car manufacturing
companies are well known for pushing the
limit and competing with the major car
dealers in the market while challenging the
traditional business model. An automobile
professional is well aware of the challenges
that arise during the production process of a
vehicle [5]. Manufacturers are known to
constantly invest in the business for
increasing productivity while making use of
the minimum amount of assets. Automation
faces challenges from time to time. The
success of automation does not occur easily.
It requires years of hard work, investment
while adapting to the latest technology for
the industry to grow [2]. RFID is a
technology that is emerging in today’s
technology system that helps in providing
accurate and timely reports to manage the
operation of a vehicle. It helps in assembling
automobile parts. Plastal is a famous
company in Sweden that is known for
supplying exterior plastic components for
vehicles, such as bumpers that are found in
the front and back of a cab. Volvo car is one
of the most famous customers of PAGO.
PAGO is known to deliver 1600 types of
various plastic parts [5].
PAGO uses RFID to the bumpers.
Implementation of this RFID based RTLS
system helps in reducing the risk factor
related to storage, tracing vehicles and other
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production-related components, and
assembling. Based on the details that are
found from the RFID tags the processes
related to production can be managed with
any error and help to reduce manual labor.
The RFID tags that are used on the bumpers
are 96-bit that perform in the areas with high
frequency. Each tag consists of a unique
code that gives details about the area,
country, product model, and factory. Such
tags help to get other details related to a
product. RFID based RTLS helps to boost
the production of painted bumper systems.
Rehau automative LLC too has adopted the
use of this system for the production of
bumpers of Mercedes and SUV [1]. One of
the main benefits of the application of RFID
tags is that it helps to read the related
information at all the workstations. This
system focuses on the traceability factor,
warranty details, and product manufacturing
details. RFID based RTLS system antennas
tend to read the information from the tags
that are numeric based that gives details of
the exact bumpers that were ordered by a
customer [6]. Rehau makes use of this
system to track various bumpers that are
made globally for improving efficiency and
quickly identify the issues related to the
system.
3. Research Methodology
The main purpose of this methodology can
be identified for generating and providing
accurate KPIs to the organizations based on
the RTLS data. Organizations previously
used to rely on more conventional methods,
manual observations, and reports.
Companies now get to easily assess the
performance of the workflow in relation to
the real-time data [7]. Data mining is one of
the first steps of development. This step
helps in cleaning and de-clustering the
RTLS data that are filtered for the process of
analysis. Data cleaning helps in removing
duplicate files or records whereas de-
clustering helps in identifying a particular
pattern and retrieve the details of a
production line. The second step involves
generating KPIs related to the plant floor to
determine the necessary algorithms for
calculating the KPIs. Four important areas;
time, efficiency, speed, and quality need to
be covered with the measurement of the
performance of an organization that helps to
identify the KPIs of the workflow. In order
to understand the implication of RTLS
system in manufacturing process, SPSS
statistics tool needs to use so that obtain the
change in production and manufacturing
process. This tool will help in examine the
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identified hypothesis tools in a significant
way.
4. Data Analysis
Rehau is one of the leading manufacturers of
automotive products that are polymer-based.
It adapted the RTLS system some years ago
to determine if the technology was capable
of locating the area accurately. It designed
its own software and incorporated it into its
ERP system [4]. On getting a positive result
on the implementation of this system, the
company expanded its solution to all
industry locations worldwide
4.1 Equation and formulas
The efficiency of proposed system can be
effectively determined through analysing the
data, which have been collected from
different resources such as websites,
journals and online articles. In order to
analysis the data, some equations have been
used to obtain the quality, efficiency, speed
and time of RFID based RTLS system in an
manufacturing process.
Cycle time
Item cycle time (tcycle) = tend – tstart
Cycle speed
Item cycle speed (scycle) =
(∑distancecycle)/tcycle
Quality
Total defect reject ratio =
No. of defects
No . of items processed ∗100
Efficiency
Efficiency is in terms of work space
utilization and can’t have numerical value so
can’t be plotted on graph
Key performance indicator result before
RTLS (data from the company), With RTLS
(before redesign), with RTLS (after
redesign) which include mean and standard
deviations of parameters such as time, speed
and quality. On the other hand, graph
implies the discrete distribution of different
items within production cycle times.
1 2 3
0
2
4
6
8
10 0.04
0.04
0.06
Cycle time
Speed
Figure 1: Cycle time of RFID based RTLS
system
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Cycle QC1 QC2
0%
50%
100%
7.17 1.13 5.36
0 0.1 0.1
Quality
Time Speed
Graph 2: Quality of RFID based RTLS
system
The above data indicate that there is a
significant relationship between RFID based
RTLS system with manufacturing process
[H1]. The cycle time of RFID based RTLS
system graph signifies the increase in
quality and productivity through change in
manufacturing process. The X- axis
represents the time and Y – axis represents
the speed after implementation of RTLS
system. Both the figures have been
generated though determining the time and
speed by implementing RFID system
within manufacturing process. Therefore, it
can be stated that quality of services is
generated between 20-25 minutes in 400-
800 m/s2. It facilitates in monitoring
multiple tasks or activities within
manufacturing process that eventually
increase the production of plastic bumper
positively. Prior to this implementation, the
company found it challenging in tracking the
location of every bumper. It was becoming
difficult for the company to keep track of
every production line with a rising increase
in demand [5]. Rehau installed RFID in
various tools that were required for molding,
fabrication, and painting. Multiple research
stats of the company show improvement in
the quality of work while saving time and
simplifying the task of tracking the bumpers
with the help of RTLS tags.
5. Conclusion
RFID based RTLS system is being used by
various sectors of business. The research
paper focuses on the efficiency of
implementing the technology for acquiring
real-time data of production, vehicle
tracking, safety measures, and much more.
Algorithms related to the mitigation of
errors were introduced for increasing the
accuracy of the data. Multiple test reports
have shown a decrease in the inaccuracy of
data by 77%. The accuracy has increased
with an increase in the estimated time to get
real-time data. The technology is being
incorporated to get detail of cars that are in
storage [6]. It helps to determine a specific
location at which a car needs to be parked.
With RFID a worker can locate any unit
correctly even if the worker made an error in
recording data; hence, it reduces human
labor and time. Automotive companies rely
on this system to get details regarding bay
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addresses, zone, product line, and much
more. A worker can easily identify an
automobile part without having to enter
whole details and full VIN digits. RFID
helps in reducing the downtime and
increases the efficiency of tools. By taking
the help of cost-saving technology
automobile companies can increase their
operational efficiency and stay ahead in this
competitive market.
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Reference list
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Wireless Global Ltd” System and methods
for locating a mobile device. 2018. U.S.
Patent Application 10/129,848.
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Promoting a Sense of Home, Independent
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[3] J.T. Richeson, T.E. Lawrence, and B.J
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Appendix: Workshop 8-Budget and Time lines
1. Write out your research hypothesis here:
H0: Implementation of RFID based RTLS system has no significant relationship in improving the
manufacturing process
H1: Implementation of RFID based RTLS system has a significant relationship in improving the
manufacturing process
2. Enter your personnel requirements here:
In manufacturing process, the role and responsibilities of each department need to distinguish in
a systematic way. The cost per week has been divided based on each department so that
maximum possible benefit can be gathered effectively. The total cost has been signifies to ensure
that each task can be completed in a systematic way.
Role/Expertise Appt
level
Time
(weeks)
Cost/week Total Cost
Production 2 2 $512 $1024
Research and Development 3 3 $1040 $3120
Purchasing 2 4 $684 $2736
Marketing 2 2 $714 $1428
Human Resource Management 1 1 $1250 $1250
3. Enter your budget costs here
There are ranges of resources that need to be used in order to complete the project such as
infrared location tags, Wi-Fi location tags and Air finder. Through proper utilization of
resources, it is easy to improve the production plastic bumper without compensate with quality
and efficiency,
Items Cost/week Total cost
Infrared Location Tags $125 $375
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Wifi location tags $258 $516
Active RFID $185 $740
AirFinder $352 $1408
Visybl $268 $804
4. Enter your timelines here
A constructive approach needs to apply for successful completion of this project. The activities
have been allocated to all associate employees that increase the success of project. Each task has
given proper time and budget to accomplish the deliverables on time.
Deliverable/milestones Q1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Identification of manufacturing
deliverables
Establishment of new and advanced
technology
Development of established
schedule and budget
Reduce production time
Improved present production level
through RFID
Increase security and safety with
small standard protocol
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