CASE STUDIES: #PRM-001

Pride Mobility

Medical device company that utilizes the data from i-5O’s vision system to meet customer demands by increasing productivity and reducing time-to-action for products that need managerial attention.

Overview

Pride Mobility

Pride Mobility is one of the leading manufacturers for power wheelchairs and other mobility products. Since their establishment in 1986 in Pennsylvania, United States, they have expanded their market to Europe and Asia. They are dedicated to providing their customers with excellent products and services. i-5O Computer Vision System is used in their manufacturing facility at Duryea, Pennsylvania, where power chairs that are customized by their customers are manufactured. The data generated by i-5O has helped the team at Pride Mobility eliminate bottlenecks, allocate labor efficiently and address process deviations quickly through our notification system.

Problem

Inability to identify the issues in the bottleneck stations and production delays caused by process deviations not being addressed immediately

Based on the data collected in their manufacturing execution system and from manual time studies, two stations were suspected to be the main bottlenecks. The bottleneck stations often have power chairs that are awaiting attention from management due to various issues. If the chairs are not addressed immediately or forgotten about, it can cause delays in the overall production timeline. The delay can impact ability to meet customer demand and thus negatively affect revenue. Furthermore, the productivity data collected prior to using i-5O was inaccurate, due to the fact that the methods relied on human inputs and data collection. It is also time consuming and impractical to continuously conduct manual time studies in which an industrial engineer would be required to monitor the station and record the productivity. This method can also produce inaccuracy in the data as the operators can perform differently when being actively monitored by an industrial engineer (i.e., lower performance due to anxiety from someone watching them).

Solution

Implementation of a notification system for power chairs in waiting and automation of productivity/capacity tracking using Computer Vision

i-5O Computer Vision System was used to track the chairs that are in waiting for a period of time that exceeded set thresholds determined by management. A notification system was implemented in which if the chairs exceed this threshold, analert is sent to management personnel. This allows management to address any issues with the chair immediately without causing significant delays in the production timeline and keeping the production flow consistent. i-5O was also used by Pride Mobility to measure and improve the performance of the bottleneck stations. By having accurate data about the stations, it was possible for management to improve operator performance on the stations, improve production flow and layout. Since Pride Mobility is constantly striving to meet customer demand, it is important to meet production timelines and to use their labor effectively. By eliminating the need for manual time studies, they can now use their engineering resources to improve their production operations instead of spending time collecting data.

Our Results

Instant SMS Alerts on process deviations

Productivity & Capacity Metrics updated real-time

Increased Production Output & Revenue by double digit %

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