National Manufacturing Week is a time to celebrate the innovation and resilience of the manufacturing sector. In an industry defined by precision, efficiency, and the constant pursuit of improvement, staying ahead of the curve is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity. Today, manufacturers face growing pressures to optimize workflows, reduce costs, and increase visibility across their entire supply chain. This is where the Internet of Things (IoT) is making a transformative impact, and Link Labs is at the forefront of this revolution.
For manufacturers, knowing where your assets are, what they are doing, and how they are performing is critical. From raw materials and work-in-progress (WIP) to finished goods and the tools used to create them, every item plays a role in the intricate dance of production. Misplaced equipment, lost inventory, and inefficient processes can lead to costly delays and operational bottlenecks. Real-time asset tracking technology provides the visibility and data needed to solve these challenges, turning complex operations into streamlined, intelligent systems.
Before diving into the solution, it’s important to understand the problems. In a sprawling manufacturing facility, the time spent searching for tools, components, or transport equipment quickly adds up. A study by the MPI Group found that manufacturing employees spend, on average, over two hours per week searching for lost or misplaced assets. This lost time translates directly into reduced productivity and increased labor costs.
Beyond lost time, manufacturers grapple with several other key challenges:
IoT-based asset tracking provides a powerful solution to these long-standing challenges. By attaching small, battery-powered tags to assets, manufacturers can gain unprecedented, real-time visibility into their entire operation. This isn't just about knowing where something is; it's about understanding how it's being used, how it moves through your facility, and how you can optimize its role in your workflow.
Link Labs’ AirFinder platform is designed to deliver this level of insight with a unique combination of affordability, accuracy, and scalability. It provides a comprehensive solution that bridges the gap between indoor and outdoor tracking, creating a single, unified view of all your critical assets.
The AirFinder platform is built to be a complete, end-to-end solution. It combines different location technologies to provide the best possible performance for any given situation, all managed through a single, easy-to-use interface.
Here’s a breakdown of the key components:
While many companies offer asset tracking, Link Labs’ approach is built to solve the specific, enterprise-grade challenges of modern manufacturing.
Let’s explore how Link Labs’ technology solves practical, everyday problems on the factory floor.
Challenge: Manually tracking components and sub-assemblies as they move through production is time-consuming and often inaccurate, leading to delays and confusion.
Solution: By attaching AirFinder UWB tags to WIP assets, manufacturers can achieve 30 cm accuracy. The system can automatically track how long an item spends at each workstation, identify bottlenecks in real-time, and provide a detailed history of its journey through the production line. This data helps managers optimize workflows, reallocate resources, and improve production forecasting.
Challenge: Valuable tools and equipment, like torque wrenches, calibration devices, or forklifts, are frequently misplaced. The time spent searching for them wastes labor hours and can bring production to a halt.
Solution: Placing small, long-life BLE tags on tools allows workers to locate them instantly using a mobile app or web dashboard. You can create geofences around tool cribs or work areas and receive alerts if a tool is removed without authorization. This not only reduces search time but also prevents theft and improves accountability. The SuperTag, acting as a gateway in a "tool cage" scenario, can automatically maintain an inventory of all tagged tools within its range, updating their status to "checked out" when they leave the area.
Challenge: In large manufacturing facilities, managing the flow of incoming and outgoing trailers is a major logistical puzzle. Knowing which trailer is in which dock, what it's carrying, and how long it has been there is essential for efficient loading and unloading.
Solution: The AirFinder SuperTag is perfect for this. Placed on a trailer, it provides seamless indoor and outdoor tracking. Geofences can be set up around the yard, loading docks, and parking areas to automate arrival and departure logs. This eliminates manual check-ins, reduces driver wait times, and ensures the right trailer is always at the right place at the right time. You can even monitor dwell times to identify underutilized yard space or trailers that need to be moved.
Challenge: For manufacturers dealing with temperature-sensitive materials or products, maintaining the cold chain is non-negotiable. A temperature excursion can ruin an entire batch, leading to significant financial losses.
Solution: Temperature monitoring in the facility, as well as over the road during the entire supply chain process can ensure that compliance is maintained.
The manufacturing landscape is more competitive than ever. The ability to leverage data for smarter, faster, and more efficient operations is what separates the leaders from the laggards. IoT asset tracking is no longer a futuristic concept; it's a proven, accessible technology that delivers a tangible return on investment.
By providing a single, powerful platform for both indoor and outdoor asset visibility, Link Labs empowers manufacturers to take control of their operations. From optimizing intricate production workflows to preventing the loss of critical equipment, our solutions are designed to address the real-world challenges you face every day.
Ready to see how real-time asset intelligence can transform your factory floor? Contact us today for a demo and discover how AirFinder can help you build a more connected, efficient, and profitable manufacturing operation.