IDC Develops Zigbee Opc Ethernet Gateway In Turnkey System To Improve Logistics & Jit Tracking At French Auto Manufacturer.

The turnkey UK system – based upon IDC’s ZigBee-based wireless pushbutton and pull cord system provides end-to-end visibility for the automotive manufacturer, helping the organisation to effectively meet the challenge of scheduling, monitoring and controlling its logistics operation and flow of parts. The system operates in conjunction with simple screen instructions, which instruct supply chain personnel to commence certain operations. The low cost wireless hardware provided by IDC is used by these operators to indicate that they are following these instructions.

The system that IDC supplied to France differs in that IDC’s hardware had to work with the existing site-wide SCADA system, which was already being used to provide some supply chain visibility. IDC’s solution to this problem was to provide an OPC server which enabled integration with the plant-wide SCADA. The OPC server also enables new ZigBee wireless devices, such as pull cords and pushbuttons, to be added, seamlessly, to the system.

The Pull Cord’s were provided ready - integrated with a simple wireless switch interface, the ZB107. The ZB107 can accommodate up to 16 volt - free digital inputs, but in this configuration it was simply a self - contained solution comprising a Pull Switch bolted to the wireless module. Other areas of the French plant use the hand held pushbutton (ZB102) which provides a customisable membrane keypad with more key options in a single self contained rugged enclosure.

A key benefit of the ZB102 in this application is that it is small enough to be carried by Fork Lift operators. Moreover, the network created by the wireless infrastructure means that the Forklift operators can continue to interact with the supply chain system wherever they are on site.

“By using mobile ZigBee technology, manufacturers, warehousing and logistics companies and distribution specialists can overcome the problems of inflexibility and integration problems experienced with fixed tracking systems,” said Kevin Buckley, MD of IDC. “Each ZigBee module its own inbuilt location engine, which we are using to provide an estimate of position; so we can track cars, operators, vehicles, parts, in fact almost anything, simply by attaching a mobile ZigBee node. What this enables us to do is to bring a dynamic to all systems, operations and parts, providing up-to-date, interactive, data that can be directly interfaced to a manufacturer’s mainframe. This is not just another “Real Time Location System” as there is a full suite of products which all run on the same infrastructure, providing a cost effective alternative to traditional techniques for manufacturing logistics and supply chain data capture.”