Delphi gets JIT suspension manufacturing moving more smoothly
1 min read
Delphi Automotive Systems says it is meeting the challenge of supplying JIT suspension systems in assembly line sequence with the help of an automated, barcode-driven picking process.
The development, it says, has greatly reduced it’s automotive OEM customer’s line-side storage, while simplifying and improving the efficiency of manufacturing logistics, increasing production flexibility and cutting costs.
The development is for the BMW Mini production plant in Oxford, for which Delphi’s Luton plant provides suspension sets for each corner of more than 5,200 vehicles per week.
Working with TPL Labels, it has now reorganised its shopfloor into lanes designated by the final destination of the suspension module.
These are linked electronically to BMW’s assembly line management system, and Delphi prepares batch deliveries using a combination of a truck-mounted Datalogic Rhino-Net rugged mobile computer, DS4600A fixed position laser barcode scanner, and Datalogic Powerscan M8300 hand-held barcode reader.
Operators now move along the picking lanes on their electric pallet trucks, and are automatically instructed on which suspension modules to pick by the Datalogic mobile computer. Having picked the modules, operator place them on a vertical arm where their barcodes are scanned.
Once each suspension module is identified as correct, it is placed in a custom storage system on the truck, which is numbered and assigned a barcode – leaving the operator to scan the barcode to positively identify that the right unit has been picked and placed in the correct compartment, prior to shipping.
Delphi says it chose the Datalogic Powerscan M8300 for reasons, including its rugged construction (IP65 rating and 2m drop resistance), ergonomic design, 3GL good read feedback system and superior reading performance. Using Datalogic’s STAR system narrow band RF (433MHz or 910MHz), the unit offers reliable, secure data transfer without Wi-Fi interference, or the constraints and hazards of a tethered device.
Delphi says its supply-in-line sequence process enables the company to meet its customer’s needs through the coordination of its own manufacturing processes and BMW’s.
