Smart Factory with RTLS: Real-Time Location Tracking for Automated Processes
RTLS in manufacturing provides real-time visibility into your production: workpieces, tools, load carriers, and forklifts so they are all located at all times. As the foundation of the smart factory, real-time localization provides the data foundation for automated processes, digital value stream analysis, and, increasingly, AI-powered systems.
Today's challenges
Paper-based documentation & inefficient process monitoring
Paper-based documentation slows down digital transformation and relies on outdated, error-prone methods. Traditional process monitoring also lacks real-time insights into work-in-progress (WIP) and completed workflows, leading to delayed decision-making and reduced productivity.
Ensuring Process Quality Control
In modern production environments, quality assurance is indispensable. However, delays, sequence errors, and blocked materials jeopardize supply chain transparency and compliance with standards. Key metrics such as order delays, error rates, and workload overviews are crucial for maintaining consistent quality assurance.
Minimize Search Times
Search times impact productivity. Quickly locating tools, materials, or equipment keeps employees focused on their core tasks, reducing downtime and delays. Efficient access to information minimizes bottlenecks and keeps production on track, enabling teams to consistently meet their targets.
Error-Prone Material Replenishment Planning
Manual material replenishment processes often result in costly errors, delays, and operational disruptions. Avoiding these mistakes is essential to maintaining uptime and ensuring a continuous, efficient production flow.
Siloed business systems
Optimized manufacturing requires seamless communication between ERP, WMS, and MES systems. Without integration, data silos, inventory issues, and workflow inefficiencies arise, hindering effective asset and order management on the shop floor.
RTLS in Manufacturing:
Real-Time Localization for Production
RTLS (Real-Time Locating System) continuously tracks all relevant objects in production, not just at individual reading points. This provides transparency across the entire material flow. Unlike selective RFID tracking, industrial RTLS tracking shows the exact position at all times, thereby laying the foundation for automated process control.
WIP & Order Tracking for Automated Processes
With real-time order tracking, you’ll enjoy complete transparency. Attach Cavea tracking tags to every handling unit assigned to a production order, and watch as your shop floor comes to life with live overviews.
Cavea’s software solutions provide a real-time view of every movement along the production line and give management the insights it needs to make quick, informed decisions.
Thanks to seamless integration with ERP, MES, and WMS systems—including the SAP connector for automated SAP postings—your processes can be triggered automatically.
Key features:
- Automated Posting Processes
- Real-time WIP & Order Overview for Complete Transparency
- Seamless Integration into Your Business Systems
Asset Tracking for Locating Tools and Load Carriers
Effortlessly locate all essential tools and equipment. With Cavea’s intuitive software, you can view the live position of all high-value assets in one place—eliminating time-consuming searches. Empower your team to focus on what matters most, with the confidence that everything they need is just a glance away.
Key features:
- Live Location Overview for Tools, Equipment, and Other Relevant Assets
- User-Friendly Software for Shop Floor Employees
- Seamless Integration into Your Software Landscape for Inventory Management
Material Replenishment (eKanban)
Key features:
- Automatic Replenishment Notifications for Continuous Material Flow
- Smart eKanban System for Precise Inventory Management
- Effortless Integration with Your ERP and Inventory Applications
Automated Process Quality Control
Key features:
- Real-Time Alerts for Immediate Action on Misplaced or Delayed Assets
- Automated Monitoring for Effortless Process Quality
- Live Notifications that Inform Teams and Keep Processes on Track
Advanced Analytics
Key features:
- Live Dashboards
- Heatmaps
- Spaghetti diagrams
Digital Value Stream Analysis - Analyze and Optimize Your Processes
We track your processes for four weeks. Using this objective data, we identify hidden opportunities for efficiency and lay the groundwork for leaner, automated workflows. No guesswork. Just measurable facts.
Your Advantages
Our solutions deliver benefits that ensure a fast ROI.
How it works
Which RTLS technology is right for your manufacturing operations?
Cavea offers you access to several tracking technologies. The selection is based on precision, latency, and battery life, and these three factors are also the most important TCO levers.
Thanks to the open omlox standard, we are able to seamlessly integrate other tracking technologies from our partners or solutions that you already use with the Cavea Hub.
With Cavea cloud and Cavea edge, you can choose whether you want to run the software applications in our secure cloud environment or on a local server.
What other companies say
“Cavea displays precise movement and position data of objects on our employee-focused application. This enables our customers to realize significant productivity gains and process improvements.”
Jan Lachenmayer
“By combining UWB and Cavea Mesh technology, we are working together to create a versatile solution that combines the highest precision with scalable connectivity. This enables us to provide a real-time overview of assets and maximize ROI for our customers.”
Erik Mademann
“The seamless interaction within our IoT platform of ESLs and Cavea’s tracking solution enables paperless production and sustainable process automation. Together, we create complete transparency and more efficient processes for our customers.”
