[Manufacturing Industry] Automobiles/Transport Equipment

Installing handheld mobile computers makes it possible to read barcodes and similar items provided with parts and immediately convert the receiving information into data, which prevents careless mistakes caused by visual inspections. When parts are used on a manufacturing line, inventory is moved automatically, which eliminates the recording and data entry performed by personnel, thereby enabling correct inventory management. This greatly improves the accuracy of the inspection of receiving goods/incoming inspections.

If mistakes occur in visual inspections during warehousing, confusion will arise during the picking of the parts required for the manufacturing line, and the subsequent processes will be greatly delayed. Also, the dispensing process, in which parts are lined up in the order in which work is performed, will also be thrown off. By using handheld mobile computers and barcodes to associate product information with shelf information, this work can be made faster and more accurate. This enables accurate picking work, efficient inventory management, and major improvements in the speed of verification work.

Handheld mobile computers can be used to perform overall operation management, work-hour management, insertion checks, and tool management in real time, which makes it easy to manage the progress of processes. In turn, this can be expected to lead to improved product quality. In addition to information on parts and products, the usage situation and consumption situation of consumables, equipment, and tools can also be determined, which is effective in the preventative maintenance in equipment management.

One of the advantages of installing handheld mobile computers is that integration with the system makes it possible to simplify the registration of product serial numbers. Product traceability is also dramatically improved, so it is possible to immediately identify the process that was the cause of problems such as defective workpieces. Inspection results and repair results are converted to data on the spot, which makes it clear how to work toward quality improvements.

Finished products are brought into the company's warehouse where they wait for delivery. Erroneous shipments can be greatly reduced by performing shipping inspections that do not rely on visual checks. Also, handheld mobile computers can be integrated with the system to improve the efficiency of inventory management and inventory counting.

Up to now, it was a hassle to handle character strings such as the serial numbers on part labels. For example, operators had to check the character strings visually, write them down by hand, and manually enter them into a PC. What's more, a lot of the data is very similar, so mistakes often occurred with visual inspections. With handheld mobile computers, all the operator has to do is scan the character string to enter it into the system, so mistakes caused by visual inspections can be greatly reduced and work can be optimised.

When serial numbers and lot numbers are marked directly on PCBs and metal, the characters are very small and may be difficult to read depending on the material, which are problems. However, it is often the case that barcodes cannot be marked due to the material or the available space. Conventionally, this information was checked visually, but this led to noticeable mistakes arising from parts of the text not being read or being read incorrectly and from the handwritten records and manual entry into PCs. By installing handheld mobile computers, operators only have to scan the text to enter it into the system, which leads to better tracing of products and parts on which barcodes cannot be marked.