Track and Trace - the vertical integration for Industry 4.0

The sensor technology detects which assembly steps must be taken on the basis of the car body itself - thus ensuring unique identification - and guarantees continuous transparency right through to delivery. Processing steps on the object are updated via rewritable RFID transponder. Reading reliability is a must, as errors could lead to misrouting, mix-ups, or loss of production. This is where RFID data cards - which can be attached to components or even integrated unseen within them - are coming into play more and more. They ensure maximum availability in practice - for example, when subjected to high temperatures on the painting line - and can then be reliably identified once covered in paint.

Aspects such as transparency and traceability are playing an increasingly essential role for manufacturers - particularly as the level of variability in the production lines of large automobile plants is constantly on the rise and assembly lines are seeing ever more variants installed in parallel.

Vertical integration is the keyword for track & trace. The traceability of products during complex manufacturing and logistics processes stands at the forefront of this field. A transparent material flow is required in production and logistics so that production decisions can be made more quickly.

The transparent material flow based on RFID plays a key role at the delivery stage too. Until the completed cars are ready to be picked up and transported to the dealerships, they are left parked in large parking lots. The problem occurs when it comes to finding a car that has to be transported. Every single car is made to order. Every car is different to the next. However, when information is stored on an RFID tag, the customer's dream car is located quickly and can be loaded up for transport in no time. This ensures transparency and traceability monitoring right through to the customer.

To learn more about Sick's track and trace process, go to www.sick.co.uk.