Ubisense Survey Finds Nearly 85 Percent of Manufacturers Cite Worker Error for Quality Control Issues

The 2014 Smart Manufacturing Technologies Survey, commissioned by Ubisense (AIM: UBI), a global leader in location intelligence solutions, found that worker error is the single biggest cause of quality control issues for manufacturers today. According to the Ubisense survey, nearly 85 percent of respondents cited worker error for the cause of quality issues. While new workers may lack in skill and experience, possibly the more significant factor fueling this issue is consumer demand for customization which drives greater product variability and task complexity.

To address this issue, 55 percent of survey respondents indicated that better worker training offers the biggest opportunity to decrease the cost of quality. But this may not be the best solution as staff cannot be indefinitely upskilled to keep pace with product variability without costs spiraling upward as a result. Automation, controls and error-proofing technologies may offer a better solution.

“Task variation can be partly managed using adaptive instructional displays, pick-to-light systems and advanced error-detecting tooling,” said Adrian Jennings, CTO of real-time location intelligence solutions for the Americas, Ubisense. “These types of technologies can guide workers through processes and alert them when mistakes happen. Moving to Industry 4.0, the workplace becomes significantly more flexible, with tooling and workspaces reconfiguring themselves according to product specs and guiding workers to implement the correct process. This will offer incredible strides in manufacturing efficiency but most just aren’t there yet.”

For example, today the majority of manufacturers currently use less than 10 percent of wireless tools, but the survey showed they are gaining popularity. Within five years, 12 percent of respondents believe more than 50 percent of the tools they use on the manufacturing floor will be wireless. While this is a step toward embracing Industry 4.0, this also presents more variation on the assembly line where wireless tools free workers from fixed workstations. This kind of flexibility is critical for managing task complexity but could also bring an explosive increase in quality issues if automation and error-prevention technologies are not correctly adopted.

Other key survey findings include:

  • Thirty-six percent of respondents cited fixed workstations as the biggest tradeoff in terms of line length and flexibility
  • When asked about the motivation for increasing process density, respondents answered that the number one reason was “planning for future increased throughput,” only narrowly pushing “minimizing capital investment in new line construction” into second place
  • Among the seven manufacturing wastes, addressing delays, defective parts and issues with inventory ranked as the highest priorities

To learn more about the findings of the 2014 Smart Manufacturing Technologies Survey, join a free webinar on October 23, hosted by Ubisense. To register, select the preferred time based on location.

Europe: 10 a.m. BST: http://bit.ly/1u6ncfz

Americas: 10 a.m. EDT: http://bit.ly/1pCHQO2

Access the complete survey results at http://bit.ly/1vpRUPm.

About Ubisense
Ubisense is a market leader in real-time location intelligence solutions that enable companies to optimize their business processes. By keeping track of key assets, Ubisense solutions bring clarity to complex operations while also improving quality and reliability. Ubisense location intelligence solutions are used by a number of blue chip customers around the world. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with offices in the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Philippines and Singapore. For more information visit http://www.ubisense.net.

Contacts:

Chase Communications
Michelle Baum, +1-303-284-8440
michelle@chasecomm.net

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.