Automating the Automotive Industry

Barcode technology has helped revolutionize the automotive industry by providing fast and accurate inventory and shipping information to pass among trading partners throughout the supply chain. However, just because a manufacturer has deployed barcode scanners in its facilities doesn't mean the technology is being used effectively.

Trelleborg Automotive Americas has been scanning barcodes in its factories for several years, but its disparate shipping and receiving systems were outmoded and operated independently of each other. What's more, production staff still relied on paper tickets to track work in process. Thanks to a new end-to-end scanning solution, however, the company has improved efficiency and accuracy, while providing real-time production data and lot traceability.

Trelleborg Automotive Americas is part of Trelleborg AB, a global supplier to automotive, aerospace, construction and other industries. The Americas division is primarily a rubber injection operation that makes anti-vibration parts (such as engine mounts and hydro bushings) for automotive OEMs like Ford and GM, as well as suppliers such as TRW and Delphi.

The company had already deployed stand-alone barcode scanning systems in its receiving and shipping departments, but those solutions were not integrated with each other and were becoming outdated.

“We wanted to take the barcode system to the next level, have some lot traceability and get rid of our manual paperwork,” explains John Jacobs, IT developer at Trelleborg. “We wanted to go from receiving back to shipping with a complete electronic system.”

The company also wanted to replace its manual job tickets with a barcoding system. “Before, there was a paper system where operators would record all of the traceability information, the parts they made, what kind of scrap was generated and what machine they were on. That information went into the ERP system,” Jacobs says. Operators on the factory floor had to manage these tickets and record production information by hand, in addition to running their machines.

Trelleborg decided to deploy a barcoding system that integrated with its existing AS400-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The company also wanted to be able to develop and expand the barcoding system using internal resources to keep costs low.

Tracking the Production Process

The barcoding system allows Trelleborg complete visibility, from the time raw material arrives at the plant until finished goods are shipped out to customers.

As raw material arrives at the dock door, employees in the receiving area scan the barcoded labels on the boxes using mobile computers with integrated scanners. Once received, materials are stored in one of several warehouses located at each plant.

“We use the barcode serial number on the box for lot traceability,” Jacobs says. “Once the material is scanned, the system tells us which one of our warehouses it goes into.”

Before being stored, though, the material goes through a quality-control check process. The quality department receives a report as soon as material arrives, which has condensed the time it takes for materials to be released for the QC check. “The box can't go any further without that quality-control check,” Jacobs says.

Once an order for materials comes up from the production floor, lift truck drivers retrieve the material from the warehouse. According to Jacobs, the retrieval process is largely a visual system, as the barcode scanning solution isn't currently used to manage inventory in the warehouses.