Challenge

As a leading manufacturer and supplier of plumbing and heating systems for residential and commercial building markets, this manufacturer needed a solution to help streamline their manufacturing process. Before implementing a new solution, this company was hand applying 4” X 6” packaging labels and manually stacking the bundles onto the correct pallets. Not only did this process involve extra labor costs, it resulted in slower turn-around times.

Solution

After the pain points were determined, they developed a resolution utilizing RFID chips. The manufacturer installed a Zebra print engine within their production line that prints and applies a 4” X 2” RFID label. The RFID label is programed with lot and date information and applied to each one of their products as it goes through the automated line. At the end of the line an automated stacker reads the RFID chip and determines where the product needs to go. The stacker then picks up the product and puts it onto the correct pallet without any human assistance. They also installed a second Zebra print and apply engine to apply their 4” x 6” inch label to their packaging with human readable information for distribution purposes.

Results

After implementing their new manufacturing process, the manufacturer was able to decrease the number of people needed on the line allowing them to reallocate their human resources to improve other areas of their business. They have reduced production time and improved their internal efficiencies throughout production. Coridian has become a valued partner to them by providing the manufacturer with RFID labels, and thermal transfer labels and ribbons along with supplying on-site technical support for their Zebra printer applicators.

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