Altra Schaffhausen

With Pick to Light, Independently Carry Out Complex Assembly Work with Little Previous Knowledge

Initial Situation

Altra Schaffhausen is a company with around 600 employees. By working with Altra, people are valued, and a meaningful working day is made possible. The company has a very broad foundation and offers a wide variety of services across equally diverse sectors. In the field of industrial assembly, it often involves complex products that are assembled in several steps.

Challenge

Assembling individual and complex assemblies with serial number tracking using barcode scanners is a top priority. Instructions at the lean workstation should be minimized as much as possible. The assembly workstation should instruct and guide. The aim is to increase the level of independence at the machine, even for people with limited previous experience, and thereby reduce the number of control tasks previously required of group leaders.

What Customers Say About Us

“The assembly line is very beneficial for us and enables us to offer even more attractive jobs. The technical support we received from Phoenix Mecano during the entire process was very much appreciated. Through our complex requirements, we have been able to contribute to Phoenix's ability to take on complex and highly individual scenarios in the future and to continue to develop its systems.”

Logo Altra

Dario Cervini

Area Manager, Altra Schaffhausen

Solution

Once the specifications were drawn up, a live Lean workshop was held at Phoenix Mecano in Stein am Rhein. During this workshop, Altra formed a team consisting of specialist personnel and employees with disabilities. Together with Phoenix Mecano , solutions were developed. The SETAGO Pick to Light worker guidance system was a great support in developing the solution approaches.

The Pick by Light assembly system greatly simplifies independent assembly. Thanks to digital assembly instructions, workers are guided step by step through the assembly process. Assembly cannot continue if a part was forgotten in the previous process step. The sequence of parts to be assembled is also indicated and controlled by the sensors.

Since some components are heavy and unwieldy, a turning and swiveling device was added to the assembly workstation. This allows the workpiece to be placed in the correct and ergonomically optimal position during assembly. As a final inspection step, the assembly island is equipped with a camera that performs a final check of the plugged cable connections.

In addition to the design and construction of this complex and individual Lean assembly line, Phoenix Mecano also supported Altra Schaffhausen in familiarizing them with SETAGO Pick to Light and assisted in creating the digital assembly instructions.

Employee assembles at a LEAN workstation

Contact

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