Transferring production data from manual assembly operations

At SPS IPC Drives 2017, Mitsubishi Electric’s Guided Operator Solutions for manual assembly applications demonstrated how improvements in quality and productivity can be achieved. These solutions also enable the seamless transfer of production data from manual assembly operations to higher-level enterprise systems, supporting the digital transformation within manufacturing.

Mitsubishi Electric’s Guided Operator Solutions are already being used by leading automotive OEMs to aid with quality control in manual assembly processes and efficient stock handling. Similarly, customers are using the solutions for assembly operations in the semiconductor industry to optimize product quality management.

Among the many other areas of interest are life sciences and medical device assembly applications.
Giving the operator a clear visual indication of which parts to pick and in what sequence, the Guided Operator Solutions help to improve quality. This is especially important for today’s assembly operations that are becoming increasingly complex and as the costs of addressing potential quality problems grow.

Components are frequently sourced from many different locations around the world for assembly at a single location, and any given product might be assembled from a host of different parts which can look superficially similar to neighboring components. The Guided Operator Solutions are proven to eliminate picking mistakes for these components.

At the same time, the Guided Operator Solutions can provide a link between the operator and the higher-level ERP/MES business systems. This, for example, enables new product specifications to be sent to manual assembly work places, and inventory tracking reported back from production for analysis.
Mitsubishi Electric’s Guided Operator Solutions are based on MELSEC PLCs and GOT series HMIs, complemented by a full range of switch types, photo-electric sensors, light curtains and door devices.