How Avantguard Transforms Lost Time into Productive Hours

In this article, we will uncover how Avantguard helps operators reduce rework, cut costs, and stay on schedule.

Downtime is costly for manufacturing plants across all industries and should be minimized whenever possible. It escalates as unexpected issues arise, including the time required to resolve errors, bottlenecks impeding the entire production line, and machine wear and tear, resulting in higher maintenance costs, all of which incur significant expenses.

Thankfully, we don’t need to accept this as our reality. In the era of Industry 4.0, innovative technology is created every day as a means to streamline operations and improve the manufacturer’s experience. From automating entire applications to gathering data, manufacturers have never had more technology at their disposal.

One of the most versatile and supportive tools in your arsenal is software. While you and your operators tackle your applications, the software can work in the background, catching errors, collecting data, and more, ensuring and verifying that your assembly is running smoothly.

Manufacturing facilities typically experience 20 downtime incidents over the course of a month. This, of course, impacts production, product quality, lead times, your bottom line, and even your reputation. In fact, despite some advancements, large plants still lose an average of 25 hours per month to unplanned downtime, surpassing a full day's production. With every day of downtime, your production declines and expenses grow significantly.

When was the last time mistakes were made on the line because the incorrect tool was used? No matter how vigilant you and your operators are, this is a common mistake that could cost you a lot to fix. Finding, repairing, or replacing affected products and getting back on schedule can significantly set you back. Mistakes like this can compound into lost production hours, especially in shops where sticking to your schedule is essential.

Avantguard is designed to facilitate the process by identifying whether the tool is correct for the desired program, guaranteeing dependable fastening processes, upholding the integrity of the tightening sequence, and documenting results for repair analysis.

Another common mistake is using the wrong components during manufacturing, thus leading to the assembly of incorrect or defective parts. Similarly to using the wrong tool on the wrong part, utilizing the incorrect component can result in excessive downtime, disrupting production and impacting your bottom line. Thankfully, Avantguard can help with improving productivity in this way too!

Avantguard offers robust part verification capabilities, ensuring product quality and compliance by cross-referencing each part against predefined specifications. This software solution documents all part numbers for traceability and easy access and creates a digital birth certificate. By verifying the components in real-time, Avantguard minimizes the risk of assembling incorrect or defective parts, thereby reducing potential errors and ensuring that products meet quality standards.

Whether you have new hires or experienced operators on the line, human errors, such as missed or accidentally repeated steps, are to be expected. These errors can lead to rework or complete line stoppages. Even short disruptions add up quickly, especially on fast-cycle or high-volume lines. While this is the reality of manufacturing, mitigating and eliminating these errors at all costs is vital.

Avantguard provides comprehensive operator guidance, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in production processes through step-by-step instructions and real-time feedback. By ensuring that each step is executed correctly, Avantguard minimizes the chances of errors and assists operators in efficiently managing complex assembly tasks.

No matter what precautions you take, you may not always be able to avoid mistakes completely. However, with the right software solutions on your operators' side, you can ensure that your rework stations remain connected and continuous.

With Avantguard, you can easily set up a rework station on the line or within an existing station. This makes it possible for your operators to have a full overview of each product's status (OK/NOK), on-screen guidance to identify and address NOK issues, and quick and easy identification and correction of NOK products. Further, to best support your unique needs, Avantguard’s rework station capabilities were developed with the ability to provide feedback either in a fixed location or on the go by using a tablet and a STR wrench.

Mistakes are part of being human, and as long as we have operators, we should anticipate that some things will be overlooked during production. That’s where Industry 4.0 technology can step in and truly shine, providing protection against these errors so your manufacturing facility can continue business as usual.

With solutions such as Avantguard, you can safeguard your production from incorrect tools, missing parts, improper torque, and more. Further, Avantguard rework stations will be ready to tackle any NOK issues you come across. In this way, Avantguard will help you save time and money concerning quality issues.

Take the first step toward smarter manufacturing. Our experts are ready to help you streamline operations and avoid timely repairs. Contact us today to uncover the assembly tools and solutions that will improve your production and put you on the fast track to seamless operations.