Industrial Panel PCs for Automotive MES Workstations: Case Study
On a modern vehicle line the bottleneck is rarely the robot. It is the workstation: whether the operator has the correct instruction, whether the torque tool and the MES agree on the same build, and whether anyone can prove, six months later, that the step was performed.
A leading automobile manufacturer in China was building intelligence into its production lines and needed to manage a large number of production workstations as one system. The plant deployed the TERVEX D10R, a 10.1-inch Android industrial panel PC, as the workstation terminal connected to its MES.
Challenge: Managing Hundreds of Workstations and Protecting Production Data
In the process of intelligent construction of the production line, the customer needed to manage a large number of production workstation devices, ensure seamless integration and data sharing between them, and guarantee data security at the same time.
That combination is difficult. Devices that are easy to integrate tend to be difficult to lock down, and the production data on a workstation - process parameters, quality records, build sequences - is exactly what a manufacturer cannot afford to lose.
Attendance and operator authorisation had to be accurate too, because a workstation record is only trustworthy if the person who executed the step is identified.
Solution: D10R Panel PCs With MES and MDM Integration
The D10R is deeply integrated with the MES system to deliver real-time management of production data and workflow. Workshop staff collect production data or receive their electronic SOP in real time through the D10R, so the instruction shown at the workstation is always the current revision.
The panel PC also lets the plant centrally manage every workstation device through an MDM system: remote shutdown, batch configuration of application functions, and security policy enforcement across the fleet of terminals.
Intelligent attendance methods such as fingerprint recognition and facial recognition raise attendance efficiency and keep the operator identity attached to the record.
Results: Standardised Electronic SOPs and Stronger Data Protection
By issuing electronic SOPs automatically through the system, the plant ensures standardisation and consistency of operations and significantly reduces delays caused by human intervention, which helps maximise production efficiency.
Data protection improved at the same time. By prohibiting external storage on the devices, disabling cameras and restricting screenshots, the customer protects its data assets and prevents illegal access to or leakage of production data.
With the D10R and MDM system managing the production process intelligently, the overall production efficiency of the customer was significantly improved.
