General Motors is installing wireless local area networks in all 25
of its North American assembly plants to improve efficiency.
GM will, initially, use the wireless LAN infrastructure to track
materials and replenish parts at stations on its assembly lines.
But once the wireless LANs are in place, according to Cliff
Triplett, global information officer for manufacturing and quality
at GM, they can be used to support a wide range of other
applications. These include access to computer-aided design
drawings and plant configuration information, which Triplett called
a "virtual factory" database.
Larry Graham, global manager of manufacturing technologies for GM,
said the factory wireless LAN infrastructure would bring about a
"quantum change" in the ability of GM to send and receive
information to and from workers and systems in the manufacturing
environment.
"It provides you with agility and flexibility that did not exist
before," Graham said. GM plans to standardise on Wi-Fi, or 802.11b,
wireless LAN technology in all of its plants, he added.
But Graham said GM expects a quick payback on its investment in
less than a year. He declined to elaborate further on the financial
details.
Jack Maynard, an analyst at Aberdeen Group, said the fact that GM
expects to recoup its investment so quickly indicates that the
company had "a real problem" with locating parts efficiently within
its plants.
Maynard added that GM could use the wireless LAN-based materials
management system to change its manufacturing operation drastically
to a build-to-order model.
GM has already equipped up to 100 forklift trucks with wireless
terminals in each plant. In its New United Motor Manufacturing
plant in California, which it operates jointly with Toyota, GM has
installed a wireless location system that works with the wireless
LAN.
When workers need to replenish parts for their station, they press
a button on a wireless pendant at their workstation. The request is
displayed on a screen on the forklift, showing the location of the
worker and the materials required. GM's Triplett said he views
vehicle-tracking information as another high-priority application
for the wireless system.
GM rivals Ford and DaimlerChrysler both operate extensive wireless
LAN networks at their North American manufacturing plants, but
neither has plans to install an infrastructure equal in scope to
GM's.
Jim Buczkowski, director of manufacturing and supply chain IT at
Ford, said the company has installed wireless LANs at all 21 of its
North American assembly plants, but with zoned rather than plant
wide coverage.
Ford uses wireless LANs in the yards of all its plants to control
and manage finished-vehicle inventory and has experimented with
installing wireless terminals on forklifts, Buczkowski said.
However, the company had not been able to justify a business case
for wide-scale rollout of wireless terminals on forklifts, he
said.
Elive Likine, manager of wireless communications at
DaimlerChrysler, said the company has older wireless LANs that
operate in the 902-MHz band that are used to support yard
operations. The car makerhas also installed 802.11b wireless LANs,
which operate in the 2.4-GHz band, at some of its plants to support
specific applications such as "end of line" testing of electrical
components.
DaimlerChrysler plans to stick with the 902-MHz wireless LANs for
now because "we do not see a business case to shift from 902 MHz to
2.4 GHz," Likine said.