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RATS BD
Manufacturing · Module 03

WIP Tracking & Assembly Line Quality Control

Verify the right part reached the right station before the operation happens, not after.

Scope a pilot All manufacturing modules
Overview

The problem it solves

Rework is the most expensive way to discover a wrong component, because by the time you find it you have paid for the part, the labour that fitted it and the labour that removes it.

Assembly errors are rarely carelessness. They happen because two components look alike, the bins are adjacent, and the operator has ninety seconds. No amount of training removes that; a check does.

Reading the carrier at the station lets the platform compare what arrived against what the BOM and route say should be there. A mismatch stops the operation before it starts. The same reads give you WIP status for free, which is why this module and production planning are usually deployed together — one set of station readers, two problems solved.

WIP Tracking & Assembly Line Quality Control in use at a site in Bangladesh
How it runs

The workflow

Four steps, in this order. A step out of sequence is a broken process, not a variation.

  1. 01

    Commission

    Traveller cards and component carriers are tagged and bound to the order, its BOM and its route.

  2. 02

    Verify at station

    The station read checks part against BOM against route position. Right part, right place, right sequence.

  3. 03

    Pass or stop

    A match proceeds. A mismatch raises immediately — before the operation, while correction is still cheap.

  4. 04

    Record

    WIP status updates and the verification is logged, building a per-unit build record for warranty and audit.

Architecture

What it is
made of

Four layers, in the order data moves: a tag is read, the read becomes an event, a rule decides what it means, and a business system acts on it.

  1. 01

    Tags

    What carries the identity

    • UHF tags on carriers and traveller cards
    • Component-level tags on high-risk parts
    • Rugged reusable tags for returnable carriers
  2. 02

    Readers & edge

    What turns presence into an event

    • Station readers with tight read zones
    • Poka-yoke reader placement at critical operations
    • Handhelds for rework loops
  3. 03

    Platform

    What decides what the event means

    • BOM and route rule engine
    • Pass/fail verification and stop logic
    • Per-unit build record
    • First-pass yield and scrap reporting
  4. 04

    Integrations

    What acts on the decision

    • MES
    • ERP
    • QMS
Components

What we supply

  • 01

    Poka-yoke station reader

    Positioned so the read happens as part of the operation's natural motion. A verification step an operator has to choose to perform is a verification step that stops happening under pressure.

    • Tight, contained read zone
    • Pass/fail indicator at the station
    • Interlock output for critical operations
    • No added cycle time
  • 02

    Carrier tag

    Reusable, tough, and re-commissioned each cycle. The carrier is the unit of tracking, which keeps tag cost off the individual component.

    • Reusable across production cycles
    • Rated for wash and handling
    • Re-commissioned per order
    • Cost amortised over thousands of cycles
Outcomes

What to expect

Ranges, not single flattering figures. Baselines are captured for four to eight weeks before a pilot starts, so the delta is measured rather than claimed.

First-pass yield
Measured per station
Scrap and rework
Materially lower
Wrong-part errors
Caught pre-operation
Build traceability
Per unit
Before you commit

What to plan for

Every module has a failure mode. These are the ones that actually bite on this one, and what we do about them — because finding out later costs more than knowing now.

Station compliance decides everything. A reader operators work around delivers nothing.
Poka-yoke placement so the read is part of the motion rather than an extra step, plus operator training and read-rate monitoring per station to catch drift early.
Connects to

Your existing systems

  • MES
  • ERP
  • QMS

Where it earns its keep

  • Assembly operations with visually similar components
  • Plants carrying high rework or scrap cost
  • Manufacturers needing per-unit build records for buyers
Scope a pilot
Questions

Before you
buy

The things operations directors actually ask on the first call.

Does this slow the line?

It should not. The read is passive and happens as the carrier arrives. If a verification step adds cycle time, it has been designed wrong — that is a placement problem, not an inherent cost.

Do we tag every component?

No. Tag the carrier, and tag components only where the confusion risk justifies it. Carrier-level tracking gets you route verification and WIP status at a fraction of the tag cost.

What happens on a mismatch?

Configurable. A warning at the station, a hard interlock on critical operations, or a supervisor alert — set per operation according to what the error would cost.

Same platform

The rest of manufacturing

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