End of Line System

Problem

A leading appliance manufacturer tests 100% of the appliances produced at their facilities. The test systems typically used are proprietary, PC based applications, that pose a series of risks to the business.

  • The applications are not accessible by the end user. As a result, external resources are needed to resolve any issues that occur, which increases the time it takes to develop a solution.
  • The applications are found to inaccurately detect failures. Once an appliance fails the test, additional testing is required to verify the appliance. In many instances the failures detected are false.
  • PC based systems are more susceptible to ransomware which will cause a considerable amount of downtime.
  • The cost for each proprietary test system is the same, even if it is a duplicate of a previously purchased system.

Proposed Solution

The appliance manufacturer was in search of a PLC-based test system that would not rely on any proprietary or Windows-based applications for their new generation test system. In the event of a ransomware attack, the test system would act independently of the MES system and continue to fully function. All test records would be stored in the PLC for an extended period until the connection to the plant MES system was re-established and the data could be uploaded. Once complete, the appliance manufacturer would own all associated applications and would be supported with internal resources.

Outcome

The PLC-based system was successfully installed with the following outcomes realized:

  • 1st PLC-based testing system for the manufacturer. All applications are fully accessible, and all content is owned by the appliance manufacturer.
  • A 50% reduction in the number of false failures detected.
  • 48-day data storage capacity in the event the PLC system is disconnected from the MES system due to ransomware attack.
  • 98% out-of-the-box runtime when the new test system went into production.
  • 30% cost savings on the original system when compared to the previously used PC-based, proprietary test systems.
  • Additional 20% cost savings on subsequent systems to provide a near duplicate of the original PLC-based test system.
Testimonial

“We had a concept that we felt confident could work, but finding a single vendor with all of the skill sets necessary to provide the solution was difficult. Polaris had the skills both on the PLC and data side which is what we needed. They worked with us to mitigate long lead times on items due to Covid and also through our protocols related to the pandemic. Creating a manufacturing test system was something that Polaris had not done before, but they were willing to work through the challenges with us as a team. The amazing thing was that not only were we able to deliver the project on-time, but the first production shift after the shutdown had a 98% yield for the entire shift. That was a tremendous moment that will be hard to duplicate on a project of any scale.”