Industrial truck

Any vehicle or means of transport fitted with a UWB tag. SICK recommends direct localisation with a dedicated tag especially for large, high-value assets such as means of transport or pallets. With LOCU, industrial trucks, transport aids and goods are located to within less than one metre. At C. Jentner, the Tag-LOC system tracks workpiece carriers and industrial trucks in electroplating, an environment where RFID reaches its limits.

Through virtual zones: as soon as a vehicle or object enters or leaves a zone, a follow-up process starts automatically. These can be notifications, work processes or ERP postings. At SICK, the system sends events to the SAP Logistics Business Network when trolleys pass through defined warehouse zones. When a trolley is loaded onto a truck or arrives at the production site, the system automatically books the goods issue and goods receipt.

By locating industrial trucks and material by radio, even after they have left fixed conveying equipment. According to SICK, precise localisation shortens waiting times, reduces empty runs and optimises transport routes. Without localisation, goods disappear from view on their way through halls and aisles, and SICK staff had to check on site. Today, vehicles and transport aids carry UWB tags, and antennas in the hall receive their signals.

At SICK, overall lead time fell by 20 percent after SmaRTLog was introduced. Search time for missing materials dropped from 45 to 15 minutes, a reduction of 66 percent. Manual bookings and scans are no longer needed, the data appears on dashboards and audits become simpler. Overall equipment effectiveness rose by ten to 20 percent because defective materials are easy to find and do not reach the next production step.