COVID-19 has changed the way companies all over the world run production lines. Laws and regulations on social distancing and isolation mean manufacturing companies can no longer depend as heavily on human labor to maintain full output. As businesses become more reliant on advanced manufacturing technologies (e.g., robots and machine vision) and less dependent on people, factories must make many adjustments. These include:
- Reducing the impact of the human factor on production outputs
- Decentralizing production units to several countries
- Enabling production lines to operate using remote support
- Facilitating better visibility of the production process
Staying competitive requires that businesses adapt to these changes, no matter how challenging the task. KITOV.ai recognizes these trials and offers an answer with its visual inspection solution.
Automate Quality Inspection, Remotely Examine Results. Optical quality inspection tasks must still take place, even with a decreased workforce. Introducing automation technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence (AI) software into production lines reduces reliance on human labor while allowing companies to maintain high throughput.
Kitov.ai’s solution allows manufacturers to perform visual quality inspections on complex 3D products with zero human intervention. The system does so by combining classic 2D and 3D machine vision algorithms, deep learning, and intelligent robotic planning technologies to inspect virtually any product. The system also allows quality control operators to review and examine results remotely using the organization’s computer system, keeping the company in control even from afar.
Share Inspection Plans and Results Across Multiple Facilities. Most companies — even those with multiple factories in disparate locations — choose to produce a product in only one particular factory. An extreme event such as COVID-19 drives large manufacturers to distribute both production lines and supply chains. In tackling this not-so-simple challenge, companies will need to answer the following questions:
- How can we build products to meet specific requirements when the factories are set far apart?
- How can we quickly transfer production capabilities and knowledge from one factory to another?
- How can we maintain effective communication between factories when processes must be changed?
- How do we make sure all factories meet the same level of quality?
- How do we identify the causes of quality problems in one plant, before it impacts others?
KITOV.ai’s machine vision products can remotely handle all of these issues. All Kitov systems are identical, allowing one plant to create visual inspection programs for a product and transfer them immediately to other plants. Kitov tools also enable R&D and engineering teams at headquarters to both develop inspection plans and view inspection results, the latter of which allows them to quickly identify and react to quality problems as they arise.
The ability to create inspection programs on one site and easily transfer them to others significantly shortens the process of assimilating new products in distributed setup and leads to quick return on investment.
Remote support. OEMs with remove support capabilities can better handle the current crisis. Companies that have not adopted remote support capabilities will be left behind. COVID-19 forced OEMs to launch remote support capabilities such as installation, maintenance, and resetting. These capabilities allow automation and support engineers to solve issues without being physically present on the product line. Furthermore, the ability to obtain a machine’s current status and compliance with customer definitions will be critical in future production processes.
KITOV.ai can support remote engineers with easy-to-use tools and a user interface that accurately identifies quality problems, reports defects, and characterizes and locates them on a product with as little human intervention as possible. These tools deliver the ability to identify quality issues early and prevent added costs and crises with customers. Additionally, KITOV.ai’s system allows companies to adapt and meet today’s unique challenges with less people in their facilities. The show must go on, and KITOV.ai can help!
