In many manufacturing environments, the movement of Work-in-Progress (WIP) is one of the least visible yet most critical aspects of production. Whether a facility is building industrial machinery, assembling electronics, or processing custom components, WIP materials often spend more time waiting or moving than actually being worked on.
By nature, WIP involves multiple moving parts, both literally and organizationally. Managing that complexity presents major challenges: forecasting product completion, maintaining the right balance of inventory, and preventing loss or damage along the way.
Manufacturers use a variety of tools to manage WIP, from clipboards and spreadsheets to specialized software or dedicated tracking hardware. This is where Real Time Location Tracking and WISER’s RTLS and zone-based alerts can make a measurable difference.
What is RTLS?
Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) are technologies that automatically track the real-time location of objects or people, especially within indoor environments like factories, warehouses, and yards. RTLS solutions typically use tags or transponders attached to assets (such as carts, tools, or WIP) along with a network of fixed readers or sensors to detect and report their positions. RTLS, particularly those using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, provides high accuracy that is often within a meter and enables precise, real-time visibility of materials and movement within a facility.
In manufacturing, RTLS enables teams to:
- Monitor flow across departments or stations
- Eliminate wasted time searching for assets
- Detect delays, congestion, or misrouted work
- Improve process stability and responsiveness
It can also automate or supplement error-prone manual processes such as scanning or logging, especially in environments where scanning is impractical due to layout constraints, time pressures, or the high volume of movement.
How WISER Adds Value
It is important to note that WISER’s solution is uniquely suited for the manufacturing environment. Because RTLS provides real-time tracking 24/7 of any tagged asset, it is like a continuous barcode scanner of every tagged item. Supervisors and Operators can always look up the current or past locations of any item.
By using UWB technology, the WISER system maintains accuracy even in reflective metal environments. The hardware and software were designed with the manufacturer in mind to be affordable to purchase and maintain, and to be simple to use for the plant managers and the machine operators. The software package has many features, such as straightforward tag assignment and re-assignment, easy grouping, and zone alerts that address the unique needs of factories that are high-mix, carry a large amount of WIP, or have testing flows with re-work loops.