Click and track collaboration

User stories from the knowledge front

Collaborative software from Datasweep Datasweep will help a manufacturer ramp up production for a new product line. ZF Meritor, a manufacturer of heavy-duty truck transmissions and clutches, will use Datasweep Advantage as a component of quality assurance for assembly of the company’s new FreedomLine transmissions. The software will monitor and track manufacturing quality and collect production data, providing real-time information about manufacturing processes via the Web.

“ZF Meritor selected (the system) because it offers the functionality, system flexibility and integration opportunities that we need to control and continuously improve our manufacturing processes,” says Brad Roback, director of operations. “ZF Meritor needed one system that could manage all elements of our assembly process and integrate easily with the rest of our enterprise applications. It allows us to easily gather, store and analyze the production data we need to make real-time business decisions.”

With Advantage 4.0, ZF Meritor will have the manufacturing infrastructure it needs to increase production of its new transmission, according to a recent news release from Datasweep. (The FreedomLine is being touted as the first no-clutch pedal design transmission for heavy-duty trucks in North America.) The software will also help ZF Meritor spot trends in quality and production to identify places for improvement throughout the product life cycle.

The solution will integrate with ZF Meritor’s existing and planned enterprise applications, including enterprise resources planning (ERP), advanced planning solutions (APS) and other systems. The company also will use the system on its other manual transmission product lines.The news release quotes Kevin Prouty, a senior analyst with AMR Research (amrresearch), as saying, “Leading automotive companies are now investing in connecting their manufacturing plants to their supply chains to increase flexibility and reduce inventory.”

ZF Meritor results from a joint venture in 1999 involving Meritor Automotive of Troy, MI, and ZF Friedrichshafen of Germany, and is based in Laurinburg, NC. It produces heavy-duty transmission components, clutches and systems for original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket in the United States, Canada and Mexico