AI Automation
Replacing a paper-and-spreadsheet production process with a structured digital workflow that gives visibility from raw material to finished unit.
Project Overview
The client was a manufacturing operation tracking work orders on paper travelers and spreadsheets, with status updates depending on someone physically walking the floor to check.
Problem
Without a digital system, knowing where a given work order stands — which stage it's at, whether it's blocked, who's responsible — requires manual follow-up, and errors in the paper trail are hard to catch until they cause a delay.
Discovery
Discovery meant mapping the actual production stages, handoff points, and exception cases on the floor, since a workflow tool only helps if it matches how work genuinely moves rather than an idealized version of it.
Solution
A digital work-order system tracks each unit through defined production stages, with floor staff updating status at each handoff and supervisors getting a live view of what's in progress, blocked, or completed.
Design Process
Interface design prioritized speed of data entry on the floor — large touch targets, minimal required fields per update — over the more detailed reporting views used by supervisors, since floor usability determines whether the system gets adopted at all.
Technical Architecture
A central work-order service tracks stage transitions and timestamps for each unit, with a lightweight floor-facing interface optimized for tablets and a separate reporting view for supervisors and planning staff.
Implementation
Designed to run in parallel with the existing paper process for an initial period on a single production line, so the digital and physical records can be checked against each other before the paper process is retired.
Technologies Used
Key Features
A digital work-order system tracking each unit through defined production stages
A floor-facing interface built for large touch targets and minimal required fields
A live supervisor view of what's in progress, blocked, or completed
Parallel operation alongside the existing paper process during rollout
Challenges
A workflow tool that's technically correct but slow or awkward to use on the floor won't get used consistently — usability under real working conditions matters more than feature completeness.
Real production floors have exceptions — rework, partial batches, supply delays — and a system that only handles the ideal path quickly becomes something staff work around instead of through.
Outcome
The result moved the manufacturing floor from paper-based tracking to a live, structured view of work-order status, without requiring staff to change how they physically do their jobs.
Lessons Learned
A workflow tool that's technically correct but slow on the floor won't get used consistently — usability under real working conditions, including the exceptions, mattered more than feature completeness.
More Capability Showcases
