World’s largest digitalization of wood processing factory
Noccela’s UWB RTLS solution was deployed to enable Industry 4.0 Digital Integration, empowering the factory with real-time Work-in-Progress (WIP) Visibility, automated operational insights, and improved Material Flow Efficiency. The solution provides accurate location data for assets and vehicles, reducing delays, enhancing Process Reliability & Stability, and delivering the analytics required for fact-based optimization.
Digitalizing material stocks and movement enables significant cost and time savings, while the enhanced visibility allows the customer to eliminate bottlenecks and systematically reduce Operational Inefficiencies.
Customer Challenges
- Lack of WIP Visibility over wood panel stock, including counts and categories.
- Manual involvement required in supplying work-in-progress materials to manufacturing lines.
- Forklift operators losing time tracking and locating required pallets, causing Operational Inefficiencies.
- High operational costs associated with forklift usage, making Forklift Efficiency a priority.
- Frequent forklift interactions on the production floor requiring enhanced safety and stability.
Requirements
To ensure high Process Reliability & Stability, the customer required:
- Real-time positioning (x, y, z) of pallets and forklifts to improve WIP Visibility.
- Differentiated tracking between wood panel pallets and the forklifts transporting them for enhanced Material Flow Efficiency.
- Mapping pallet properties with their respective device IDs to support automated, accurate Industry 4.0 Digital Integration.
- Tracking forklift workflow durations and identifying periods of non-productive movement to improve Forklift Efficiency.
- Real-time counts of pallets across stock and machine adjacent areas to optimize WIP handling.
- Workflow visualization and heatmaps to highlight process delays and improve Operational Efficiency.
RTLS Deployment
The deployment covered 25,000 sqm of mixed manufacturing and stock areas, designed to support high-accuracy Industry 4.0 Digital Integration and location intelligence.
Accuracy requirements ranged from 0.5-3 meters, supported by 160 beacons strategically placed to maintain reliable tracking performance.
The manufacturing floor required special engineering due to its structural challenges. Noccela addressed these by:
- Analyzing specific radio and environmental constraints.
- Adjusting beacon density to ensure area-specific tracking accuracy and maintain Process Stability.
- Using radio quality visualization tools to validate improvements and ensure system reliability.
Radio quality visualization is used to measure improvement efforts.
Detailed Benefits and Cost Savings
- Reduced Forklift Search Time
Real-time location of pallets allows forklift drivers to eliminate wasted time searching across a large yard and warehouse.
Formula: Search-Time Savings = (Minutes saved per search × searches/shift × shifts/day × cost/min × 365)
Example Calculation: 3 × 22 × (10 forklifts × 3 shifts) × €0.45 × 365 ≈ €124,000/year
- Machine Downtime Avoidance
Micro-delays in feeding machines are significantly reduced due to real-time visibility of WIP stock and pallet positioning.
Formula: Downtime Avoidance = (Delay hours reduced × cost/hour)
Example Calculation: 80 × €2,600 ≈ €208,000/year
- Improved Forklift Utilization
RTLS reveals bottlenecks, redundant loops, and idle time, enabling route planning and more balanced missions.
Formula: (Minutes reduced/day × forklifts × cost/min × 365)
Example Calculation: 12 × 10 × €0.40 × 365 ≈ €17,520/year (€55,000–€95,000/year when scaled across variability and real patterns. Nonproductive minutes/day tend to be underestimated)
- Collision Avoidance & Route Optimization
RTLS path analytics highlight dangerous intersections and reduce near-misses.
Formula: (Incidents avoided × average cost per incident)
Example Calculation: 5 × €7,000 = €35,000/year
- Congestion Reduction
Heatmaps identify congested hotspots where forklifts and people wait or slow down.
Formula: (Minutes saved/day × operators affected × labor cost × 365)
Example Calculation: 5 × 3 × €0.45 × 365 ≈ €24,600/year
- Vertical Position Indexing
Digitizing pallet-layer height reduces search time and physical re-handling.
Formula: (Seconds saved × retrievals/year × cost/sec)
Example Calculation: 6 × 90,000 × 0.008 ≈ €4,320/year (€25,000–€50,000/year with mispick & rearrangement reduction)
Cost Impact Summary
| Benefit Area | Primary Cost Driver | Example Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced forklift search time | Search inefficiency removed across 10 forklifts | €95,000–€165,000/year |
| Machine downtime avoidance | Avoided micro-delays on high-value lines | €180,000–€310,000/year |
| Improved forklift utilization | Reduced empty driving & idling | €55,000–€95,000/year |
| Collision avoidance & route optimization | Reduced disruptions, damage, admin time | €35,000–€70,000/year |
| Congestion/bottleneck reduction | Multi-operator delay removal | €22,000–€45,000/year |
| Vertical position indexing | Faster retrieval + fewer mispicks | €25,000–€50,000/year |
Continuous improvement of our operations is in the core of Koskisen values. One area of improvement we had was identifying different veneer bundles for more efficient inventory management. Noccela system can locate and identify our products under progress precisely. The whole solution has been easy to implement and may provide us more value than we ever thought!
ICT Manager at Koskisen Oy, Teemu SimiläAcademic References used in this article
- Acta Mechanica Slovaca (2024) – Literature review of RTLS in manufacturing & logistics.
- Sensors (2022) – UWB RTLS design, TDoA algorithms, EKF stability in complex industrial environments.
Parties Involved
DNA Oyj (DNA Plc) is a Finnish telecommunications group that provides voice, data, and TV services. DNA is an expert in straightforward solutions and the use of smart and innovative technologies. Its mission is to provide products and services that make its customers’ lives easier. Technology is just a tool. Expertise, passion, and the ability to harness technology to help and entertain – is what DNA is about.
Koskisen Oy is a family company that processes Finnish wood into products that stand the test of time. Over the decades, the company has evolved into an international wood products and processing expert. The company’s aim is to always exceed their customers’ expectations and is quite experienced about customer requirements set for their wood products, and promotes their customers’ business through innovative product and service solutions.
On the manufacturing floor, the customer processes wood to customized plywood, clipboards, lumber, and thin veneer. The forklifts move to the manufacturing floor to place the wood panels to be processed to relevant machines and stock back the processed panels in the storage area.
Nortal is a multinational technology consulting company that specializes in digital transformation. It offers services such as strategic consulting, software development, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Nortal helps businesses and government organizations navigate complex digital challenges and implement innovative technology solutions.
