HELLA Improves Cycle Time, Sees Return on Investment in Under Six Months With Drishti
Tier-one automotive supplier increases throughput, reduces cycle times and improves employee ergonomics with Drishti’s analytics
Drishti Technologies, Inc. , whose AI-powered manufacturing technology uses video analytics, data and insights to bring significant benefits to manufacturers and their employees, and HELLA a tier-one automotive supplier, announced the latest in a joint effort to further increase operational efficiency with a second successful combined project in Dhankot, India. HELLA is an internationally positioned automotive supplier globally recognized for its lean practices and is committed to investing in the latest technologies to drive human productivity and improve manufacturing outcomes.
With Drishti cameras and streaming video analysis enabled on one of HELLA’s sensor product lines, the HELLA team made a series of previously concealed discoveries. First, the massive volume of cycle time data available from Drishti quickly revealed slowdowns in stations that were not originally the focus of improvement efforts. Second, by watching video footage from the identified station, the team understood that the physical station configuration was slowing down the line associates.
In fact, the station setup was causing ergonomic concerns. Because the line associate was reaching with his right arm across to the left side of the station, each cycle required a twisting motion that led to fatigue.
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“Drishti’s action recognition technology provides manufacturers with a clear competitive edge, as they can see improvement opportunities on assembly lines that are otherwise hidden”
“Because our focus had been on the station we thought was the bottleneck, we had overlooked this potential for slowdowns and fatigue,” said Ram Singh Khangarote, operational excellence and operation product manager, HELLA Dhankot. “Within a few minutes of viewing the video footage from Drishti, our team had ideas to reconfigure the station to make it more comfortable for the line associates, and shortening every cycle time. And most importantly, our line associates are healthier, happier and more productive.”
Finally, with Drishti, because the team in Dhankot learned the true cause of line slowdowns, they were able to improve line balancing. The Drishti investment paid for itself in less than six months.
“This is the second instance of finding significant improvement opportunities using Drishti. In 2020, we reduced cycle times in our Guanajuato, Mexico plant. Now we’re seeing value in Dhankot, as well,” said Huri Mendoza, head of operational excellence, HELLA. “Drishti’s technology perfectly complements our goal of achieving operational excellence by augmenting our extremely capable workforce and empowering them with the tools they need to perform their jobs even better.”
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The Dhankot plant deployment is one of several ongoing collaborations between HELLA and Drishti. Drishti streams video at every station on a line, then uses proprietary AI networks to translate video streams into data, a technique called action recognition. The line-level data on cycles and actions helps manufacturers improve productivity and quality while improving standardized work adherence.
“Drishti’s action recognition technology provides manufacturers with a clear competitive edge, as they can see improvement opportunities on assembly lines that are otherwise hidden,” said Gary Jackson, CEO, Drishti. “HELLA’s success with Drishti is in line with what we’re seeing across the automotive industry, as well as in other verticals like electronics and medical devices. The future of automated video analysis, which creates insights on people at work, runs through Drishti.”
