Curtiss-Wright Cuts Order Processing From 7 Days to 24 Hours With RFID
Overview
Curtiss-Wright is a global industrial manufacturer with roots in aerospace innovation, producing high-performance valves and components for aerospace, defense, and energy. To optimize its valve assembly operations, Curtiss-Wright partnered with Arrowhead, Xemelgo, and Zebra Technologies to deploy a comprehensive, site-wide RFID system.
The Challenge
Limited work-in-process visibility and long lead times across a valve assembly operation with millions of part variations.
- Limited visibility into WIP, making it difficult to manage and expedite aging or hot production orders
- Long production lead times driven by a complex product mix with millions of part variations
- Heavy reliance on institutional knowledge as experienced workers retired and new employees ramped up
- Low morale and frustration from non-value-added time spent searching for valves
The Solution
Arrowhead worked alongside Xemelgo and Zebra to deploy a site-wide RFID system that automatically tracks production orders, surfaces bottlenecks in real time, and feeds live data into Curtiss-Wright's business intelligence tools.
Automated WIP tracking
RFID labels attached to job travelers and RFID readers deployed sitewide automatically track every production order.
Proactive operations management
Real-time alerts and a management map dashboard surface department health and flag aging, delayed, and expedited orders to eliminate bottlenecks.
Data integration
APIs seamlessly feed RFID data into Curtiss-Wright's Power BI tools, enhancing data-driven decision-making.
Watch the story
Curtiss-Wright and Zebra Technologies on the site-wide RFID system and what changed in the valve assembly operation.
Featured Products & Solutions
Zebra FX9600 Fixed RFID Reader
Rugged fixed reader delivering industry-leading read rates and accuracy in high-volume environments.
Zebra MC3300 RFID Mobile Computer
Handheld RFID reader for lightning-fast, accurate capture on challenging tags.
Zebra ZT400 Series Industrial Printer
Durable, RFID-capable industrial printer for encoding job-traveler labels.
Who did what
- Arrowhead's role
- Zebra Technologies names Arrowhead as one of three partners on the deployment. The published story does not break the work down partner by partner, so Arrowhead's precise scope on this project is not restated here.
- Xemelgo
- Supplied the work-in-process tracking software, the alerts, and the management map dashboard. This was Xemelgo's software, not Mobi.
- Zebra Technologies
- Supplied the RFID hardware and published the success story this page is sourced from.
- Hardware
- Zebra FX9600 fixed RFID readers deployed sitewide, MC3300 RFID handhelds, and ZT400 series industrial printers encoding the job-traveler labels.
- Software
- Xemelgo work-in-process tracking. Mobi software was not part of this deployment.
- Integration
- APIs feed RFID data into Curtiss-Wright's Power BI tooling.
- Deployment scope
- Site-wide across the valve assembly operation in Davidson, North Carolina.
- Training
- Not stated in the published source.
- Support
- Not stated in the published source.
“I have nothing but compliments for all parties involved. This has been the smoothest integration and implementation I have ever experienced — everything went smoothly.”
Where this evidence comes from
Published by a technology vendor, not measured by Arrowhead. Published by the customer's technology vendor.
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