How does Pick-to-Light handle 6 close-variant radar modules without operator error?

Each bin has a unique LED indicator and a physical lock. The system reads the current work order from the MES and lights exactly one bin per pick step. Other bins remain locked. The operator cannot open the wrong bin — the failure mode is physically eliminated, not training-dependent.

What happens if an operator tries to pick from the wrong bin?

The bin is locked by a magnetic or mechanical locking mechanism controlled by the MileSoft runtime. It does not open. The system also logs the attempted access. If the operator forces the lock, a tamper event fires in the Andon dashboard and the kit is flagged for inspection before assembly continues.

How does the ADAS Radar Assembly station validate alignment?

After mounting, the radar module boots a sealed self-test against a fixed fiducial on the station. The module's own firmware measures azimuth, elevation, and roll, returning values to the MileSoft station. If any value is outside tolerance, the station locks the unit and raises an alert — the unit cannot proceed without an engineer override.

Why did operator ramp-up drop from 4–6 weeks to 5 days?

Pick-to-Light removes the need to memorise variant differences. New operators follow the lit bin — the system handles variant identification. Ramp-up time now covers station procedure, safety, and exception handling rather than part-number memorisation.

How do MileSoft pokayoke stations support OEM line walk audits?

Every pick event, alignment result, and test result is logged with operator ID, timestamp, and unit serial. For an OEM line walk, the audit trail is available in the MileSoft dashboard filtered by date range and station — no manual log consolidation required.

Pokayoke Case Study

Automotive supplier hit zero-defect kitting with MileSoft Pick-to-Light + radar alignment

A radar-module manufacturer combined MileSoft Pick-to-Light with the Radar Assembly station to make incorrect part-picks and off-spec radar alignment physically impossible.

7 min read MileSoft Engineering TeamPublished 12 May 2026

Client

Tier-1 Manufacturers

Industry

Automotive Tier-1

Geography

India (Pune & Nasik Plant)

Outcomes

Measurable results

Headline metrics from the deployment.

wrong-part picks since rollout

92%

drop in OEM containment incidents

5 days

operator ramp-up (down from 4–6 weeks)

+18%

throughput per shift on flagship line

The Challenge

What needed solving

Radar modules ship in 6 close-cousin variants — small visual differences, very different downstream calibration. Operator pick-error rate hovered around 1.4%.
Off-spec radar alignment slipped through QC and surfaced at the OEM, generating containment incidents and damaging customer relationships.
Training new operators took 4–6 weeks before they could keep cycle-time on more than 2 variants.
Audit prep for OEM line walks ate a senior process engineer's full week each quarter.

Our Approach

How we delivered

Installed MileSoft Pick-to-Light on every kitting bay — only the correct bin lights up; other bins are physically locked until the right pick is confirmed.
Integrated the ADAS Radar Assembly station with the MES so each radar boots through a sealed alignment routine and ships a signed alignment report.
Added the AC Performance Test station downstream as a cross-check on the same line for a sister product family.
All three pokayoke stations stream events into the same dashboard for shift leads and audit playback.

The Solution

MileSoft products deployed

Modular pieces that plugged into the client's stack.

Pick-to-Light

LED-guided assembly for zero-defect kitting; bin locks prevent wrong-part picks at the source.

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ADAS Radar Assembly

Automated alignment and validation for automotive radar modules — every unit ships with a signed report.

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AC Performance Test

End-of-line HVAC functional testing for automotive — applied here to a sister product family on the same line.

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Stack

Technical building blocks

MileSoft pokayoke runtime (Windows IPC + light controllers)Cognex vision (radar fiducial reads)OPC UA into client MESSAP integration for kit-out reconciliation

"Before MileSoft, the wrong picks weren't a process problem — they were a physics problem we kept trying to train our way out of. Now the bins literally don't open until you've grabbed the right one."
Manufacturing Engineering Lead
Tier-1 Manufacturers

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this engagement and MileSoft's approach.

Technical Research

Want the engineering details behind these results?

Read the full research paper — architecture, computational methods, governing standards, and worked numerical examples.

Read paper

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