How RISE™Robotics Uses Asset Panda as Their Single Source of Truth

Introduction

RISE™Robotics is a leading manufacturer of high-performance and cost-effective electric linear actuation solutions. The RISE™Robotics team has been developing and prototyping the RISE™Cylinder, an electric alternative to hydraulic cylinders that helps machine designers increase efficiency, reduce emissions, and extend machine life. RISE™Robotics is based in Somerville, MA and partners with manufacturers of liftgates, construction machinery, garbage trucks, agricultural machinery, and more.

To make and service their cutting-edge technology, RISE™Robotics needs to track each component that goes into all of their cylinders. Having used Asset Panda for years at a previous company, Lab Manager, Tom Rufo quickly implemented the platform upon joining RISE™Robotics to meet these tracking needs.

Initial Challenges

Before introducing Asset Panda to the RISE™Robotics team, Rufo noticed there were a few challenges that could certainly be solved with the right asset management platform in place.

Historically, the RISE™Robotics team was relying on spreadsheets to track the change history of cylinder repairs. Of course, this posed a big challenge when multiple people tried to update the same spreadsheet at once or additional versions would be created. "When you go to a spreadsheet, it doesn't matter how much you pretty up your columns and your rows, it still is not a tool. It's still just a spreadsheet," Rufo says.

The manual and ineffective spreadsheet tracking not only reduced efficiency but caused an overall lack of visibility into the service engineers' work. There are many components that make up a RISE™Cylinder, and they could not effectively track every piece of inventory used as repairs were completed. "We had low confidence of what was going into our prototype units before," says Rufo.

Lastly, the RISE™Robotics team couldn't easily track the ages or necessary calibration of the tools and equipment used during the repair process. Rufo says, "Just knowing how old something is can be a huge cost savings."

Asset Panda Use Cases

While Rufo vetted a few different asset management tools, he ultimately came back to the tried-and-true Asset Panda for 3 reasons:

  1. The robust change history
  2. The customizability of the platform
  3. The mobile app

With Asset Panda finally in place, the RISE™Robotics team quickly found the platform useful for various use cases.

  • Configuration management: First and foremost, Rufo set up the needed workflows in Asset Panda for effective configuration management. Using barcode labels for every last item (even small screws), the team now scans each component and completes the appropriate actions as a cylinder is disassembled and does so again as they replace each component upon reassembly.
  • Product lifecycle management: Since one small part can affect the overall performance of the cylinder, tracking the serial number of each and every component used helps the team closely manage the entire lifecycle of the product. With robust change history, they cannot only track the performance of their product but also the performance of the service engineers.
  • Inventory management: Asset Panda also helps the RISE™Robotics team better track their inventory – when they know exactly which parts have been used, they can more accurately forecast when they'll need to order more of those components. "[Asset Panda] is our single source of truth, and that's a huge time saver," Rufo says.
  • Tool and equipment calibration: While Rufo's team mainly uses Asset Panda for the above 3 use cases, another team has begun using the platform to better manage tool and equipment calibration. Now, they can effectively track which tools need to be calibrated and at which intervals to ensure everything stays in working order to produce and service RISE™Cylinders.
  • IT asset tracking: As part of RISE™Robotics' ever-expanding asset management program, the office administrators have also begun using Asset Panda to track and manage IT assets (e.g., employee laptops).

Conclusion

At RISE™Robotics, Asset Panda has become a vital part of the team's day-to-day work. However, Rufo says they still have plans to expand the program to help everyone continually improve efficiency. "It's amazing how this thing grows," Rufo says. "Everyone in the company wants to do something in Asset Panda."

Whether you're looking to manage IT assets, track inventory items, or anything in between, Asset Panda can help. Request your demo today and see how our easily customizable platform can serve your unique use case.

"Almost every company that I could see myself working for in the future would benefit from something like Asset Panda if they don't already have it." - Tom Rufo, Lab Manager