Every torque event. Every part. Every car. Traceable.
TRACIO delivers IATF 16949-grade traceability programmes for Tier-1 suppliers and OEMs. Build genealogy from sub-assembly to finished-goods yard, JIS / JIT verified, integrated with SAP S/4HANA and yard-management platforms.
Automotive: the use case, and the numbers it moves.
The right radio for each job — chosen, never sold — mapped to your use case. That is what makes the ROI fast.
1 · Identify
Each part is Passive RFID-tagged at goods-in for full just-in-sequence identity.
2 · Sequence
An AGV delivers parts line-side in build order, located live by UWB.
3 · Verify
A wrong part or station is flagged before fitment — the line never builds it wrong.
Passive RFID → identity · UWB → sequence & position · BLE → safety
What we keep seeing in Automotive programmes.
Sub-assembly traceability gap
Sub-assembly logs in spreadsheets, paper, or systems that don't talk to the line MES. Recall scope grows because you can't bound it.
Torque events untied to part
The torque tool fired. Was it tied to part 78421-A or 78421-B? Without RTLS-grade location, the genealogy has a gap.
Finished-goods yard chaos
Hundreds of cars on the yard. Dispatch knows which VIN should be on which truck — but not where the car is right now.
The use cases that consistently pay back.
IATF 16949 build genealogy
Passive RFID + UWB at cells with sub-cm accuracy where it matters. Every torque event tied to a specific part by location, not by approximation.
Just-In-Sequence verification
JIS sequence breaks detected in real time, before they stop the line.
Finished-goods yard
BLE on every VIN, anchors across the compound. Dispatch sees position live, picks routes optimally.
EV battery genealogy
Cell-level tracking for EV battery assembly with the audit trail regulators are starting to expect.
Tool calibration
UWB-tagged calibration assets, programme-managed against ISO 17025.
Dealer inventory
Item-level visibility from finished-goods yard through outbound logistics to dealer arrival.
Hardware & software ecosystem
Impinj · Zebra · Ubisense · Sewio · Pozyx · Aveva · MiR / Otto for materials movement
Where we plug in
SAP S/4HANA · Siemens Opcenter · Rockwell FactoryTalk · JIS systems · Yard-management platforms · Dealer DMS
Traceability on a battery line is non-negotiable. Combining UWB torque-tool control with Passive RFID cell genealogy lifted first-pass yield by 6.1% and we cleared two audit cycles with zero findings. The reason it worked was that the pilot ran on a live line at full takt — TRACIO refused to prove it on a quiet shift.Manufacturing Engineering Lead · EV battery-cell manufacturer · EMEAAnonymised at the client’s request. Reference available on request.
What we design and document to
IATF 16949 · VDA 6.3 · JIS / JIT conformance · VDA 5050 · ISO 9001 · ISO/IEC 17025
Automotive — where the payback shows up.
Just-in-sequence (JIS) WIP
Sequence integrity for body-in-white and trim lines; mis-builds and line stoppages fall, integrated to the MES.
Torque-tool & quality genealogy
Binding every torque event to the VIN gives audit-grade quality records and dramatically narrows recall scope.
Finished-vehicle yard management
GPS and RFID locate finished vehicles in compound yards — find-time and demurrage charges drop sharply.
Solutions for this industry
Common use cases — what we keep seeing.
WIP (work in progress) tracking on assembly line
Problem: Line throughput depends on knowing where every body, engine and kit is at every station — manual tracking creates variance and stoppages.
Tech mix: UWB or RTLS-grade RFID (ATR7000, RF Controls) on every WIP item, MES integration for routing, dashboard for line balancing.
Outcome: Line throughput up 5-12%, WIP variance reduced 30-50%, bottleneck identification real-time.
AGV/AMR fleet orchestration with VDA 5050
Problem: Modern plants run mixed AGV and AMR fleets from multiple vendors — without VDA 5050 orchestration each fleet runs in a silo.
Tech mix: VDA 5050-compliant fleet master, BLE-AoA for ground-truth verification, integration with WMS/MES.
Outcome: Fleet utilisation up 15-25%, traffic conflicts eliminated, mixed-vendor fleets work as one.
Forklift-pedestrian collision avoidance
Problem: Forklift-pedestrian collisions are the highest-frequency serious-injury risk in automotive plants.
Tech mix: UWB on forklifts and pedestrian badges, predictive zone alerts, automatic forklift slowdown at proximity threshold.
Outcome: Near-miss events reduced 60-80%, lost-time injuries eliminated for collision-class incidents, HSE compliance evidence.
Kit assembly verification (JIS — just in sequence)
Problem: Kits for downstream stations must arrive in the right sequence with the right contents — mis-sequencing or missing parts halts the line.
Tech mix: Passive RFID on every kitted part, fixed reader at kit-completion station, MES integration for sequence verification.
Outcome: Mis-sequenced kits eliminated, line stoppages from kit errors reduced, kitting-station rework time down 30%+.
Returnable container/dunnage tracking
Problem: Returnable transport items (RTI) — bins, totes, dollies, racks — get lost in supplier-OEM loops at significant capital cost.
Tech mix: Passive RFID on every RTI, fixed readers at dock-doors and chokepoints, integration with logistics platform.
Outcome: RTI loss reduced 50-70%, capital tied up in RTI reduced 20-30%, supplier-OEM reconciliation automated.
Paint shop conveyor tracking
Problem: Paint shops are environment-sensitive and high-throughput — losing a body in the cure oven or mis-routing colour batches causes major rework.
Tech mix: Ruggedised Passive RFID on body skids, environment-tolerant readers, MES integration into colour/cure plan.
Outcome: Mis-routes eliminated, colour-change compliance 100%, body-tracking accuracy in paint shop 99%+.
Tool tracking on the assembly line
Problem: Torque tools and calibrated jigs must be present at every workstation — missing or mis-calibrated tools force line stops.
Tech mix: Passive RFID on every tool, smart-shadow boards, integration with torque management and MES.
Outcome: Tool-search time reduced 50%+, torque-compliance 100%, line stoppages from tool issues eliminated.
Finished-vehicle yard logistics
Problem: OEM and dealer yards hold thousands of finished vehicles; finding a specific VIN for outbound shipment costs 15-45 min per move.
Tech mix: LoRaWAN or GNSS trackers on every vehicle, gateway coverage across the yard, integration with dealer-management system.
Outcome: Find-time reduced from 30 min to <2 min, dispatch reliability improved, yard layout optimised based on dwell-time data.
Quality-escape root-cause attribution
Problem: When a defect is found post-shipment, the manufacturer must identify which workstation, operator and shift caused it — manual records create attribution gaps.
Tech mix: UWB tracking of WIP through every station, operator badge association, MES capture of every step.
Outcome: Root-cause identification time reduced 80%+, quality-escape investigations close faster, IATF 16949 audit-ready.
Predictive maintenance on critical line equipment
Problem: Press lines, robotic cells and conveyors are single points of failure; unplanned downtime costs €5-50k per minute.
Tech mix: Vibration and temperature wireless sensors on critical equipment, LoRaWAN or industrial Wi-Fi backhaul, integration into CMMS.
Outcome: Unplanned downtime reduced 20-40%, maintenance shifts from reactive to predictive, OEE up 5-15%.
Frequently asked questions
What does RTLS/RFID deliver on an automotive line?
Sequence verification, full part and torque-event genealogy, WIP and AGV/AMR coordination, and line-side material flow - the visibility that protects takt time and quality.
Does it support IATF 16949 traceability?
Yes - automatic, auditable genealogy of parts, settings and process events aligns with IATF 16949 and OEM traceability requirements.
Can it handle just-in-sequence supply?
Yes - JIS verification ensures the right part arrives in the right build order, alerting before a mis-sequenced unit reaches the operator.
How does it integrate with MES and supplier EDI?
Sequence, genealogy and flow data tie into your MES, ERP and supplier schedules so the plant and its suppliers stay aligned.
How do you handle the metal-rich plant environment?
With an RF site survey and the right tag and reader selection - designing for metal and interference is core to a reliable automotive deployment.