Tutelar Technologies
Path to Zero Defect Manufacturing

The equation for manufacturers has always been straight foward: build defect-free products within the least possible time at the lowest possible cost. Of the three variables, defect-free manufacturing, Edward Dickson (President, Tutelar Technologies) points out, carries more significance. By focusing on the quality objective, manufacturers will eliminate waste thus achieving the other two objectives. While this concept—better known as Zero Defect Manufacturing—has been prevalent in the industry for decades, the differentiating factor today is the ability to actually achieve zero defects.

Until recently, and by some measure even today, behavioral approaches such as six sigma, lean manufacturing, and statistical process control dominate the approach to manufacturing. The issue with behavioral controls is they cannot guarantee zero defect manufacturing – relying only on these approaches is like trying to drive a car forward by looking in the rear-view mirror. Logically, to safely drive forward one must be looking ahead to respond to situations in real-time; the past cannot reliably predict the future. Moreover, with behavioral solutions, as soon as management stops ensuring the controls are being followed, behavioral processes start to decay. “But our solution provides manufacturers enhanced real-time capabilities that help them attain comprehensive zero defect manufacturing capabilities to drive quality, productivity, and lowest cost,” Dickson enunciates.

Tutelar Technologies has been a frontrunner in delivering zero defect solutions for decades. The difference today is that developments such as IIoT and Industry 4.0 promise to make the job much easier and more efficient. However, there is resistance to adopt one standard among equipment manufacturers and vendors; standard connectivity reduces the proprietary advantage they have enjoyed. As a result, this continues to pose considerable challenges when integrating several manufacturer’s devices as each device has a different methodology for connection.

However, Tutelar’s software, Ujigami, overcomes such obstacles by creating a manufacturer/device-agnostic native environment that connects to any device and equipment. Ujigami enables companies to easily connect and utiliize all device features to achieve advanced manufacturing capabilities.

An additional underscoring aspect of the Ujigami platform is that it allows people with less technical expertise to handle highly technical processes. This doesn’t rule out the need for technical knowledge of the manufacturing process, but one also doesn’t need to be a programmer to be able to configure and use IIoT-type devices to execute a seamless manufacturing operation. All the required intelligence comes embedded into the Ujigami software.

To highlight the effectiveness of the Ujigami software performance, Dickson mentions of an automotive Tier 1 supplier who has been using Ujigami for seven years. That client implemented Ujigami to resolve quality problems with an OEM in-car class A entertainment center. During the past seven years, the customer has not shipped a defective unit and has today extended the deployment of Ujigami into all manufacturing, including highly critical components such as airbags. Tutelar Technologies believes that client interaction is more than just a short engagement to fix individual problems. Tutelar treats the relationship with every client as an ongoing partnership of performance. “Our relationship with a customer does not end with selling a turnkey solution that addresses their at-the-time stated requirements. It is an ongoing relationship for us where we help them to not only maximize their current challenges but also deploy Ujigami in new areas to tap into greater opportunities and solve larger challenges. As our customers ship defect-free parts, they are shipping our Ujigami software’s reputation as well.”

Comprised of people who come from the very manufacturing space they service, Tutelar enjoys a competitive edge in terms of understanding the real challenges of the industry and packaging capabilities in software that solve those challenges. In addition the Ontario Canada based company has recently teamed up with the Worldwide Trade Services Group which, Dickson says, “gives Tutelar a unique ability to provide local support to manufacturers in over 183 countries. This global team allows Tutelarto offer a complete technical solution that lets our customers deploy zero defect manufacturing to achieve highest quality, shortest lead-time, and lowest cost.”