The worldwide pandemic presented unique challenges for every manufacturer in the United States. Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division was no exception. While its factory operations team has always pursued continuous improvement, the disruptions and slowdown related to the pandemic offered a transformative opportunity. The company’s operations team executed a major implementation of a Smart Factory Manager (SFM) platform and Parts Manager system to significantly enhance operational communication, granularity, and decision making in its operations. 

The company’s 58,000 sq ft manufacturing complex in Quonset Business Park (North Kingstown, RI) supports the production, assembly, calibration, and testing operations for extremely precise, multi-axis, tactile, and noncontact automated coordinate measurement machines (CMMs). The facility also serves as the main manufacturing center for fabricating critical machined components. These finely machined structures—machine ways and air bearings—serve as the principal axes of the measurement systems and are supplied to Hexagon factories worldwide. 

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