A production boost, powered by hard data

A production boost, powered by hard data

RTX's data platform and digital tools are driving higher output

Output has jumped 20% each year since 2024 and production time has dropped by the same margin at Pratt & Whitney AutoAir in Holt, Michigan. That facility is one of several where RTX is demonstrating digital technologies as part of a broader data strategy to connect the company's systems, factories and products to speed production, reduce costs, improve quality and equip products with powerful new capabilities.

At the site level, the effects are clear.

"We're seeing record numbers of blades going out the doors," said Bryce Bergethon, the Holt site's operations excellence manager.

Here's how it works.

Tracking parts in real time

One of the main capabilities the site uses is called Real-Time Location Services, or RTLS - a "needle-in-a-haystack" system that can find any of the thousands of parts flowing through the factory at any given time.

When a small batch of parts had been sent across the factory for rework and never returned, for example, a supervisor used the system to test his best guess on where they were.

He was right. The parts had piled up at a workstation, awaiting a treatment that had been taking up to several hours. With the mystery solved, the team used the insight to speed up the step in question, eventually finding a faster alternative that worked as well in only a fraction of the time.

In Holt, RTLS replaces a heavily manual system where operators scanned more than 1,000 parts per shift and checked their location once a day.

The new system "takes the guesswork, the legwork out of it," said Michael Sweet, the site's manager for RTX's CORE process improvement system. "It gets rid of the human error that happens with the manual tracking of parts and really gives us that knowledge that we need to run the business."

A 'voice of the operator' alert system

Another capability the Holt site is demonstrating is called the andon visual management system, a lean manufacturing tool that enables line operators to report problems and call support quickly, without having to leave their workstation.

Like the tracking system, the andon capability is also hosted on RTX's data and AI platform, which supports similar tools at other factories.

"Our goal is to keep the operator at the workstation," Bergethon said. "Any time they have a turnback, a missing material, an engineering instruction problem or the equipment goes down, they can't do their job - and that slows throughput and adds cost."

When operators realized they no longer had to flag someone down for help, they started to see the benefits - and the point of the Connected Factory initiative.

Use of the andon system has more than doubled since it came to the site.

"The tools are there to help them," said Gene Stage, who leads operations at the site.

Turning data into action

Together, these technologies generate a steady stream of operational data. Turning that information into insights leaders can act on is the role of Joel Baynes, the site's operations and data analytics manager, who helped solve the problem with the rework.

"I track parts and make cool charts," said Baynes, cheerfully understating his role. "If you ask me a question, I'm not going to just give you an answer. I'll go build a tool that will answer that question from now on and forever."

The site, having made significant productivity gains with its own data, will likely see even more as RTX scales the Connected Factory initiative and analyzes similar data from across the globe.

"We are data-driven decision makers," Baynes continued. "Having all the data in the world doesn't do you any good unless you do something with it. You've got to use it, and it has to be ingrained in your process."

Refining processes is the job of RTX's Customer Oriented Results and Excellence operating system, a set of engineering-inspired exercises known around the company as CORE.

"CORE is always looking for ways to make things more efficient, improve quality and enhance the operator experience," Sweet said.

What's next

Building on the progress the team has made, the focus now turns to expanded automation. That includes time-saving new ways to apply adhesives, and the use of robots to perform visual inspections.

All these improvements build on the same digital foundation, which will help the site take on more automation and smarter ways of working in the years ahead.

"Improving quality and efficiency is a continuous journey," Bergethon said. "Operations can always go faster. We can always reduce costs, and there's always new parts and new technologies to introduce, so you've got to stay adaptive."