top of page

Automotive Operational Use-Case

 

Improving Plant Floor Communication Through Coordinated

Operational Response

USE-CASE

​

by Brooks Korfhage

Business Development / Integrator Program Lead

​​

JULY 15, 2026

​

​​

Contents

 

IMPROVING PLANT FLOOR COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH
COORDINATED OPERATIONAL RESPONSE

​

PLANT LEADERS OFTEN COULD NOT ANSWER

​

DISCOVERY

​

SOLUTION

​

OPERATIONAL VISIBILITY
​

BUSINESS OUTCOMES

​

​

​

 

                                                                                                                                                     

Improving Plant Floor Communication Through Coordinated

Operational Response 

 

An automotive manufacturer was experiencing unnecessary downtime driven by two

primary operational challenges:
 

  • Lack of accountability for incident response – There was no standardized process for assigning ownership, coordinating response, or determining when incidents should be escalated.
     

  • Limited operational visibility – Plant leaders lacked real-time visibility into active incidents, response status, and where time was being lost between event detection and resolution.
     

Operational issues were communicated through open-loop methods—including

traditional ANDON displays, stack lights, radio calls, and verbal communication—but these

methods provided little visibility into incident ownership, response progress, or

escalation.​

IMPROVING PLANT FLOOR COMM
Plant Leaders not answer

Plant leaders often could not answer:

 

  • Is there currently an issue on one of my production lines?

  • How long has that stack light or display been in a red state?

  • How severe is the incident?

  • Who is accountable for this issue?

  • Has the incident been escalated?

  • Which incident should receive immediate attention when multiple issues occur simultaneously?
     

Without a standardized workflow or digital history, leadership had no reliable way to

determine where time was being lost between event detection and resolution, making it

difficult to improve response performance or drive continuous improvement.

Discovery

Discovery


During discovery, IGear found that their current incident response varied by department

and individual. While experienced employees knew how to react, there was no

documented or standardized process defining ownership, handoffs, dispatching, or

escalation.
 

Rather than simply deploying software, IGear collaborated with the automotive client's Operations team to document the desired process, identify gaps, incorporate manufacturing best

practices, and tailor a standardized workflow to their specific operation before

configuring SQUEAKS.

Solution

Solution

​

SQUEAKS was deployed as the coordinated operational response platform supporting the newly standardized workflow. CONNECT continuously monitors Allen-Bradley PLCs for production events and, when a Team Leader or Parts push button is pressed, automatically triggers the appropriate SQUEAKS incident based on the production line and request type. 

​

Production associates initiate requests using dedicated push buttons at each production

line. When a Team Leader call is initiated, SQUEAKS sends a push notification to the

appropriate Team Leader's iOS or Android mobile device, including the incident location

and details. The Team Leader acknowledges and claims ownership of the incident,

evaluates the issue, and, if additional support is required, dispatches it to Maintenance,

Engineering, Quality, IT, or another appropriate department. Time-based escalation rules

automatically notify supervisors or plant leadership if response targets are exceeded.

Parts requests follow a similar workflow but route directly to the Logistics team through

the same mobile notification process.

Operational Visibility

Operational Visibility


SQUEAKS provides a single real-time operational view of active incidents through web,

mobile, and plant-floor ANDON dashboards. Supervisors and Team Leaders can

immediately understand what incidents are active, which are most critical, who owns each

incident, the current workflow status, how long the incident has been active, and when

escalation is required.
 

While Team Leaders interact with incidents through the SQUEAKS mobile application on

iOS and Android devices, production associates without mobile devices continue

receiving real-time visual feedback through the existing ANDON displays. As the incident

progresses through the workflow—such as being claimed, dispatched, escalated, or

resolved—the ANDON display updates automatically, providing confidence that the issue

has been acknowledged and help is on the way.
 

Every action—from incident creation through resolution—is captured in a complete digital

thread, providing historical reporting and KPIs such as Mean Time to Assign, Mean Time

to Respond, Mean Time to Resolve, Incident Summary, and Responder Performance.

These insights help leadership identify where response delays occur and uncover

opportunities for continuous improvement.

Business Outcomes

Business Outcomes

 

  • Standardized incident response workflows across departments

  • ​Improved ownership and accountability

  • Closed-loop plant floor communication

  • Greater visibility into active incidents

  • Automated time-based escalations

  • Real-time operational dashboards for supervisors and production teams

  • Historical reporting that identifies operational inefficiencies and opportunities for continuous improvement 

Know Sooner. Act Faster.

Contact Us Today.

sales@igear.com
 

Office: 502.423.0999
Toll Free (USA/Canada): 1.800.407.0458
International: 1.813.882.5809

8016 Vine Crest Avenue
Louisville, KY 40222
 

© 2026 IGear, LLC 

bottom of page