CLEVELAND, Ohio—Eaton has announced that its Electrical Sector CPA (Commercial Products and Assemblies) plant in Cleveland, Tenn., has completed its final go-live review and joined Eaton plants in Juarez, Mexico; Changzhou, China; and Schrems, Austria as one of four fully digital factories and the first in North America.
Eaton is modernizing its manufacturing footprint to achieve a 5 to 26% increase in factory productivity through Industry 4.0 initiatives this year. The Cleveland, Tenn. team achieved this while maintaining full production in the plant.
To help reach this aggressive goal and accelerate Eaton’s journey to fully digital factories, five regional sites were chosen to work towards earning the designation of an Eaton Industry 4.0 Lighthouse Factory. Sites that are designated as Eaton I4.0 Lighthouses have met an extensive list of criteria including:
- Demonstrating Digital Maturity
- Implementing Industry 4.0 Technology Solutions
- Managing Change
- Engaging Workforce
- Establishing a Connected Learning Center
Growing Sustainability Through Digitization
Opened in 1977, the Cleveland plant has maintained a steady growth and is the market leader in the manufacturing of electrical safety switches. More than 450 employees work at the site, which manufactures over 4000 units a day from 16 presses and 15 assembly lines. The site has implemented Industry 4.0 technologies, including additive manufacturing, simulation, robotic automation, autonomous mobile robots, Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), and augmented reality, to improve the site’s on-time delivery rate and reach world-class levels in safety and quality.
The Cleveland site also partners with local education systems to foster the development of young talent through mechatronics engineering. The plant has been known to be a top employer in the area and has a strong presence at community events.
The transformation of a traditional legacy high-volume site like Cleveland would not have been possible without the strong collaboration and continuous support from the IT and OT infrastructure teams, who were instrumental in digitalizing the entire factory.
Tagged with Eaton