OHEL Technologies, which specializes in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and RFID (radio-frequency identification) solutions, has a tool cabinet that’s designed to help prevent foreign object damage (FOD).
“The product of the OH-BOX is quite simple,” said Hector Gomez Macfarland, Ph.D., who is the founder and CEO of OHEL Technologies. “It was created mainly for solving concerns in the aerospace industry with the huge risk of potentially fatal accidents due to tools being left in or around aircrafts during maintenance and repair (MRO) activities. Since then, we have been continuously improving the functionality of the product by applying these technologies and innovations to other industries.”
The OH-BOX can be locked and assigned access down to the drawer/compartment and tool level. It uses RFID, AI and additional technologies for complete automation of individual tool tracking.
“Our software system tracks the exact time each tool is checked out, who checked the tool out, and when the tool was checked back in,” said Gomez Macfarland. “By monitoring the workers and tool inventory, managers will be able to integrate data to their own AI platforms to better reduce downtime and operation costs while increasing productivity.”
Both the check-in and the check-out processes are automated, which makes check in and check out of tools faster. Reports can be generated for inventory and management of tool repair, calibration and service. With these benefits, Gomez Macfarland said manhours at all personnel levels are reduced.
As an IIoT company, OHEL is part of the Industry 4.0 digital transformation. “As clients and consumers want more customized, advanced products, companies have to continuously improve their supply chain and processes to meet such high demands,” he said. “The core trend of the IIoT market is for businesses to continuously build upon their interconnected network in all operations.”
Over time, updates have been made to the OH-BOX mainly in two categories: functionality and technology.
“Many features have been added over the years,” said Gomez Macfarland, noting the most notable are:
Management of rechargeable items, like cellphones, iPads, drills, etc. can be done without their electromagnetic field interfering with the RFID.
The Toolbox Health Monitor can run on a tablet and report any issue happening with the toolbox – for instance, a low battery that needs attention. The OH-BOX system has been reinforced with auto-recuperation tools that allow the system to process different strategies to auto-recuperate when incidents happen or a component malfunctions, allowing the rest of the system to operate and communicate the issue to the administrator.
Connectivity with other systems.
High precision GPS tracking (even inside an aircraft hangar) physically locates the toolbox and tracks its movement.
Technology updates include security updates and multi-sensor integration. Gomez Macfarland pointed out Safety TLS 1.2 can support the latest cybersecurity communication protocols and adapt to new cybersecurity strategies designed from a firewall. In addition, he said upgrades to the firmware and backend were made for multi-sensor integration so the OH-BOX will integrate and process other sensors’ signals.
Optional features include an anti-vandalism version with industrial buttons and Lexan screen protection, weather-resistance with ruggedized computers and electronic components, and long-last batteries that allow the OH-BOX to operate for up to five days on the same batteries without recharging. If night vision is desired, the screen can be equipped with a night vision goggle (NVG) filter and IR light to provide illumination visible with NVGs.
What’s Next?
“Concurrent combination of sensors for high-precision status definition” are among the next updates, said Gomez Macfarland. “This is a new patent-pending innovation that allows OHEL Technologies to sense an item, tool or equipment presence and confirm reading of its RFID tag, but also reinforce the accuracy, as it can complement with continuous presence sensing when the RFID tag is out of line of sight.”
- According to Gomez Macfarland, other updates will include:
- Integration of AI models for predicting maintenance of OH-BOX systems and systems nearby.
- Integration of Bluetooth 5.3 for communicating with OH-BOX tracking antennas for 3D equipment location.
- Addition of scales and weight sensors for consumables management.
- Access control that allows OH-BOX cabinets to use the same platform, server and software for controlling access to other cabinets not sold by OHEL Technologies
