Top 27 Geofencing Examples Boosting Industrial Ops

Geofencing technology, in combination with geolocation, is revolutionising industrial operations. By integrating geofencing into various aspects of production, supply chain or intra-logistics, industries can enhance productivity, ensure secure and safe operations, and maintain compliance with regulations. In this article we list several practical geofencing examples and applications in industry.

What is Needed to Enable these Geofencing Applications?

Implementing geofencing applications in an industrial setting requires a combination of technologies and systems. Here are the key components necessary to enable effective geofencing:

1. Location Tracking Technology

To accurately monitor the movement of people, assets, and equipment within an industrial facility, robust outdoor and indoor location tracking technology is essential. This can be achieved with a variety of location tracking technologies like GPS, UWB, BLE or WiFi. These technologies work together to provide real-time location data, which is the foundation for geofencing applications.

2. A Set of Geofences on the Map

Geofencing requires the creation of virtual boundaries or "geofences" on a digital map of the facility. This involves:

• Mapping the Facility: A detailed map of the industrial site, including all relevant zones such as workstations, storage areas, danger zones, and restricted areas.
• Defining Geofence Boundaries: Specific zones where certain rules or actions will be triggered. These can be dynamic and adjusted as needed.
• Integration with Tracking Systems: Ensuring that the location tracking technology can accurately detect when an entity enters or leaves a geofence.

Creating and managing these geofences is crucial for the effective operation of geofencing applications, as they determine where and when actions are triggered.

3. A Warning System

A reliable warning system is necessary to alert personnel and trigger automated actions when geofence boundaries are breached. This system includes:

• Alert Mechanisms: Methods for notifying employees, such as push notifications on mobile devices, emails, alarms, or display messages on screens.
• Integration with Operational Systems: Ensuring the warning system is integrated with other operational systems, such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or SCM (Supply Chain Management) systems, to automate responses.
• Customizable Alerts: The ability to tailor alerts based on the type of breach, urgency, and the personnel involved. For example, entering a danger zone might trigger an immediate loud alarm, while a deviation in inventory might result in a notification to the supervisor.

These components work together to create a comprehensive geofencing system that enhances safety, productivity, security, and compliance in industrial operations. By leveraging advanced tracking technology, well-defined geofences, and a robust warning system, industries can fully realize the benefits of geofencing applications.

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Geofencing Examples for Enhancing Productivity

1. Automated (ERP) Bookings Based on Geofence

Geofencing can integrate with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems to trigger automatic bookings and updates based on the location of workers or assets. This reduces manual data entry and speeds up resource allocation.

2. Automatically Detect When Work Orders Enter or Return to the Facility

Work orders may need to go to a subcontractor in the middle of the workflow, which causes a lot of additional administration. Geofencing can provide immediate notifications when these work orders enter or return to the facility. This eliminates manual counting and allows the work orders to immediately re-enter the workflow, resulting in reduced lead times in production.

3. Detect When Goods Are Loaded on the Wrong Trailer in Your Outbound Dock

Geofencing can prevent costly shipping errors by detecting when goods are loaded onto the wrong trailer, ensuring that shipments are accurate and timely. This can be done either by tracking the goods themselves, or by tracking the forklift that actually drops the goods onto the container. Whenever either of these pass through the wrong dock door, an alert can be provided such that the error can be corrected.

4. Workflow visibility

In a production workflow, an orde will go through many different stages at different locations and workstations. By defining a geofence around every workstation and buffer, it is possible to have real-time visibility of what items are where in the workflow. Because of this, a production manager does not have to walk the shop floor as much to get a view of the production status.

5. Warn When a Workstation Is Idle or Unattended for Too Long

Geofencing can monitor workstations and notify management when they are left idle for an extended period, ensuring productivity remains high by addressing inefficiencies quickly.

6. Automatically Turn Off Lights and Machinery

Energy efficiency is a top concern in industrial operations. Geofencing triggers automatic shutdowns of lights and machinery when a room or workspace is empty, reducing unnecessary energy consumption and costs.

7. Asset Being Idle for Too Long in Certain Locations

Idle equipment can result in wasted time and resources. Geofencing tracks asset location and movement, sending alerts when an asset has remained idle in a particular location for too long.

8. Automatically Signal Pickup for Containers Based on Their Location

Geofencing can trigger signals for pickup when containers reach specific geofenced areas, streamlining logistics and minimizing downtime in the supply chain.

9. End of Day Inventory Count

Geofencing assists with inventory management by automatically triggering end-of-day inventory counts, ensuring more accurate records and reducing the need for manual counting.

10. Automate Signage Based on Quantity of Racks in a Buffer

This application ensures efficient inventory management by updating signage automatically based on the number of racks in a buffer zone, improving communication between teams.

11. Trigger Your Kanban System Automatically Based on Locations

Integrating geofencing with a Kanban system can automatically trigger orders based on the location of materials and inventory levels, helping to maintain an optimal flow in production processes.

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Geofencing Applications for Industrial Safety

1. Warn When a Person Comes into a Danger Zone

Geofencing creates virtual safety barriers in hazardous areas. When a worker enters a restricted zone, an automatic alert warns them and supervisors, preventing accidents. With more advanced automations, robots can be shut down whenever a workers comes too close to prevent collisions.

2. Warn When a Person Comes Too Close to a Moving Forklift, AGV, or Other Vehicle

Vehicles like forklifts and AGVs (automated guided vehicles) pose significant risks in busy environments. Geofencing sends real-time alerts when personnel come dangerously close, reducing the risk of collisions.

3. Automatically Reduce the Speed of a Forklift Depending on Speed Limit in an Area

Forklifts and other machinery can automatically adjust their speed according to predefined speed limits within specific zones, minimizing the chance of accidents and protecting both workers and equipment. With geofencing and accurate geolocation, it is possible to specify certain aisles, intersections or zones with people to enforce the speed reduction.

4. Automatically Warn a Forklift Driver

Geofencing can detect potential hazards around forklifts and trigger an automatic warning for the driver, improving situational awareness and safety.

5. Detect When Too Many People Are in an Area with a Limit

Geofencing systems can track the number of people within a designated area and send alerts when occupancy exceeds safe limits, ensuring adherence to safety regulations and preventing overcrowding.

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Geofencing Applications for improved Security

1. Warn When a Person Enters an Unauthorized Area

When someone crosses into a restricted zone, geofencing immediately triggers an alert, helping prevent unauthorized access and ensuring the security of personnel and property.

2. Warn When a Visitor Wanders Unsupervised in Your Facility

Unsupervised visitors can pose a security risk. By tracking visitors with a badge they can be tracked throughout the facility. Geofencing alerts facility managers when a visitor enters unauthorized or restricted areas without a (tracked) supervisor within a few meters nearby. This ensures greater control over access to sensitive zones.

3. Warn When an Area Is Unattended by a Security Guard for Too Long

Certain areas require constant monitoring. Geofencing can detect when a security guard has left a designated zone unattended and send a notification to ensure that the area remains secure.

4. Record Video When People Are in the Area

Security cameras can be activated through geofencing to start recording when people or object are moving through a specific areas, improving surveillance and reducing storage requirements by only recording when necessary. This could be done for people, but also for forklifts or vehicles passing by, or orders that are inbound in a dock.

5. Raise an Alert When a Theft is Detected

‍Geofencing can instantly trigger an alert when unauthorized movement of assets or goods is detected, helping to prevent theft. By monitoring the real-time location of items within designated zones, the system can quickly identify suspicious activity and notify security personnel, ensuring a fast response to potential theft incidents.

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Geofencing Applications for Compliance

1. Warn When an Order Deviates from Its Production Flow

Production processes need to follow strict workflows. Geofencing can detect deviations from the expected production flow and send warnings, ensuring compliance with manufacturing standards.

2. Warn When an Asset Is Placed in the Wrong Inventory Bin

Geofencing helps track the movement of assets, alerting staff when an item is placed in the wrong bin or storage area, ensuring proper organization and inventory management.

3. Detect When Rejected Goods Re-enter a Process

Geofencing can prevent defective or rejected goods from re-entering the production line by tracking their movement and triggering alerts if they are mistakenly placed back into circulation.

4. Warn When Goods Are Too Long Outside a Refrigerated Zone

Perishable goods require temperature-controlled environments. Geofencing can monitor these areas and send alerts if goods are outside refrigerated zones for too long, preventing spoilage.

5. Trigger When a Piece of Equipment Is Being Used in the Wrong Place

To avoid damage and ensure safety, geofencing can detect if machinery or equipment is being used in the wrong location and send an immediate warning. For example, in automotive, torque nutrunners have a specific torque setting depending on the screw that needs to be tightened. At different stops on the assembly line may have different torque settings and nutrunners shouldn't be mixed.

6. Automatically Configure a Piece of Equipment Based on Zone

In a similar case a the above, geofencing can be used to trigger the configuration of a tool of equipment depending on the place it is located in order to be compliant with the production protocols.

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Getting started

Do you want to turn some of these geofencing example to life? Pozyx has you covered, with the Pozyx real-time location system combined with the Pozyx platform, you can start geofencing yourself! Contact us now for more information.

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