Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Nahanni Steel is a tier II / tier III metal fabricator servicing the automotive manufacturing, mining and solar power industries. Nahanni Steel manufactures bracket cargo partitions and is in need of a quality control process. The proposed project will develop an automated cell to inspect and inventory manufactured pieces for Nahanni Steel. The cell will reject improperly manufactured pieces while allowing properly manufactured pieces to continue on to shipping. The technical objective is to integrate 3D vision system technologies into the manufacturing process to enhance productivity, quality assurance, and customer satisfaction. Currently, Nahanni's international customer is being shipped incorrect quantities as well as some partitions that are missing bolts. The aim of this project is to prevent their international customer from being shipped incorrect quantities and defective parts. As a result of the shipment of defective parts, Nahanni has implemented a final inspection step to their process conducted by an associate, adding production costs. Additional costs of sorting occur when the customer receives defective parts. By improving quality, Nahanni will have increased customer satisfaction and become more competitive in the market as price is a major factor in the industry.