Smart Tool Integrations in VKS: What’s Possible Today

Imagine a workshop where each tool monitors how it’s used, human errors are detected before they occur, and your digital work instructions adjust in real time based on live feedback. This isn’t just a concept for the future—it’s the reality enabled by smart tool integration with work instruction software.

Tools such as torque wrenches, barcode scanners, and pick-to-light systems not only assist your team but also actively help them perform better by providing real-time feedback and guidance. When connected with digital work instructions, these tools simplify work processes while ensuring compliance and reducing defects.

Let's dive into what’s possible with VKS Work Instruction Software right now, show how smart tools are reshaping manufacturing operations, and outline practical steps to start integrating your tools—whether you're fine-tuning lean processes or launching a full digital transformation.

What Are Smart Tools?

Smart tools are the new generation of manufacturing equipment that do much more than just perform basic tasks. What makes these tools “smart” is their ability to collect data, communicate efficiently, and adapt to their surroundings.

These advanced tools come equipped with sensors and network connectivity, allowing them to instantly receive instructions and send back feedback about their performance in real time.

Unlike traditional powered hand tools, smart tools offer several key benefits:

• Receive and apply specific parameters instantly
• Send real-time feedback
• Validate the accuracy of the operator’s work
• Integrate directly with work instruction software platforms like ours

Types of Smart Tools and How They Work:

• Connected Torque Wrenches: These precision tools automatically apply the right amount of force while validating that the fastener is tightened correctly. They can be programmed with specific torque values and min-max values to ensure everything is done correctly. When integrated with VKS, these tools can stop the workflow if something goes wrong and will log every successful or failed attempt, ensuring quality control.

• Connected Measuring Devices: These tools include barcode scanners, digital calipers, and smart industrial scales. They send real-time data directly to VKS Smart Forms. Barcode scanners can quickly capture important information like serial numbers or part IDs, which helps with tracking. Digital calipers measure sizes accurately for quality checks, and scales ensure that parts weigh what they’re supposed to. These devices reduce the need for manual data entry, lower the chances of mistakes, and simplify record-keeping in regulated settings.

• Pick-to-Light Systems: smart devices that help operators easily find the right parts during assembly. When connected to VKS via IO Connect, these systems light up the correct bin or part based on the current step in a digital instruction guide. After an operator picks a part, a sensor confirms the action and moves VKS to the next step automatically. This close integration helps reduce mistakes, ensures accuracy in each step, and makes workflows smoother by visually guiding users through the process. With pick-to-light tools linked to VKS, operators can pick the right components in the right order, which greatly decreases errors and increases efficiency on assembly lines.

By integrating these smart tools with VKS, manufacturers can ensure that every instruction is followed precisely, data is captured automatically, and quality is built directly into the workflow from the first step.

The Power Of Smart Tool Integration

When integrated with VKS, smart tools don't just support operations, they help guide them. VKS receives real-time feedback from each tool and uses that data to trigger the next step in a work instruction, validate outcomes, and ensure the entire process stays on track. This direct feedback loop means the system knows whether a step was completed correctly before moving on, transforming digital work instructions into an interactive, closed-loop workflow.

Here's how:

1. Automated Tool Adjustments

Gone are the days of manual setups and guesswork! With VKS ToolConnect IoT, tools are automatically configured for each task. For instance, when an operator opens a guidebook for engine assembly, the connected torque wrench instantly receives the right torque settings for each of the bolts in the workflow. This automation cuts down on setup time, minimizes mistakes, and speeds up production.

2. Real-Time Validation

Have you ever questioned whether you tightened something enough? With Torque Tool Validation (TTV), those doubts are gone! Smart tools check if the correct torque has been applied and alert the operator if it hasn’t. For example, in an aerospace assembly line, a smart nut runner integrated with VKS can stop the instructions and notify the operator if a fastener isn't torqued correctly, which saves money and ensures safety.

3. Flexible Anti-Skip Option

Organizations now have the option to allow or prevent their employees from skipping important steps when using integrated smart tools, specifically when it comes to tool annotation. This allows teams better control over how integrated smart tools are used with their work instruction guidebooks.

Here’s how the anti-skip option works:

• When activated: Employees must use a smart tool to complete the ToolConnect step before they can continue with the next part of the guidebook. This ensures that critical steps are not overlooked.
• When deactivated: Employees can skip the ToolConnect steps and continue moving through the guidebook without using a smart tool. However, when they do this, the action is recorded in a report, and supervisors receive a notification.

4. Tool Lock for Controlled Use

Safety first! Smart tools can be disabled during irrelevant steps. For instance, if a tool is not needed during a visual inspection, it can be automatically locked to prevent accidental use. This keeps processes clean, reduces the risk of misuse, and ensures operators follow standard procedures accurately and safely.

5. Data Collection and Traceability

In highly regulated industries, being able to track every action is crucial. Smart tools log every important tool detail, while VKS tracks operator IDs, date/time, serial numbers, and more. For example, in medical device manufacturing, a smart screwdriver records each torque value and the unit’s serial number, ensuring full traceability for every device produced.

Connected Manufacturing and Smart Tool Integration: Advanced VKS Features Driving Smart Factories

In a fast-paced manufacturing environment, smart and connected tools are transforming how we operate, offering innovative features designed to enhance operational efficiency and simplify processes. Let’s explore the exciting features and solutions and examine how they are shaping the future of manufacturing.

Smart Forms: Capturing Data Effortlessly

VKS Smart Forms take documentation to the next level by allowing operators to record important quality, inspection, and process data in real time. These forms work seamlessly with smart tools to automatically pull in data. Whether it’s applied torque or scanned serial numbers, operators can be sure that their documentation is not only accurate but also easy to complete. This automatic data capture reduces human error and saves valuable time.

Rule Engine: Adaptive Workflows at Your Fingertips

The VKS Rule Engine is designed to create flexible, responsive workflows that react to real-time data. Acting like a smart decision-maker within your work instructions, it adapts to what's happening on the shop floor. Whether the information comes from manual or automatic inputs in smart forms, tool feedback, inspection systems, sensor data, or connected measuring devices, VKS tailors your guidebooks to align with current production conditions.

For example, if a step or a measurement does not align with the desired specifications, the Rule Engine can quickly halt the workflow, notify supervisors, and display specific instructions.

One of the standout features of the Rule Engine is its ability to combine multiple conditions. This allows you to create complex rules for safety protocols or multi-step validations. With the latest version, VKS 7.0, you can easily duplicate rules by simply cloning an existing condition and making any necessary adjustments, saving you time and effort.

Audits and Traceability: Keeping Everything Accountable

With VKS, achieving 100% traceability is not just a goal; it’s a reality. Each piece of data is meticulously recorded, from operator IDs and tool settings, to product serial numbers and more.. This level of detail makes it a breeze to create audit trails, compliance reports, and electronic device history records (eDHR). In a world where accountability is crucial, having reliable traceability can set your operations apart.

MES/ERP Integration via our API: Real-Time Visibility Across Teams

With VKS, production data and tool performance can be updated instantly with MES and ERP systems. This smooth connection gives everyone in the company real-time visibility, helps automate decision-making, and keeps all operations aligned from start to finish.

In VKS 7.0, new product lines and changes in your ERP can now trigger VKS to auto-create, clone, update, and publish guidebooks with the correct product and revision numbers. For instance, when a new product or revision number is entered in your ERP system, VKS can instantly generate a fully linked guidebook that includes accurate routing information. This significantly new capability reduces the time spent on authoring and minimizes the chances of human error.

In addition to automating guidebook creation, VKS enables a range of digital optimizations. These include seamless revision control, dynamic content updates using embedded variables, and automated content publishing - all tied directly to changes in your production data. This smart, real-time connectivity transforms your work instruction software into a dynamic extension of your manufacturing systems. Overall, this integration not only provides real-time visibility across different departments but also supports automated decision-making and ensures that your operations are aligned from start to finish.

IO Connect: Linking Digital Instructions with Physical Devices

IO Connect is a standout feature in the VKS suite, designed to enhance your connected manufacturing approach. This add-on allows you to directly link VKS digital work instructions with physical machines, PLCs, sensors, cobots, and devices on the shop floor creating a real-time communication channel. With IO Connect, VKS can send and receive signals, streamlining your operations like never before.

What Can IO Connect Do?

• Trigger machine actions directly from a step in a digital work instruction.
• Receive input from sensors, confirming completion of a task (e.g., verifying part presence or inspection results).
• Lock/unlock tools or workflow steps based on sensor and equipment data.
• Monitor pick-to-light systems, Andon lights, vision inspection systems, and more.

Use Case 1: Pick-to-Light System

With IO Connect, VKS can illuminate the correct bin for an operator to pick a part. After the operator selects the right part, a sensor verifies the action and enables VKS to smoothly move on to the next step.

Use Case 2: Vision Inspection Integration

VKS can activate an inspection camera when a part is presented. If the part passes inspection, the workflow continues as planned. If there’s an issue, the operator is instantly alerted to take corrective action. Plus, all inspection data and results are automatically recorded, ensuring thorough traceability and compliance. Using IO Connect not only streamlines your manufacturing processes but also enhances efficiency and accuracy on the shop floor.

Smart Tools and Safety: A Hidden Superpower

In today’s changing work environment, using smart tools is greatly improving productivity and making workplaces safer. Tools designed with ergonomics in mind, like torque arms, help reduce strain on workers. These tools are made to support how our bodies naturally move, which helps prevent injuries from repetitive actions or awkward positions. VKS also offers the ability to automatically send alerts and reminders to encourage workers to take breaks, use personal protective equipment (PPE), and follow safety rules.

The advantages of smart tools go beyond comfort and reminders. They help reduce human errors, which can lead to workplace accidents. With real-time data and analytics, employers can spot potential hazards and take steps to address them before they become serious issues.

In short, using smart tools not only improves work efficiency but also shows a commitment to safety. As workplaces adopt these technologies, the benefits of reducing repetitive stress injuries and improving safety compliance become clear. Investing in smart tools is not just about being modern; it's about making a safer and more sustainable workplace for everyone.

A Glimpse into the Future

Today’s manufacturers aren’t just wondering if they should use smart tools; they want to know how they can take automation, validation, and efficiency to the next level. That’s where VKS comes in, making it easy to connect your tools and instructions into one seamless system.

The results?

1. Fewer Defects

Smart tools and connected devices help ensure that each step in the assembly process is done right. They validate important tasks, like applying the correct torque or placing components precisely. This real-time monitoring means that problems are caught immediately, reducing rework, scrap materials, and costly warranty claims. For instance, if a torque wrench finds that a bolt isn’t tightened enough, it stops the process until the issue is fixed, maintaining high standards.

2. Faster Training and Onboarding

Getting new employees up to speed is easier than ever. With guided workflows, smart tools facilitate hands-on training while preventing critical mistakes. The combination of step-by-step instructions and immediate feedback helps operators learn effectively and perform the right action the first time, boosting their confidence and skills right from the start

3. Complete Traceability

Every action taken during the manufacturing process is tracked and recorded by smart tools. This includes important details like torque values, who did the work, and when it was done. Storing this information digitally creates a clear audit trail, making it easier to comply with industry regulations and reassuring manufacturers during audits or customer reviews.

4. Safer, More Ergonomic Workstations

Smart tools are designed with worker safety in mind. Features, like ergonomic torque arms, pictograms, and alerts, help reduce strain and prevent injuries. Additionally, these tools can lock when the user is not on a step requiring the tool, promoting a safe working environment further.

5. Higher Customer Confidence

When your manufacturing process is mistake-proof, well-documented, and always improving, your customers will notice. The reliability and consistency provided by smart tool integration instill trust in your quality standards, helping you attract and retain more business.

Your Smart Factory Starts with Integration

Smart tools are revolutionizing manufacturing, and VKS makes this transition easy and effective. Whether you're introducing digital work instructions for the first time or enhancing an existing smart factory, integrating these tools is vital for peak performance.

The future of manufacturing is here, and it’s smarter than ever!