Constructed in 1972 near the historic Benedictine abbey, the Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) plant at Cassino in Frosinone, Italy has so far produced more than 7.3 million cars and has now expanded to two million square metres, with buildings of 530 thousand square metres. The plant has a production capacity of approximately 1000 cars a day and employs around 4300 people.
Renovated for the production launch of the Alfa Giulia, the plant is a shining example of FCA’s global automotive manufacturing expertise, where people, technologies and the environment combine in harmony to build two premium cars of immense prestige: the Giulia saloon and the Stelvio SUV.
The Cassino plant has adopted, aligned and updated all the technologies and best practices of the other FCA factories worldwide, so as to build the two unique products which have state-of-the-art engines, perfect weight distribution, unique engineering solutions and an outstanding power-to-weight ratio.
Ever since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles launched its transformation process, the company’s production plants have played a key role in the resurgence and success of the Group’s various brands. FCA has worked with various partners on the digitalisation of the production plants, to further upgrade assembly line efficiency and help to improve quality of work for production line staff.
The partnership between FCA and Samsung in this area had the objective of optimising the production process. The first phase of the digitalisation process focused on the mass data available inside production sites. High-luminosity Samsung monitors along the production line and touchscreen eBoards in strategic points were installed to show production performance at a glance. In the event of anomalies, alerts are generated with immediate response.
The second phase of the digitalisation project was not a top-down but a bottom-up process, beginning with brainstorming sessions with team leaders, in which they pinpointed needs and personally designed the solutions and devices that would help them to do the job to the highest standards.
Two solutions were identified which, in combination, would meet needs and deliver greater efficiency: a smartphone and a smartwatch. Samsung provided devices using the very latest technologies and a customisable solution, Samsung Knox, able to guarantee the total security of the data on the terminal. In fact, Samsung Knox transforms the consumer terminal into a business-friendly smartphone or tablet.
The adoption of smartwatches for use by assembly line staff, definitely one of the most innovative features of the digitalisation project, foresees a wearable device that is used inside the production plant to streamline processes, improve flows and deliver labour-saving.
The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier provided the capability for total customisation and is the only smartwatch on the market which can be used in stand-alone mode, meaning that it does not have to be connected to a smartphone to allow all its functions to be used fully. Totally integrated with the FCA MES (Manufacturing Execution System – the IT system which controls the entire production workflow), the Samsung smartwatch is used as an item of working equipment on some sections of the production line. 
