Improving Alert Audibility on the Chennai Factory Production Line — MS101-4 Powered Monitor Speaker

Yamaha Music India Pvt. Ltd. operates a manufacturing facility near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established in 2018 as part of Yamaha’s long-term commitment to the Indian market. Under the “Make in India” initiative, the factory supports localized production to meet regional demand.

Located in the Chengalpattu industrial area, the facility manufactures a range of products including acoustic guitars and professional loudspeakers. Its proximity to major logistics hubs enables efficient distribution within India while being positioned as a strategic manufacturing base responsible for exports to global markets, making it a key production base for Yamaha in the region.

As part of continuous production line improvement initiatives, the factory introduced an “in-box accessory checker” system designed to prevent packing errors such as missing or incorrect bundled items.

The system connects an OCR reader to a PC, allowing each accessory to be scanned and automatically verified against predefined product configuration data. If a packing error is detected, an alarm is triggered from the PC to alert operators.

However, due to the consistently high noise levels on the production floor, alerts from the PC’s built-in speakers were often difficult to hear. To ensure operators could immediately recognize and respond to such errors, the introduction of an external speaker was considered necessary.

Several low-cost commercially available speakers were evaluated, but none met the factory’s requirements. Common issues included:
• Insufficient volume and clarity
• Limited flexibility for installation and mounting
• Concerns regarding reliability for continuous use in a factory environment

Given these constraints, the team sought a solution that was readily available in India while offering a balanced combination of quality, reliability, and cost. To this end, Yamaha Music India’s Audio Marketing department was consulted for a suitable proposal.

Following evaluation, the MS101-4 Powered Monitor Speaker was proposed as the optimal solution. Based on its sufficient output level, clear sound, ease of installation, and reliability for continuous operation, it was deemed well suited for use as an alert speaker on the production line.
Despite its compact size, the MS101-4 delivers clear and powerful sound that remains easily audible even in noisy factory environments. This ensures that alarm notifications generated by the accessory checker system are reliably conveyed to operators, enabling immediate corrective action when packing errors are detected.

From an installation perspective, the lightweight and compact design of the MS101-4 proved highly advantageous. The speaker can be easily positioned or mounted near individual workstations without interfering with production workflows, and connection to a notebook PC is simple and straightforward. In addition, the speaker requires very little space during assembly and does not need any complex mounting structures.

We initially purchased 10 MS101-4 in October 2023. The sound quality exceeded our expectations, and the audio is clearly audible even in noisy environments. The stability and durability expected of Yamaha products have been fully demonstrated, and the sound quality and functionality have remained consistently reliable, with no issues observed so far.

Based on this positive experience, we have selected the same speaker as we roll it out horizontally across the Accessories Checker project. By providing a practical and cost-effective solution without compromising performance, the system has contributed to improved accuracy and efficiency on the production line.