Abstract: An assembly system may assemble articles of manufacture at a plurality of assembly regions and may log a time at which each article of manufacture enters or exits an assembly region. Assembly regions may include sequential assembly stations that process the articles. A method of determining when a specific article was processed by a specific assembly station may include receiving input identifying a specific article; receiving additional input identifying one of the plurality of sequential assembly stations; determining an offset of the identified sequential assembly station relative to a first assembly station or to a last assembly station within a region that comprises the identified sequential assembly station; and determining a time at which a second sequentially processed article entered or exited the region. The identified specific article and the second sequentially processed article may have been separated by a number of articles corresponding to the offset.

Abstract: A label dispensing system and method for use in product assembly, with some embodiments particularly drawn to automotive and other assembly-line based environments. According to various embodiments, product labels are automatically and selectively dispensed at one or more assembly stations, as required by product specifications, to help ensure that all labels are properly affixed.