In
this blog, I provide 4 reasons why you should consider mobility in industrial settings. I will show how plants can provide employees with cost-effective, secure,
on-demand remote access to critical information resources. In the future blogs
I will explore ways in which you can
begin to build out your mobile technology base for use within manufacturing.
1. Ability to utilize
resources securely from any location
“Over
67% of the manufacturing companies reported a shortage of available qualified
workers” (2)
Employees in manufacturing work with
complex, expensive equipment. They handle multiple responsibilities, deal
with more regulations today than ever before, and need the ability to
troubleshoot plant equipment or production status, from the office, home or
on the road.
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One of the greatest benefits of remote access: opening a wide
portal to the organization’s plant data, is also a significant potential
weakness. Providing adequate security of that data, when employees access it
from outside the confines of the “normal plant,” is probably the highest
concern faced by IT.
Some key regulations mandate stricter policies for IT security.
An effective mobility solution must
adequately protect corporate data. (4)
|
2. Effective Management: Improve decision
making and manager effectiveness
“70 %
of manufacturing decision-makers are looking to leverage mobile” (2)
Using existing smart phones and tablets,
manufacturing workers can accelerate decisions by delivering up-to-date plant
data and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to knowledge workers or plant
managers
3. Quality: Validate process accuracy
“When
plant managers carry a mobile device, the real-time information improves
productivity by 5 to 10% — and with access to real time sales information, the
improved forecast accuracy reduces overproduction waste by an average of 5%”
(5)
Products must be manufactured at record
speed, yet the struggle for competitive pricing has resulted in outsourcing to
vendors that may be located across town or around the world — adding a new
level of complexity to the quality assurance function. When access to plant
applications is available on mobile devices, the speed and accuracy of quality
checks can be significantly improved, and quality assurance processes can be standardized.
The automated capture of quality data enables manufacturers to achieve “Six
Sigma” quality, virtually ensuring that customers receive the right product,
manufactured in the right way and facilitating a robust access environment to meet
strict regulatory guidelines.
4. Production: Increase line uptime
“When mobility is utilized in the asset maintenance function,
plant availability increases an average of 5%(2)
The ability to view real-time Human Machine Interface (HMI) and
Visual Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) information on mobile
devices provides operators and engineers with better control over the health of
critical equipment such as the production line machinery. Operators no longer
need to leave the machinery to travel to a “wired workstation” to input
critical machine status information. Engineers are no longer tied to the
control room to monitor machine status — they are now able to receive,
acknowledge and act upon, alarms wherever they happen to be. Production and
employee safety levels are
Now it's your turn. Which of these reasons have you used before? Which of these argument have you found to be most helpful or successful? Let me know in the Comments section below, and be sure to share these tips with your network.
References
- AutomationWorld (2013, March 1), Mobile Device in Automation, retrieved from http://www.automationworld.com/control/mobile-devices-automation
- Mutual Mobile (2013). Mobile for manufacturing: 7 ways to benefit, from the floor to the field. Retrieved from www.mutualmobile.com
- Jusko, J. (2012, May 14). Training the Manufacturing Workforce: Don’t Go It Alone. Industry Week. Retrieved from www.industryweek.com/workforce/training-manufacturing-workforce-dont-go-it-alone?page=4
- Ericom (September, 2012), Access Done Right, Mobile Access Security & Management: Managed and Unmanaged Mobile Access to Windows Applications and Virtual Desktops—from Smart phones and Tablets
- Motorola (2012), Top 10 mobile solutions for lean manufacturing
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