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The Impact of Mobility in Manufacturing
How Mobile Technology Improves Operations for Manufacturers
Mobility has been on the move since the first cordless phone call was placed in 1973. Employees from all industries across the globe depend on their smartphones, tablets, laptops, GPS-enabled devices, wearable, and mobile apps to keep them connected 24/7.
According to
Forrester, the number of “anytime, anywhere information workers, those who use three or more devices, work from multiple locations, and use many apps, has risen to 29%.” By 2017, this number will likely triple. This isn’t a surprising statistic given that employees carry their offices in their pockets and purses, forever blurring the lines between their professional and personal lives.
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Around-the-clock accessibility is only one of the ties connecting companies and their employees. Enterprise-wide adoption of mobile devices is transforming how industries, like manufacturing, work.
Adoption of mobile devices key to continued growth.
Mobility technology has settled into nearly every industry, including manufacturing. The results are game-changing. According to a recent
LNS Research Spotlight, manufacturing professionals have more knowledge and power readily available to them today than at any other point in history.
“Thanks to technology, 65% of operations managers have performance information within one day. With the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, and other next-generation technologies poised to continue delivering faster and better information, this is only the beginning.”
So, what does the road to IoT interconnectivity look like? LNS believes the journey begins with enterprise-wide adoption of mobile devices at all operational levels.
“Mobility has the potential to enable workers from across every level of the enterprise to access performance and decision-making support information applicable to their respective roles.” The respected research firm further states that mobility has the potential to significantly boost interaction between “traditionally disconnected workers in remote locations, as well in different functional units in the value chain.”
How mobility is currently impacting performance management
To arrive at this conclusion, LNS Research conducted a joint survey with MESA International. Their
2013–2014 Metrics that Matter Research Study revealed that:
- 54% of plant supervisors believe that mobile devices deliver the information they need to correctly conduct their jobs
- 53% of plant managers anticipate having the ability to manage performance in real-time using mobile devices
- 47% of maintenance professionals said that mobile devices provide them with the information they need to work remotely
- 35% of respondents feel that having access to information via mobile devices may finally promote entirely paperless manufacturing environments
- 25% of executives were unsure how mobility would impact performance management
Wipro Technologies, a leading information technology, consulting, and outsourcing company, agrees with LNS’s findings. In a recent
white paper, they reveal that “enterprise mobility is not the top priority for most executives in the manufacturing sector,” although they admit that advances in enterprise mobile solutions are breaking down the barriers to enterprise mobility implementations.
Motorola puts numbers to those claims, according to a CIMX
article that quotes a Motorola study, which found that “manufacturers with mobile applications are already saving a daily average of 42 minutes per employee” and that “7 in 10 IT decision-makers in the manufacturing industry were looking to leverage mobile and wireless solutions to streamline operations.”
Manufacturers move mobility to the floor for top results.
Mobility’s move from management offices to factory floors couldn’t come at a better time. With the arrival of IoT technologies, manufacturers are already seeing
changes in enterprise data capture and analysis. Predictive and contextualized information is quickly becoming the norm, along with immediate access to data details.
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“Enterprise mobility is not the top priority for most executives in the manufacturing sector.”-Wipro Technologies
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How will mobile applications keep up with demand? By incorporating features that deliver the results manufacturers require, such as:
- Real-time location tracking that proactively monitors assets and inventory, as well as people, to streamline productivity and supply chain management
- Easy access to advanced analytics, which deliver role-based information that is contextualized for personnel based on their informational needs
- Automated, accurate audits using asset management software and mobile computers that automatically standardize processes and centrally store information to ensure data integrity
- Ability to instantly take action due to real-time access to and documentation of transaction data that provides actionable insight
- Real-time notifications that proactively alert employees to certain performance variations that may require action
- Sophisticated electronic work instructions using wearable devices that incorporate the use of visualizations and video to ensure that manufacturing, assembly, test, and maintenance procedures are accessible and clear
- Employee productivity and safety that ensures workers get the training they need by verifying their compliance status when logging on.
- Improved process management by centralizing and standardizing digital checklists that not only ensure adherence to production processes but also record all actions for transparent audits.
How mobility improves business to customer interactions
Implementing mobility to every area can help improve the experience your customers will have. The benefit of being connected to customers allows for better communications, customer orders and having product orders delivered. It also provides internal benefits that will indirectly help assist customers like demand forecasting, inventory count and product location.
Mobility has permanently moved in. With it come benefits like productivity, efficiency, collaboration, ease of information access and real time decision making. These are
changing the face of manufacturing across the globe.
Is your organization ready to capitalize on the advantages mobility solutions afford?
