Keeping your workforce connected with MOTOTRBO™
Motorola Solutions has provided radio solutions to many manufacturing companies over the years. These solutions have helped them to become more productive, more efficient and create a safer working environment for their employees.
The Challenge:
One of the main challenges that our customers face is using outdated technology in an industry which is constantly evolving. For instance, one customer whose plant spanned over 17,650m2 (190,000 square feet) was reliant on a one-way paging system. In the event of any issues arising, the supervisor would have to leave the situation to use a wall mounted phone to page the necessary help. This system meant that the same message often had to be repeated several times, and the response times were unsatisfactory. The knock-on effect was longer than necessary unplanned downtimes with increased losses for the company, as both workers and equipment were being underutilised. In fact, research suggests that up to 20% of production is lost[1] when unplanned downtime occurs so it is imperative that issues are resolved in the quickest time possible.
We have also seen instances where the machinery used, or the physical layout of factories, can cause interference or blackspots with older legacy analogue radios resulting in unreliable communications and limited range.
The Solution:
MOTOTRBO seamlessly integrates voice, data, text messaging and GPS to help workers resolve equipment issues and reduce unplanned downtime faster. Employees communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively, wherever they work. All while protecting their safety and enhancing overall productivity.
With these radios, workers can communicate over a greater range. The digital radios offer twice the call capacity of analogue radios, so more workers can communicate at any time, without worrying about interference from machinery, or other radios.
MOTOTRBO radios offer Push-To-Talk (PTT) functionality – with the simple push of a button, workers can instantaneously communicate any problems to their colleagues, taking away the need to walk away from the situation and helping eliminate lengthy downtimes. By using the advanced capabilities and business critical features that are available, worker safety can also be enhanced. The Man Down and Lone Worker functions can monitor movement or responsiveness of a worker and automatically call for help when there is a problem. Intelligent Audio helps ensure messages are heard, no matter how quiet or noisy the environment – it automatically adjusts radio volume depending on the level of background noise in the workplace so messages can be delivered clearly.
To find out more about how MOTOTRBO can increase the productivity and efficiency of your business, click here.
Sean Fitzgerald is Senior Manger, Solutions Marketing EMEA
[1] Costs of Downtime in the Manufacturing Industry, eMaint Enterprises, December 2014
Blog
Be Smart. Be Safe - Authored Sean Fitzgerald
BEING SMART IS BEING SAFE
Factories can be dangerous places and with over 32 million1 employed in this sector across the EU, safety cannot be compromised.
Whilst reports of accidents are falling right across the industry, it's still a concern. In Britain alone, around 10% of all workforce fatalities and nearly 20% of reported non-fatal injuries occurred in manufacturing last year with 14% of major injuries involving moving machinery2. Making factories safer has to be a priority for every responsible manufacturer and smart technology is providing a solution.
How is it doing that? By providing more automated production lines with fewer workers handling machinery. By linking people and equipment together so everyone and everything knows exactly what is happening in real-time. By immediately identifying danger and triggering alerts for a rapid response.
But for all this to work, communication has to evolve. Workers deployed in hazardous areas need the protection of a dedicated radio that's designed for the environment and capable of connecting everyone together securely and seamlessly. Rugged MOTOTRBO™ radios do that with voice and data communications that are not compromised in areas of high noise and poor reception. Safety is built in to these radios with applications such as Lone Worker and Man Down allowing supervisors to monitor staff in isolated areas and spot if a worker becomes incapacitated.
Another important consideration is incompatibility between devices and networks. Smart technology like Motorola's WAVE Workgroup Communications gets around this problem by ensuring all workers can communicate with each other, whichever device they're using from two-way radios to smartphones, tablets or landlines.
When incidents happen or emergencies strike, everyone needs to be connected, wherever and whenever they're working. Smart technology gets the right message to the right people at the right time for the fastest possible response.
BE SAFE - OUR NEW PODCAST EXPLAINS ALL
LISTEN NOW
If you'd like to join the conversation about how to maximise the efficiency of manufacturing plants through smart technology and communication solutions, we'd be delighted to welcome you to the Motorola Solutions Community EMEA LinkedIn Group.
Sean Fitzgerald, Senior Solutions Marketing Manager, Motorola Solutions
Connect with Sean on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sean-fitzgerald/1/705/4a0
1Cedefop (2014)
2European Commission, EU Skills Panorama 2014
Overcoming the challenges of communicating in a manufacturing environment- author sean fitzgerald
Keeping your workforce connected with MOTOTRBO™
Motorola Solutions has provided radio solutions to many manufacturing companies over the years. These solutions have helped them to become more productive, more efficient and create a safer working environment for their employees.
The Challenge:
One of the main challenges that our customers face is using outdated technology in an industry which is constantly evolving. For instance, one customer whose plant spanned over 17,650m2 (190,000 square feet) was reliant on a one-way paging system. In the event of any issues arising, the supervisor would have to leave the situation to use a wall mounted phone to page the necessary help. This system meant that the same message often had to be repeated several times, and the response times were unsatisfactory. The knock-on effect was longer than necessary unplanned downtimes with increased losses for the company, as both workers and equipment were being underutilised. In fact, research suggests that up to 20% of production is lost[1] when unplanned downtime occurs so it is imperative that issues are resolved in the quickest time possible.
We have also seen instances where the machinery used, or the physical layout of factories, can cause interference or blackspots with older legacy analogue radios resulting in unreliable communications and limited range.
The Solution:
MOTOTRBO seamlessly integrates voice, data, text messaging and GPS to help workers resolve equipment issues and reduce unplanned downtime faster. Employees communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively, wherever they work. All while protecting their safety and enhancing overall productivity.
With these radios, workers can communicate over a greater range. The digital radios offer twice the call capacity of analogue radios, so more workers can communicate at any time, without worrying about interference from machinery, or other radios.
MOTOTRBO radios offer Push-To-Talk (PTT) functionality – with the simple push of a button, workers can instantaneously communicate any problems to their colleagues, taking away the need to walk away from the situation and helping eliminate lengthy downtimes. By using the advanced capabilities and business critical features that are available, worker safety can also be enhanced. The Man Down and Lone Worker functions can monitor movement or responsiveness of a worker and automatically call for help when there is a problem. Intelligent Audio helps ensure messages are heard, no matter how quiet or noisy the environment – it automatically adjusts radio volume depending on the level of background noise in the workplace so messages can be delivered clearly.
To find out more about how MOTOTRBO can increase the productivity and efficiency of your business, click here.
Sean Fitzgerald is Senior Manger, Solutions Marketing EMEA
[1] Costs of Downtime in the Manufacturing Industry, eMaint Enterprises, December 2014