Anonymous

July 29, 2003

Originally Published:20030601.

A supervisor in today's manufacturing site as likely to tap commands into a handheld computer as he is to holler above the noise of machinery. Today's warehouse operative will sign for deliveries on a touch screen instead of triplicate sheets of grubby paper. The communications revolution in manufacturing has not been instant, but an old factory hand of even a generation ago would struggle to recognise at least parts of the manufacturing landscape.

Cutting-edge integration between computers, communications systems and people is most widespread in technology-driven industries such as electronics, automotive, and aerospace and defence. But sectors as diverse as food production and consumer packaged goods are starting to turn to better site communications in the drive for ever greater efficiency.

Some emerging communications technologies are designed specifically with manufacturing in mind. One of the most important could turn out to be RFID (radiofrequency identification): minute, radio-based chips that can track goods and may replace the barcode. This will allow real-time tracking of parts through the supply chain, into manufacturing and through to retailers.

As RFID is being developed from the ground up for industrial and retail applications, it is supported by the large manufacturing software companies and operates with manufacturers' needs in mind.

But much of the innovation in site communications uses technologies originally designed for the office, if not the home. From cellular and digital cordless phones to wireless internet connections and personal digital assistants (PDAs), if a device exists there is a good chance a factory is pressing it into service somewhere.

However, these ad-hoc purchases and office-style tools can pose some difficulties for IT and plant managers. There is no guarantee that devices work together, and they might even interfere with other equipment. It is also unlikely that there will there be any centralised backup or continuity policy.

Even in services that are centralised, such as telecommunications, standards and vendors aimed specifically at serving the needs of the manufacturing industry are only now emerging.

In telecommunications, one growth area is VoIP - voice over internet protocol. This allows companies to replace relatively expensive dedicated phone lines between sites, or even calls on the public network, with a system that sends voice traffic as data over the internet.

VoIP is cheap, at least for companies with high-capacity internet links. The advent of wireless LAN connections brings further flexibility: workers in various sites can communicate either with a specially designed VoIP cordless handset, or a simple headset connected to a laptop. The only requirement is that they are in range of a wireless base station which, with the right technology, could be hundreds of metres away.

As the technology is high speed, it can carry video data as well as voice. Low-cost video phones could help quality assurance or maintenance employees to see problems as well as discuss them, bringing dramatic increases in their productivity. Some telecommunications companies are even developing handsets that switch automatically to cellular networks if the user moves out of reach of a wireless base station.

Internet-based telephony, and the converged data networks that enable it, are powerful tools for manufacturers. Compared to other businesses, manufacturing sites are often large and employees are spread out. The cost of cabling has been a hurdle to giving more employees access to terminals near where they work, with the result that data is often collected on a handheld machine for later uploading, or even on paper. Either approach adds delays between an event happening on the production floor and that information flowing into central computer systems.

Wireless will solve this by increasing the reach of networks within plants. But most of the systems on offer today have their origins in office environments; their capacity to cope with the heat, dirt, vibrations and knocks of a manufactur-ing plant may be hard to judge. If industrial companies are going to come to make extensive use of the technology, it needs to be dependable.

Some observers also feel that some of the more ground-breaking technologies are not yet fully suited to wide-scale business use, let alone use in a manufacturing environment.

"In the rush to transform business to e-business, many organisations rushed to get a web presence and use the internet as a transaction backbone. Many did this without creating a solid infrastructure, and are still paying the price," warns Dennis Gaughan, a US-based analyst at AMR Research. "In many ways, the evolution of wireless technology will mirrorthis phenomenon, but companies must be much smarter about building out their application and technology infrastructure before extending them with wireless."

Although manufacturing companies will see savings from updating their communications to use VoIP or by linking monitoring and sensor equipment through wireless networks, they will only see the full return on their investment if they also use the technology to improve links to core systems, such as ERP or supply chain management. However, not all systems, though, have the 'hooks' built in for wireless access.

"What we are finding is that customers in the manufacturing sector are still quite resistant to these new technologies. Many believe that implementing an IP-enabled network involves completely uprooting your legacy systems and implementing a brand new infrastructure, which is obviously a daunting and costly prospect," says Maurice Lee, managing director at Premises Networks Management, a specialist communications consultancy. "The market for IP networks is relatively new, and a lot of companies remain unwilling to become early adopters."

The potential benefits might be greatest for companies that either already operate or are willing to invest in the latest generation of enterprise application suites. Most of the large ERP suites now run on an internet-based infrastructure, so operators can access them from a low-cost Pocket PC handheld or even a browser-equipped mobile phone.

Vendors of ERP and supply chain management software, such as SAP and Oracle, are providing integrated wireless devices with their systems. And, with a growing number of applications running on internet-based architectures, including Microsoft's .Net and Sun Microsystems' J2EE, extending those functions and building links between applications has become much easier, growing the potential benefits of real-time data gathering from points across the business.

Achieving this, though, is not an easy task. According to consultants with experience in the manufacturing field, for site communications to succeed they need to cut across all parts of the business. Yet each 'silo' within a manufacturing environment might have its own, incompatible infrastructure. A plant could well have a digital wired phone system in the offices, an analogue system in the factory, a DECT digital cordless system in warehousing and radio-based links for its distribution fleet. Creating a seamless communications grid will be a challenge, without the added task of using converged networks to support links back to an ERP system.

"You should think about mobile data as an extension to your organisation's existing IT platform, not a separate solution," says Pete Weare, a communications specialist at PA Consulting. "In the manufacturing arena, companies' current IT investment must be the first consideration when considering the introduction of mobile data. This includes networking, existing applications and security as well as the support remote users will need."

However, it is by no means impossible, and the benefits can be significant. The best tactic might be to adopt a step-by-step approach. "The key is getting the right business case for the introduction of technology, and understanding the tangible benefits that will be achieved rather than just throwing solutions at problems because they have appeared as apparently attractive solutions on the market," cautions Weare.

(C) 2003 Works Management. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

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