Production lines can go from profit engines to bankruptcy threats in the blink of an eye. That’s why it’s so vital to have the right communications gear to diagnose problems and call in repair people the minute a line goes down.
It used to be that manufacturers handed out a few walkie-talkies for responding to breakdowns, accidents, worker injuries and other factory floor mishaps — and hoped for the best. Factories have a lot of ways to keep effective communications from happening: metal machinery blocking radio signals, extreme noise making it difficult to converse and multiple dead spots in sprawling facilities.
Today’s wireless networks and digital technology have consigned most of those challenges to the history’s ash heap. Digital two-way radios can produce clear communications in the noisiest environments. Wi-Fi and repeaters can make sure signals get to where workers need them. Dispatching systems can track every radio user’s location and cut response time to an absolute minimum. All these improvements result in reduced downtime and greater profitability for manufacturers.
These three case studies from Motorola Solutions illustrate the potential of using digital two-way radios and wireless technology networks to improve efficiency in factories, refineries, warehouses and other production facilities.
Two-way communications streamline pizza production
Nation Pizza and Food supplies pizzas and other foods across the United States. As its production plant grew to 190,000 square feet, it became increasingly unwieldy to address inevitable production line shutdowns. When a line stopped, somebody had to walk to the nearest phone, page a technician and wait up to 10 minutes for a response. And the noisy production floor often caused technicians to miss those calls.
The one-way nature of paging meant technicians had no idea what kind of problem they were dealing with, and could not be sure where the problem was. They might walk all the way across the factory to fix a trivial problem that the operator could have done with a little bit of guidance.
The company bought a fleet of Motorola digital two-way radios, repeaters, base stations and tracking technology to address these issues. Now machine operators can talk to technicians in real time and get things running again much sooner. The company says installing a two-way radio network improved overall efficiency by over 10 percent.
Read the whole case study.
Digital wireless technology quiets noise in steel pipe manufacturing
A major steel-pipe manufacturer faced the same production communication issues as the pizza company but with one added challenge: thunderous noise on the production floor.
Noise levels reaching 120 decibels — akin to a loud rock concert — made talking on analog radios nearly impossible, so the company turned to Motorola’s MOTOTRBO digital radios. The microprocessors and software in these radios convert the human voice into packets of digital data that is programmed to tune in human voices and tune out background noise. When used in collaboration with Motorola’s IMPRES Smart Audio System accessories, MOTOTRBO radios provide clear communications in the loudest factory environments. In one test, a user standing next to a pounding jackhammer held a clear conversation with a colleague on the far side of the plant.
Read the whole case study.
BearCom provides a broad line of high-performance wireless technology communications products, services, and complete mobility solutions. Founded in 1981, BearCom is America’s only nationwide dealer and integrator of wireless communications equipment, serves customers from 29 branch offices located throughout the U.S., and employs approximately 360 people. BearCom is headquartered in the Dallas, Texas area.
Location-aware communications improves automotive manufacturing
When Mercedes-Benz opened a high-tech factory in Hungary in 2012, it needed a sophisticated communications network to ensure that managers could find any radio-equipped worker on the shop floor at any time, so technicians, security staff or fire-control teams could be dispatched at the first sign of trouble.
Motorola helped the company develop a hybrid network using a collection of electronic beacons to emulate satellite GPS — which generally does not work indoors. The beacons communicate with the GPS boards in Motorola’s handheld radios. With included dispatching and mapping software, plant managers can track the location of anybody carrying a radio that’s turned on. When trouble creeps up, they can find the right person for the job quickly and easily.
Read the whole case study.
About BearCom
BearCom provides a broad line of high-performance wireless communications products, services, and complete mobility solutions. Founded in 1981, BearCom is America’s only nationwide dealer and integrator of wireless communications equipment, serves customers from 29 branch offices located throughout the U.S., and employs approximately 360 people. BearCom is headquartered in the Dallas, Texas area. For more information, call
800.541.9333.
MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2015 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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