How mobile application solutions impact the manufacturing sector

How Mobile Application Solutions Impact the Manufacturing Sector *************************************************************************

While the buzzword is IoT, most companies in the manufacturing sector do not know the full impact of mobile app solutions within their organization.

The manufacturing sector has been one of the oldest industries that has evolved. It has often been subjected to major technological changes that have put human resource management in sensitive positions, especially given the large number of blue-collared employees.

A sector which is highly regulated by the government where security issues are of the utmost importance, has to be dealt with carefully in terms of implementing any changes.

The main areas in which cross platform mobile development will have an impact in the manufacturing sector are:

Sourcing: Procurement and related supply chain management is the backbone of any of the large manufacturing setups in the world. Success stories, like Toyota, have been largely dependent on optimizing this part of the process chain.

The objective has always been to maintain zero inventory from the OEMs. With the help of mobile app development, the whole supply chain data is available in real-time, even in transit. That means, even small organizations can now afford to maintain zero inventory with mobile app solutions, and reduce their lead time significantly.

These impacts include:  Reducing response and lead time  Real-time tracking and resource streamlining towards zero inventory  Real-time reporting

Machine Operations & Quality Control: Machine operations optimize resources while maintaining quality has been the concern for most technologies related to manufacturing.

Advanced SCADA and computer networking systems have already been adopted by most manufacturing companies. Though this kind of sophisticated technology has been in place for a while, mobile app development integrated with IoT will typically act on a different level.

Mobile app solutions have the greatest impact on manufacturing processes, while amalgamating with the existing data acquisition system in real time:  Immediate triggers and alerts are generated in case of out-of-range data generation  Notifying multiple stakeholders and hierarchies simultaneously  Independent of the time/place, on or off premise, data and reporting will be communicated reducing the reaction time to any error or quality issue to an all-time low  Remote operations via mobile application solution is now possible & is coming of most use in the case of an emergency, significantly reducing hazard related casualties and expenses.

Human Resource Management:  Shift management can be automated with a cross platform mobile app development  Advanced control systems operated by mobiles applications reduce risk related to the work-environment hazards which make the organization conducive for blue-collared workers  Direct tracking of raw materials and supply chain makes the job easier for the workers

 Communications now are more direct with the app, reducing lag time and cross-functional communication gap Having discussed the benefits of mobile technology in the manufacturing sector, its impact of security systems can be huge and must be regulated.

This is because the back-end of most of the apps will be connected to sensitive information. Any breach in the system, can bring the entire system to a standstill, hence, has to be made full-proof in terms of loopholes and security threats.