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Is your organisation affected by the growing war for talent? Is your workforce aging? Manufacturing jobs are becoming more complex through increasing pressure on operator efficiency, compliance regulations, machine developments, customer expectations, and product complexity. At the same time, getting the support you need can be limited by travel restrictions and reduced budgets.
How do you minimise the impact of these macro trends in manufacturing? The solution begins with connecting your workforce through technology like tablets and smartglasses.
With the help of robust, user-friendly workflow software and mobile and wearable technology, your people can be guided and supported in their work from anywhere. Confirming steps, providing video instructions and digital recording of measurements can reduce onboarding time for new employees and improve quality and productivity across the board.
At the same time, engineers can look up measurement statistics or workflow history using a web-based platform. The ability to take digital photos and annotations on the spot also improves problem solving between operators and engineers.
When an operator encounters a problem, they can share video footage with the helpdesk in real time via tablets or smart glasses, and remote support applications. Engineers can provide guidance instantly from any location, and videos can be saved and used later for continuous improvement purposes.
Our Management Consulting - Operations specialists have established three predominant levels of connectivity:
Connecting your workforce with these various sources and utilising one or more connectivity levels across different applications can have a significant impact on your company’s overall performance. Industry leaders report breakthrough performance improvements with, for example, digital instructions and inspections leveraging mobile and wearable technology.
Connectivity is a tangible and cost-effective solution through which your operators can experience firsthand the impact and potential of digitalisation. It enables them to embrace the digital journey, and your organisation to be perceived as an attractive employer where people upskilling is actively applied.
As with any other digital solution, connectivity cannot be seen as a standalone solution, but should be integrated and leveraged by other solutions and systems. Therefore, it’s important to incorporate this spot solution in your existing IT landscape.
It’s clear that while connecting your workforce has a major impact on your operators’ performance, this solution should be approached from a broader perspective than purely operational. Connectivity should also be incorporated into, for example, your organisation’s HR and Technology strategy and capability perspectives.
Read specific examples of how PwC helps companies improve operational efficiency through connecting their workforce:
With PwC, Philips Lighting is well on its way to entering the Industry 4.0 evolution and realising its aim. PwC helped introduce the emerging technology at the company’s operations in Turnhout, Belgium.
Bringing together an ecosystem of partners showcases the value of prescription smart glasses for Signify. PwC Belgium’s role in the project has been to facilitate the process and bring parties together.
Discover practical insights, examples and lessons learned from PwC's experience in digital operations transformation in our recently published article.