In recent blogs, we have talked about who connected workers are and how they can be a catalyst for positive change in your manufacturing and business operations. Still, if you worry that adopting a mobile technology solution for your workers will be too difficult, the data shows a different picture. Most of your workers are ready to become part of a connected workforce. They already use mobile devices every day, so it can be surprisingly easy to adopt and leverage a mobile solution like Anvl to upgrade all of your operations, improve safety and boost quality.
Advantages of the Connected Worker
With the right mobile solutions in hand, a connected worker can better avoid safety hazards and quality errors that are more common in manufacturing operations still mired in paper documentation. The pandemic has also shown just how crucial it is to bring connected workers into manufacturing environments. Companies already using connected technologies were able to adapt to new health and safety measures needed to keep things open and running while also protecting their workforce from infection.
But there’s more. Not only can a connected workforce help companies manage and avoid problems, they can proactively identify potential safety and quality problems before they occur. Putting the right tools and training for those tools in your workers’ hands empowers them to drive and improve processes and operational metrics in new ways, enhancing efficiency, reducing costs and helping you develop competitive advantages that may have been hidden by paper in the past.
A Connected Workforce is Possible with Mobile Solutions
Companies that have connected their employees are seeing decreases in unexpected accidents because the technology helps clarify and identify hazards that may have been difficult to detect before. Shop floors and remote locations may buzz with unseen dangers, but the right technology helps workers analyze the data that helps them stay safe.
Furthermore, a recent Forbes report shows that a whopping 81% of CEOs grasp the importance of mobile technologies for their workers and the quality of their operations going forward, and are willing to make the necessary investments to achieve those benefits. They say having a clear objective in mind for how digital technologies can be implemented in their companies brings competitive advantages.
At first, decision makers worried that the older workforce, age 55 and up, might not be as receptive to digital transformation as younger workers. Older workers make up a quarter of the manufacturing workforce.
Again, the good news is that senior workers can also become connected workers, and are more willing now than ever to do so. The Pew Research Center found that mobile device adoption among seniors has doubled since 2013. The signs are clear that workers of all ages are ready and willing to wear the “connected worker” badge.
The Connected Worker Boosts Productivity
One of the most productivity hampering activities listed by workers and supervisors alike was just dealing with paperwork. Waiting for important information, waiting for assignments, waiting for the right form, waiting for a quality issue to be resolved, waiting for a safety issue to be mediated… it all adds up. Continuing with old paper processes slows down all processes and can actually hide potential hazards, hamper efforts to root out quality problems and blunt productivity. In fact, another Forbes report found that the average frontline worker only manages to spend 25 percent of their workday on productive activities. Better planning and insight provided by digital solutions and technology can boost that productive time significantly.
A Connected Workforce with Mobile Solutions
When your workers are connected to each other, to important data, to supervisors and to the essential processes within their scope of responsibility via mobile solutions, several things improve all at once. Since the vast majority of younger workers are well adapted to using mobile technology already, they’re a quick study on new solutions like Anvl, and most of the workers 55 and older are onboard as well. Direct, clear training on the new tech is usually quick and effective, and workers see very quickly how much safer and more productive it can make their daily tasks. Once they experience that, they won’t even take a backwards glance at the old paper ways.
Mobile solutions are a critical way to boost communications, especially with remote and front line workers who may not be under the same roof as their team members. The right technological solutions can keep operating, even in remote or offline areas.
With your workers already turning to their mobile devices for everything in life, why not take advantage of mobile technology in your manufacturing operations to enhance safety, quality and the entire operations process? Click here to see a demo of Anvl’s solution today and let’s talk about how you can use it to connect your workforce.
