Samsung: the future of manufacturing with mobility

In a research report by Samsung, the company details the future of manufacturing with mobility capabilities as it begins its industry 4.0 journey.

“This new approach requires manufacturers to fundamentally rethink how they operate. Smart factories are leveraging a whole host of radical new technologies to increase productivity and drive revenue, including Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data from embedded machines, access to cloud and hybrid computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and augmented reality (AR). And the ability to harness these technologies begins with mobility,” comments John Gibson, Global Product Management Leader, Enterprise Mobility, Vertical Business Solutions Expert at Samsung.

“Forward-thinking manufacturing companies are using mobile devices as the platforms through which plant management and workers can access these cloud technologies with ease — and at scale — to create an agile, responsive and truly collaborative environment,” added Gibson.

The benefits of mobile technology

Maintaining visibility

With manufacturing managers requiring complete visibility into each and every aspect of the manufacturing process, gibson highlights that transparency provided by mobility “leads to more streamlined operations and dramatically increased productivity as problems get noticed — and resolved — faster.”

Modernisation

“Imagine a plant manager completing an inspection of various production stations, taking notes on the go,” explains Gibson. “If, for example, the manager discovers problems with a motor at a particular station, they can scan the barcode of the equipment and retrieve complete work histories related to that particular piece from the asset management application. The manager can further investigate the matter by taking photographs of the malfunctioning machine and use overlaid images enabled by an AR application to get at the root source of the problem.”

With the power of 5G, manufacturers can achieve “near real-time interactivity that the plant manager can leverage to access AR apps or livestream tutorials as needed — no more antiquated pencil and paper solutions. In this mobile-only environment, plant supervisors no longer need to be tethered to their desktops or check into the office after every floor visit.”

Additional benefits to go mobile

• Streamline device management: reducing the number of devices that IT has to manage, will reduce your technology costs significantly, allowing IT teams to increase their focus on innovation.
• Maximise security: “A security breach — whether of professional, employee or customer data — is one of the worst things that can happen to any company,” commented Gibson. “This is especially true in manufacturing, where sensitive financial data regarding corporate accounts is passed back and forth, and patents may be in development.” Mobile technology comes equipped with an arsenal of security features. 
• Innovation: by increasing safety and security companies are equipped to become more innovative. “By investing in mobile apps as the primary drivers of workflow innovation, you’ll pave the way for your company to be a technological leader,” detailed Gibson.

“Manufacturing is undergoing a shift toward digitization to improve efficiency, and the move to mobile-only is an essential step toward reaping the rewards of this digital revolution,” concluded Gibson

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