Assessing Your Cellular Communications Needs

Whether inside or outside the manufacturing plant, clear wireless communications are being utilized more often for:

• Monitoring production flow
• Tracking materials/products
• Managing inventories with barcode readers
• Managing mobile field workers to ensure delivery of products to the right place at the right time
• Monitoring customer orders
• Issuing work orders
• Ordering new parts
  

Before deploying an in-building cellular or wireless infrastructure, manufacturing plants must have their business objectives clearly identified prior to installation. It is important to identify the users and applications that can drive efficiencies within your organization. 

Each installation has unique obstacles to overcome. In many cases, the existing infrastructure can be utilized to save money. Typical areas to assess are:

Cell Phones — An RF analysis to determine where cell coverage is weak as well as an internal audit to find out where the cell phones are used the most.

Wi-Fi — Transmitter testing to determine the propagation characteristics of the facility to ensure a robust design and implementation depending on the applications to be utilized and number of potential users. Applications include, but are not limited to, RFID, VoIP, Work Order Processing, Manufacturing and Prod uction Maintenance, and Building Automation.

Public Safety/Emergency Response — Understanding the frequencies the local emergency responders (police, fire, EMTs) use and ensuring coverage is acceptable within your facility.

Public Safety – Insurance Savings and High ROI
In addition to the aforementioned business benefits, fine-tuning the cellular communications and ensuring coverage for first responders helps public safety personnel respond to emergencies in a more efficient and effective manner.

With a wireless system in place, organizations can ensure 99.9% coverage for voice, data, and emergency communications in all building areas, including elevators, stairwells, and multi-level garages. In the event of an emergency, not only can those inside the building have connectivity to reach 911, but the emergency responders who arrive at the site and enter the building can have uninterrupted communications with each other and report the situation to their command post.

For example, if an employee is injured on the manufacturing floor, a supervisor equipped with a wireless device (radio or cellular) can immediately call for help. First responders can enter the manufacturing plant, assess the situation, and easily maintain radio communication with outside support teams without fear of frequency interruptions caused by manufacturing equipment or building construction.

 Manufacturing facilities present significant challenges above and beyond those faced by typical office buildings for in-building installations. Unfor - tunately, the need for wireless coverage is often realized through the loss of productivity or more streamlined processes exhibited by competitors.

Manufacturing organizations seeking to improve communications or productivity via an enhanced wireless infrastructure need to conduct a diligent needs assessment and map those needs with their infrastructure investment. An expert assessment needs to be conducted by a trained engineer to ensure all wireless frequencies (cellular, public safety, WiFi) interoperate within the high-interference environment associated with manufacturing facilities to maximize the investment and help ensure a demonstrable ROI.

This article was written by Kelley Carr, President of Custom Solutions Group for Cellular Specialties (CSI), Manchester, NH.