Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/145038
There's an app for that ( i n m a n u fa c t u r i n g ) c o n t i n u e d to keep their systems moving smoothly amid rapidly developing technology. "What happens is there are multiple systems they've built up over the years – one delivery system, another customer service system, a different billing system," explains Mitch Weckop, CEO of Skyline Technologies Inc., an IT consulting firm with locations in Appleton, Green Bay and Pewaukee. "The problem is the way technology has grown up over the years and the way a lot of people have invested, many times those systems aren't connected." Having various systems in place which aren't compatible with each other is a common problem plaguing manufacturers today. But it's not just the systems that aren't connected. "We have a fairly sizeable percentage of our workforce that doesn't have ready access to a computer because they're on the floor or in our distribution centers," says Chris Moore, vice president of information technology at Uponor, Inc., a plumbing and heating systems manufacturer based in Appleton. "We'd really been struggling with how to communicate with these employees." Like most manufacturers, Uponor realized the limits to posting information on a bulletin board in hopes of it landing in the hands of workers. "We were having to rely on, 'Did you walk from your forklift the 1,000 feet to the bulletin board to see about the company picnic?'" Moore says. But there was something the company noticed which was already in the workers' hands. "We thought, 'Who doesn't have a cell phone?' And most people have smart phones. We really need to find an application, at no cost to the employee, that provides a way for us to communicate with them,'" says Moore. Enter Red e App, a private, secure 10 | / insight on manufacturing • July 2013 "Sometimes technology doesn't solve the problem. What solves the problem is the fact that they took the time to go through the process to really see what is happening." – Larry Nies, NSC Inc., Software Solutions president mobile messaging platform which provides communication via personal smart devices rather than using traditional email. "Fifty to 70 percent of the population has a smart phone," says Red e App owner Jonathan Erwin. "It opens up a whole new world of communication and employee engagement." Web applications like Red e App are proving to be a useful operations tool for an increasing number of manufacturers. While the technology isn't new, the widespread use of smart devices among employees is an element that didn't exist, to its current extent, a decade ago. That is the factor which opens up a whole new way to communicate, as well as a whole new acronym. BYO What? "BYOD – Bring Your Own Device to work," Weckop explains, describing the technology trend sweeping today's industries. "Fifteen years ago it was just cell phones and the question was, 'What do we provide and what does an individual provide?' Now fast-forward 10 to 15 years and we all have technology at home. We all carry smart phones and many people would rather bring their own device to work, so the question becomes, 'Why don't we just go to one device?'" The answer to that question presents a complex issue to employers: security. Companies were challenged with trying to listen to their employees' desire to use their own smart devices while also trying to manage the complexity and security of sending company information to personal smart phones. The market for outside IT help was ripe. "That's why people hire us," says Weckop. "More and more people are going to the model of 'use your own phone, we'll manage security.'" Companies like Skyline and Red e App provide the software to ensure security through specific web applications. Another example is the software solution Wipfli Connect for Manufacturers, recently launched by the Appleton-based accounting and w w w.in s i g h t o n m f g .c o m