There was a time when making changes in manufacturing was like trying to move a sleeping elephant using only a skateboard. Lack of communication, time-lagged and siloed data, and manual record-keeping made the task slow and lumbering.

But these aren’t those times. Today, smart manufacturing platforms offer real-time data analysis and insights to make manufacturing more efficient and agile. And when the solutions built on those platforms can be delivered through mobile devices, then smart manufacturing strategies become as agile as someone skilled in parkour.

Make Your Production Floor Defy Gravity

Britannica defines parkour as moving across or through obstacles by running, jumping, climbing, vaulting, and other gymnastic feats to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible. If you’ve ever seen parkour videos online, it can look like an athletic person defying gravity.

Mobile smart manufacturing applications have the same impact on production, turning the sleeping elephant on a skateboard into a lithe and sleek panther with wings, capable of landing where and when needed with precision and strength. By extending the already considerable power of the smart manufacturing platform to tablets, phones, and other mobile devices, users are untethered from the ground. They have instant access to relevant data and tools they need for their tasks.

Like parkour, mobile platforms allow users to move through obstacles like production machines or processes and enter time-sensitive, relevant inputs. Tablets, laptops, phones, and wearables are like the running, rolling, climbing, and jumping used in parkour to place a user and the data where they’re needed the most.

Benefits of Mobile Smart Manufacturing Platforms

The ability to access data from mobile devices anywhere on the floor unlocks many benefits for production. These include:

• Greater Efficiency – Smart manufacturing relies on advanced analytics, automatically captured data, and HMIs to deliver insights and automate production processes. But operators, technicians, and maintenance are still critical to production. Just as a parkour athlete leaps across rooftops rather than climbing down one building and up the next, the use of tablets and mobile devices means that inputs and decisions can be made away from the HMIs - while several machines away. The cumulative effect of additional data through instant access makes the cloud-based platform perform even better.
• Response Time – With lightning-fast alerts and notifications, real-time data is delivered into the hands of those who need it. Reliable insights are produced from the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform and simplify tasks and notifications. Users can make informed and immediate decisions to keep production moving.
• Flexibility – Because Plex Mobile is an application that works with multiple device types, users can quickly acclimate to the familiar interface regardless of their device. It can be further extended via Bluetooth to bar code scanners, wearables, and smart glasses.
• Agility – By its nature, parkour demands agility. The same is true of a mobile smart manufacturing platform. The Plex mobile application is agile because it’s quick and nimble. By drawing insights from the advanced analytics of the cloud-based platform, the mobile application can quickly move between tasks. Those same insights can offer prescriptive and proactive solutions, making it agile in the face of change or disruption.

Let Parkour Inspire Your Manufacturing

It’s time to change the game. Stop trying to move the sleeping elephant on the skateboard and start enabling efficient production through real-time data and analytics in a connected environment.

With Plex Mobile, you’ll supercharge all the benefits of a modern smart manufacturing strategy. You’ll have faster operational control that helps you move quickly through obstacles, optimize your systems, and improve performance in new ways. And all that without breaking a sweat (or learning to jump up walls).

Discover more ways the Plex Mobile app can elevate your manufacturing game here.