Manufacturing businesses often rely on a mix of face-to-face communication of the biggest issues, backed up with an ongoing programme of emails, and memos posted to noticeboards for those who don’t regularly sit behind a desk.
The problem is that we glide past noticeboards without a second glance, and emails languish unread in our overfull inboxes.
Internal communication using digital signage makes messages faster and easier to post than paper notices. You have no printing costs, and no time is wasted pinning and unpinning messages from noticeboards.
We are also much more likely to spot new content when it is on a screen, have it hold our attention, and retain the information afterwards.
We’re not for a moment suggesting screens replace conversations, what we do is start them. Let’s say for example a group of co-workers see a reminder message on a screen of this year’s big corporate objectives. This in turn can start a conversation about how their team progress is going, and perhaps help generate some new ideas too.
LiveSpace digital signage makes a difference in every department. Think of the flow of goods and people through your operation. You’ll soon spot dozens of places where communication can be improved.
Your big focus is ensuring a smooth-running operation. The product you produce is what you are known for, and it is what creates value for your shareholder.
Efficient operations are underpinned by well drilled teams who understand what they need to do, know how to do it safely, and are motivated to produce their best work.
This means you need to keep teams informed with a mix of practical and motivational messages.
Site Entrances
Your gate houses, staff entrances and clocking on points all give opportunities to catch your teams attention. You might want to share some good news, publicise events, or simply wish people a good day. And on their way home people might appreciate the latest weather and travel updates which can automatically shown on screen.
Goods in
When raw materials or component parts hit your site, they usually arrive by lorry or van, and often with unfamiliar drivers. You need to quickly help people see where they need to be, understand the site safety rules, and help get the job done efficiently.
Operations
Your factory floor or production line is where the clever stuff happens. It is also where small mistakes can have big consequences. Your team needs to know how to get things done to the right standard, as well as be motivated to achieve the day’s goals. Sharing manufacturing targets and production statistics covering quality and safety measures helps keep people on track.
Quality assurance
Whether your QA teams work inline or in a separate lab, being able to feedback the latest performance data to the whole team can help improve product quality. You can also use your screens to highlight any current issues, such as a particular component or fit issue which requires increased attention. Presenting issues in real time, with visual as well as written confirmation of the issue being managed, will reduce rework and scrap.
Picking and packing
Getting goods ready for dispatch and correctly packaged for the journey to customers is a critical part of your business. Just like all your team, keeping people informed and motivated makes a big difference to customer service. With digital signage in your dispatch areas, you can help people feel part of the wider team, as well as sharing targets and live performance data.
Distribution
Your goods out department may be a hive of activity. Constant time pressure and unfamiliar team members such as visiting drivers can make it hard to get your message across. With LiveSpace you can make sure everyone knows where they need to be, what their task is and how to work safely. Then, when it is time to get on the road, you can get people moving with updates on travel and weather conditions for their journey ahead.
Product development
Depending on what it is that you manufacture, your product development team may be anything from a handful to hundreds of development engineers and design people. Keeping this team fully informed with what’s going on in the wider business is critical to timely development and customer focused design which ensures your new product development delivers what your customer needs.
Team rest areas
When it is time to take a break, your team can benefit from keeping updated with company news. You may also want to provide some entertainment, like the latest news, sport, and weather. Break times are also a great opportunity to share some of the less formal company news, such as any upcoming social events or employee rewards. This can all be done with LiveSpace.
Food menus
If you have onsite catering like a staff restaurant, canteen, or a food trolley doing the rounds, you’ll need to keep people up to date with what is available and times of service. With LiveSpace digital signage, you can share the right menu at the right time of day. It is also a brilliant way to show any daily specials, promotional offers, or seasonal events like a Christmas meal. You can also add this information to screens elsewhere around the business, so people are more likely to come in for a meal.
Office areas
Your operations team will have office areas, and there are likely to be additional spaces where other important functions like your customer service, finance and IT people work. These are places to share some of the more commercial information your business is driven by. You may have measurement tools like a balanced scorecard, sales and profitability targets, and other important news like new business wins to share.
Reception areas
When you’re welcoming people to your business as a first-time visitor you have one opportunity to make the right impression. Whether it is someone coming for an interview, a visiting customer you need to impress, or an important guest from elsewhere in your organisation, a warm welcome always goes a long way. With LiveSpace you can even personalise the message each person sees.
Meeting rooms
Digital signage outside a meeting room can show who has a room booked and the purpose of their meeting. You might also wish to share agendas and background information if it is appropriate. Inside the room, as elsewhere, you can select and showcase all the pertinent information that your teams need to see.
Call centres
Customer service and sales call centres are a hive of activity. You’ll want to maximise operator availability and minimise call waiting. Keeping the team fully briefed on any major product and service issues, as well as updating the key measures – like call waiting times – can all be easily managed with LiveSpace digital signage.
Would you like to know more?
If you would like to know more, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us at hello@mrgsystems.co.uk or call 01453 820840 and our team will be happy to help.