CHANNEL REPORT Manufacturing & Construction
“Push to talk radios can become a SIP extension which in the construction industry is perfect and
Giving instant connectivity
allowing a site to become
operational within 10 minutes
with full connectivity to be able
to carry out all of the required
comms needs, from calls to data
and sending critical pieces of
information.
Zest4 also oers a fully
bonded and secure solution.
For additional bandwidth we
have devices that will take four
dierent network SIMs and
fully bond them together to
create additional throughput
and bandwidth. e biggest
sites with the biggest data
requirements are covered.
For the sites that are rural
and have next to no service,
we have a device that amplies
the signal available and
makes it possible to operate in
areas where a normal device,
smartphone or tablet has no
chance.
Oering these solutions to
the construction industry is
critical and will always save
time and prove extremely cost
eective.”
John McKindland, Head
of Solution Sales at Nimans,
points to two-way radios
making the biggest impact
for them, especially those
integrated into wider comms
platforms.
“Push to talk radios can
become a SIP extension which
in the construction industry is
perfect and demand is growing.”
Are there new products on the
horizon?
Anton Le Saux is sure we will
see a signicant inux of new
products hit this space.
“e current take-up of
digital solutions is still low so
as this grows and the demand
for new services and solutions
grows, developers will continue
to innovate. I see this coming in
the form of AI.”
John McKindland at
Nimans says new products are
continually being developed.
“For example we are trialling a
special interface between a PABX
and two-way radios. is opensup
new functionality such as call
demand is growing.” John McKindland, Head of Solution Sales - Nimans
reporting and also recording.”
Is AI having an impact upon
either of these sectors?
Anton Le Saux read an article
earlier in the year where AI was
described as the ‘Construction
Technology’s Final Frontier’.
“Whilst most robots are
programmed to run a series
of dened tasks repetitively,
AI algorithms are designed to
‘think’; they problem-solve,
learn, adapt and use reasoning.
For construction, AI can
compare millions of potential
options within a project,
something that would take
humans years, monitor video
footage or photographs
and learn to recognise risks
within both data and real-life
situations. Imagine having a
programme looking out for
signs of fatigue in construction
site workers, this is where AI’s
capability comes in to its own.”
McKindland at Nimans says
for now we are not seeing any
major impact with AI especially
in the construction industry.
What are the major
considerations for partners
wanting to enter and succeed
in this vertical?
Le Saux rmly believes that IoT
is a total game changer for the
construction industry.
“e ability for us to be able
to control our thermostats,
lights and locks via the cloud
enables architects and designers
to think creatively about the
makeup of our homes and
workplaces and, importantly,
how dierently we might use
them in the future. Combine
this with the power it brings
to the architects, designers and
builders in this industry and the
market becomes massive.”
ED SAYS…
The construction sector is still in a Brexit limbo with no decisions being made on
future projects whilst reports on the manufacturing sector indicate that it has
been underestimated in terms of its value to the UK economy. For the Channel
there are still sales opportunities in both sectors.
34 | Comms Business Magazine | November 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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