SYSTEM DESIGN ENGINEERING
MANAGEMENT
of ce costs to having a wider talent
pool and increased morale, remote
working comes with a wide range of
bene ts, but there needs to be an
infrastructure in place that mitigates
the risks surrounding remote working.
Remote working relies on the use
of more tools and applications so that
employees can update the progress
of an order, communicate in real-time
and access / collaborate on sensitive
documents. It’s no secret that these
technologies have proliferated in the
last decade and made remote working
much easier. However, if applications
aren’t implemented properly, it
can lead to security vulnerabilities
which impact the productivity of your
employees.
Think about it - the le sharing
software we are used to, has
been built for consumers, not
industries storing incredibly sensitive
information. Supply chains need to
ensure that the software they’re using
not only works both on and off-site
but gives your business adequate
protection. Solutions such as
Microsoft SharePoint, Intune Mobile
Device Management, VDI and Citrix all
provide these vital services for you to
be able to protect your assets while
further securing them with multi-factor
authentication.
Industry regulations
Many manufacturing and engineering
companies need to meet stringent
industry regulations when it comes to
building and supplying their products.
Automotive and electrical suppliers
are held to rigid standards and failing
to meet these standards can lead to
harsh nes and a loss of business.
For example, manufacturers
need to meet world-wide ISO quality
standards such as 9001 (quality),
27001 (data security), 14001
(environmental) and 5001 (energy
management). Ensuring that your
business is following ISO standards
means that you can improve your
system and processes, all while
improving the safety and quality
of your products. Alongside this,
customer satisfaction will improve,
opening more market opportunities.
An all-encompassing IT and cyber
security solution will help you keep
in line with these rigorous standards.
When you choose to implement an
IT infrastructure that has meticulous
record keeping, safety and compliance
features, overall equipment, asset and
facility maintenance, then you’ll be in
a better position to meet the demands
of each ISO standard.
Production deadlines and fi nancial
penalties
Businesses much higher up in
the chain rely on rigid production
deadlines, and when engineering and
manufacturing companies fail to meet
this, it can lead to signi cant nancial
penalties and loss of business.
For example, Bosch is a Tier-1
supplier to some of the most
well-known car companies in the
world and provides steering gears
to BMW for use in their 1-Series,
2-Series, 3-Series and 4-Series
compact cars. In 2017 Bosch was
unable to meet BMW’s demands
for steering gears. This wreaked
havoc on both companies. Because
of this, production at BMW slowed
dramatically. And as a result, BMW is
seeking compensation from Bosch to
make up for lost sales and the cost of
extra shifts that will be necessary to
ramp up production.
Bosch blame their subcontractors,
Albertini Cesare (AB). AB manufactures
the aluminium casings for the steering
gears. Reports indicate that AB’s
nancial instability contributed to the
production delays.
One way to ensure your company
is compliant with production deadlines
is through a managed IT infrastructure
that includes a proactive monitoring
service. This will help keep your
systems running so you can maintain
productivity and identify any potential
problems before they become an
issue. This allows your business to
perform to its full potential, achieving
the maximum amount of sales,
customer satisfaction and pro tability,
without having to worry about your IT
infrastructure.
Keep up-to-date
If any manufacturing or engineering
business wants to scale, they need
to maintain high levels of speed
and ef ciency at all times. Modern
businesses are now implementing
cloud computing platforms such as
Microsoft Azure to store their data,
and utilising applications such as
Power BI, Business Analytics and AI to
drive ef ciencies.
In order for a manufacturing and
engineering business to succeed, they
need to keep up-to-date with what their
competitors are doing. Implementing
an IT infrastructure that forms the
backbone of their business will ensure
that they are running on the latest
versions, so that they can optimise
performance and know where to
improve. If critical applications such as
CAD and their production scheduling
software are running slow or crash,
this will impact the day to day running
of the business.
Linking stock control systems to
Business Intelligence means you’ll
have real-time data on how current
stock levels align with productivity
levels. From this, you can then analyse
trends and look at seasonality,
giving you greater visibility of where
ef ciencies are being realised.
Working with an experienced
managed IT service provider who
understands the speci c needs of
the engineering and manufacturing
industry enables business owners
to focus on running their business
knowing that the critical infrastructure
is running smoothly behind the scenes
and they are bene tting from the latest
technologies.
Ensuring the underlying technology
is up-to-date at all times also protects
the business from any potential
threats from cyber-attacks as hackers
will look to nd weaknesses in a
network which they can exploit.
Author details:
Steve Bennett
is an Enterprise
Solutions Architect
at OGL Computer
Services Group
www.newelectronics.co.uk 10 September 2019 35
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