Digital signage for manufacturing plants is probably the least understood and talked about of all applications. However, when it comes to applications that yield qualitative benefits, digital signage can display critical production line alerts, plant metrics and reinforce safety information that make it an instrumental resource for any modern operation.
Oftentimes, ROI of digital signage for businesses is spoken of in terms of cost savings, measured impact on sales, improved customer experience, brand reinforcement and the like. But when it comes to manufacturing plants, ROI is often first realized with an improvement in safety. The cost savings of a safer work environment is huge, especially considering that just one injury costs a plant $78,000 on average. This is where digital signage can shine in manufacturing, considering how well and easy it accomplishes repetitive and engaging communications that include safety reminders and alerts.
Modern manufacturing often involves lean manufacturing initiatives, which digital signage can address with built-in production data integration. Digital signage often supports “set it and forget it” programming, so floor managers can spend more time on the floor accompanying their plant workers, which has a tendency to boost morale and promote teamwork. With digital signage on the production floor, displays easily communicate reliable and timely production metrics, such as, quality control, up-to-the-minute production totals, inventory levels, and assembly line alerts.
For manufacturers that employ Kaizen initiatives, digital signage is an asset. It can increase worker safety awareness, improve plant communications, alert workers to supply-chain concerns, and help reduce response time for production quality issues, more so than less-agile communication methods. It can also eliminate or greatly reduce print publishing that will help eliminate waste, too.
Company communication is also a major challenge on the plant floor. Considering that 40% of workers don’t have access to e-mail, plants often rely on word-of-mouth and bulletin boards to get their message across. This is not very effective or efficient. Digital signage placed away from the production floor where workers take breaks, socialize and eat have proven to effectively communicate company updates, reminders and messages. Employee contests and event highlights can be broadcast to increase worker morale, supporting overall the team atmosphere that foremen work so hard to achieve.
Imagine an industrial plant where management wants to communicate vital information to hundreds of workers. Perhaps it's production quotas vs. actual performance; perhaps it's mean time between accidental employee injuries; perhaps it's delivery information regarding vital components that are en route. In all of these instances -and others too numerous to recount here- digital signage has the ability to convey important information to a workforce that is vital to employees maintaining a safe, efficient environment.
Digital signage for manufacturing is an excellent reminder that ROI can occur in so many ways; let’s not forget it when we figure ROI for any industry.
