Written by Carlos Rojas, Global Industry Solutions Leader, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Everything seems to have changed in 2020. Manufacturers have been compelled to rethink every aspect of their business from plant operations all the way through the supply chain. For some, it meant closing down shop completely. For Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a manufacturer with more than 85 manufacturing facilities producing milk and dairy products throughout the US, shutting down production was not an option. As critical infrastructure, they needed to find a way to safely maintain their operations to continue their vital role in feeding the nation.
Cisco’s response: Workforce continuity
Enter Cisco. Cisco was quick to realize the need to support remote workers and donated $250M in collaboration technology and services to critical infrastructure organizations. In parallel, the Cisco Industry Solutions Group set out to build a suite of solutions to support what manufacturing teams need to maintain production and keep their teams connected; we call these solutions “Workforce Continuity.”
To better understand the need, we spoke with our customers and confirmed there are generally three thematic categories of working conditions in times of crisis:
Dispersed teams
Allow back-office workers, engineers, operators, and others to maintain continuity and normalcy of operations and keep employee communication levels high.
- Reduce the risk of exposure to harmful environments
- Provide more coverage by taking advantage of time zones and alternate locations more dynamically
- Reduce office costs and short-term arrangements
- Distribute responsibilities and technical risk across multiple failure points
Remote experts
Engineers, operators, field workers, and laborers can maintain communications while continuing to access high levels of proficiency and collaboration.
- Help ensure access to higher levels of experience despite travel restrictions
- Maintain high levels of oversight and expertise
- Continue to provide support to “boots on the ground” personnel deemed essential to operations
Remote operations
Operators are able to work from “anywhere” regardless of changing situations and dynamic conditions.
- Help ensure access to higher levels of experience despite travel restrictions
- Maintain high levels of oversight and expertise
- Continue to provide support to “boots on the ground” personnel deemed essential to operations
The Cisco Technologies that support these operational outcomes include:
- Industrial Collaboration: Enable workforce productivity, attract next-generation workers, improve plant safety, improve asset utilization
- Remote Experts: Increase worker productivity, reduce response and repair times, enhance recruitment development
- Worker Mobility: Enable mobility – data, voice, video, and location; lower cabling and labor costs; reduce mean time to resolution
- Workforce Continuity: Enable remote connectivity, sustained operations, and reduce downtime
Dairy Farmers of America
For Dairy Farmers of America, these solutions have already begun to take hold. As some employees who would typically travel to manufacturing facilities instead of working from home, DFA is implementing virtual technology to stay connected and ensure projects progress on schedule.
To support their efforts, Cisco donated Cisco Webex room kits, DX-80s, Webex Teams and Webex Expert-on-Demand Software, and RealWear HMT-1 hands-free head-mounted devices which will all allow DFA to connect its teams across the country in multiple manufacturing facilities with the highest level of security. This access to experts will help it shift production, optimize resources and increase resolution time as it adapts to changing demand.
“Cisco has been a trusted technology partner for DFA, and we are excited to expand our capabilities through this donation. As an essential infrastructure, it’s critical to ensure our plants, which produce milk and dairy products to feed families around the world, continue to operate. Integrating Cisco collaboration technology allows our experts to safely connect across the country while staying safe.”
– Jeff Hurley, Chief Information Officer for DFA
Join us at Hannover Messe Digital Days 2020 to hear first-hand how we worked with DFA, and more about our business continuity solutions. Click the link below to register.
Hannover Messe Digital Days
July 14 – 15, 2020
To read more about how Cisco’s technology is helping Dairy Farmers of America continue feeding America, view the press release.
When you choose Cisco, you’re not just investing in technology that solves today’s problems, you’re building a reliable foundation for the future that’s ready to support growth and adapt to evolving trends. Want to learn more? Explore the Top 6 Reasons Manufacturers Turn to Cisco
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