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TuWay Solution Overcomes Communication Dead Zones and Ensures Constant Communication
F.L. Smidth
Allentown, Pennsylvania (production facilities worldwide)
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“The same day we first tested the Motorola two-way radios, the staff wanted us to place the order right away for all the units.”
Bud Beidler, Manufacturing Specialist
F.L. Smidth |
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Business Problem
F.L. Smidth manufactures everything cement companies need—from entire plants to individual machines. A recent consolidation of two production facilities into one created a busier, more complex production environment. This meant that efficient communication would become even more critical in keeping production on schedule.
The loudspeaker paging system in Allentown worked well for general announcements, but didn’t meet the needs of production foremen. With all the production noise, workers did not always hear pages and, if they did, the person who responded didn’t necessarily have the answers the caller was looking for. The time lag and inefficiency slowed production. It also frustrated staff who needed to stay in constant contact while moving around multiple buildings across the three-acre production facility.
“Most of our buildings are made of steel, which hampers the signal of many communication devices,” says Bud Beidler, manufacturing specialist for F.L. Smidth, who spearheaded the project to find an alternative solution. “We needed units that would overcome this and work inside as well as outside our buildings.” Beidler discovered many dead spots while testing out several communication devices. “None of them worked consistently throughout our property,” Beidler says.
Beidler then considered a solution that would integrate with the phone system, but the expense would have been about $20,000. “We needed to save on our capital expenses for this project,” Beidler says.
Project Solution
“Before contacting TuWay, we looked at several solutions, but none of them gave us the coverage and accessibility that we needed,” Beidler says. “I worked with TuWay about 20 years ago and knew they would be a good company to work with because of the service they provided and the quality of their products.”
TuWay assessed F.L. Smidth’s situation and recommended Motorola CP200 two-way radios. “TuWay thought we also might need a relay station to help with the dead spots,” Beidler says. “But they recommended testing how well the units would work on their own first. This demonstrated how much TuWay wanted to make sure we invested only in the equipment we needed.”
F.L. Smidth tested four units. “That very same day our people were convinced the Motorolas were the best solution for us,” Beidler says. “We immediately placed an order for the 12 sets we needed and have since added two more. The units are durable and handle dust well—two attributes that are crucial in our environment.”
Results
After two months of use, F.L. Smidth has not had any performance issues with the 14 units. Production people communicate immediately instead of waiting on responses. “If we took the units away now, we would have a lot of unhappy people on our hands,” Beidler says. “The foremen use them constantly to keep production orders on schedule. Orders now flow through the plant more efficiently.”
With the Motorola units, foremen instantly access people when they have questions. “The foremen immediately connect with the person who knows the answer,” Beidler says. “With the old paging system, it would sometimes take a couple attempts to learn who had the information.”
The Motorola two-way radios also helped F.L. Smidth save money. “The phone system integration solution we considered would have doubled our cost,” Beidler says. “Additionally, we virtually have zero ongoing costs compared to cell phones, which include regular monthly charges.” Beidler estimates that F.L. Smidth saves about $1,000 per month.
“There’s no way we could go back to the old system now,” he says. “The Motorola radios from TuWay have become an integral part of our production process and have helped our production team improve on efficiency.”
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