Clearview National April 2019 - Issue 209 | Page 82

MACHINERY
Britain’s first 5G
factory trial
» » THE UK’S FIRST LIVE 5G
factory trials have begun at the
Worcestershire 5G Testbed, in
a landmark step towards the
creation of smart factories in
Britain. The trials mark the first
time that British industry has
deployed this next generation
technology and it is set to
completely transform the way the
sector operates.
In a huge step on the UK’s
journey towards Industry 4.0,
the process allows manufacturers
to test the potential of 5G
investments - from factory floor
production, reconfiguration and
real-time analysis, to steering a
machine’s movements from a
remote location.
Mark Stansfeld, Chair of the
Worcestershire 5G Testbed &
Trials, comments: “Going live
with the UK’s first 5G factory
trials marks a monumental step
in delivering the vision of the
Worcestershire 5G Testbed to
bring a productivity increase to
the manufacturing sector and
the UK economy. We are proud
of the collaboration between all
consortium members in making
this happen and will be working
closely to deliver the expected
results from the live 5G trials.”
World-leading engineering
company Worcester Bosch is
testing 5G for improved factory
output, exploring preventative
maintenance utilising IoT sensors
and data analytics to predict
failure. Meanwhile multinational
defence company QinetiQ has
been designing security into the
network and applications known
as ‘security by design’.
Carl Arntzen, CEO at
Worcester Bosch, comments: “We
are delighted to have switched
5G on in our factory and look
forward to measuring the
productivity gains that will follow.
It’s important to our business to
have the real time element 5G
brings so that we can react in real
time in the factory environment
to mitigate any losses in output
and protect and grow our business
bottom line.”
Leading global manufacturer
Yamazaki Mazak is also using
5G to conduct trials that will
demonstrate how 5G can be used
to enhance factory productivity.
The technology will be used for
two troubleshooting applications,
one of which allows senior
engineers to remotely guide
onsite engineers through machine
maintenance.
The trials will all test end-to-
end application performance,
taking initial measures of
5G speeds and latency. The
technology offers more than just
enhanced speed by providing
the low latency, responsiveness
and reach needed to transform
the world we live and work in
and in ways that its predecessors,
including 4G, simply couldn’t.
82 » A PR 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVES
BUSINESS GOALS
» » WHETHER YOU’RE A
PVC specialist, builders’
merchant or roofline installer,
we all now inhabit the digital
world. With almost everyone
now carrying a smart phone
and engaging with social media
for up to three hours a day
the potential for brands to
communicate directly with users
is powerful.
Freefoam made a strategic
decision 18 months ago to
harness and embrace the rise of
social media as part of its overall
marketing strategy. Whilst
social media is an open forum,
competition for attention
is fierce, and getting more
sophisticated. Engaging content
is critical so Freefoam chose
to partner with social media
specialist Mind Made Digital to
ensure a targeted professional
approach.
Aiming to use social media
as a platform to engage with
customers and installers,
raise brand awareness with
homeowners and drive business
goals the programme has
achieved excellent results.
Customers are using Freefoam
content to promote products
and benefits and installers
are using it as a platform to
instantly share photos of work
and installation stories.
Using social media has
brought real business benefits
to Freefoam. By targeting key
business goals we’ve been able to
deliver tangible results. Social
media is pushing on average
36% of web traffic across all
company sites, the number of
enquires to become a Freefoam
Registered Installer has doubled
and we’ve seen a 70% increase
in fans and followers.
Whilst we’re delighted with
these figures, that’s not the
whole story. Social media has
allowed us to work much more
closely with customers and
installers to create professional
high-quality content together.
Video content is king and we’ve
generated films to highlight
positive relationships and the
benefits Freefoam products
bring throughout the supply
chain.
Louise Sanderson, UK
Marketing Manager, explained
“As manufacturers, using social
media has brought a new
dimension to our marketing
function. Whilst there will
always be a place for traditional
Point of Sale and Literature,
being able to showcase our
products and engage directly
with our customer and installer
partners has really created
a vibrant and active online
community. We’ve got some
exciting plans in place for 2019
to extend our digital presence,
so get involved and follow us.”