Manufacturers have been pushed to the extreme with the pandemic’s impacts on everything from supply chain to maintaining safe work environments. As many strategize how to move forward in 2021, remote operations capacity is one area that is emerging as critical for manufacturers to achieve operational continuity during what could continue to be a uniquely disruptive time. In this piece, expert Bill Moore, CEO and founder of XONA, provides manufacturing insights on reducing remote operations costs and cyber risks. Bill brings more than 20 years’ experience in security and the high-tech industry, including sales, marketing, engineering, and operations.
1. Explain remote operations capacity. What impact does it have on remote work?
When people plan for remote work, they tend to think about things like workspaces and communication protocols. These are important, even crucial, elements of a remote work scenario, but many sectors, including manufacturing, need off-site workers to do more than just collaborate with colleagues.
They need them to interact with complicated machinery in a dynamic, secure way. Among other things, remote operations capacity enables off-site workers to operate critical systems just as if they were sitting in the control room. In addition, there needs to be the ability to monitor and troubleshoot problems, so accessing forensics is also crucial, enabling operational efficiencies beyond nonessential travel time to a manufacturing site.