< Previous30 Business Link www.blmforum.net IT AND COMMUNICATIONS © stock.adobe.com/Pixel-Shot 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:15 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 31 IT AND COMMUNICATIONS With any transformational action undertaken within a business – be that organisational, management or cultural – digital transformation first needs to be defined. Digital won’t mean the same for every company and nor should it. For some, this kind of transformation will simply mean going paperless, to others it will mean utilising big data, while for others it will be about deploying augmented reality or linking up the factory floor with the Internet of Things (IoT). Certain issues, like cybersecurity, should be inherent, but defining your organisation and its digital aims is going to be a critical first step. Does your company want to streamline in-house operations and processes, automate ordering and inventory, create online sales portals, introduce 24/7 customer service provisions etc. Over the last two years, businesses have demonstrated their ability to quickly adapt to supply chain disruptions, radical declines in stock and inventory, and changing customer expectations. It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s been a trial by fire and, sadly, many businesses were forced to cease trading and admit defeat. The financial damage wrought by the pandemic will continue for years to come, so doubtless we’ve not seen the last corporate casualties. Nevertheless, for those that have survived, the burden has been eased by utilising IT and telecoms. In some cases, the pandemic was the first instance of companies embracing digital – whether that was launching websites, or, as staff were forced to work from home, utilising remote desktop and video conferencing technologies. Other examples of digital transformation since the pandemic include furthering the reach of customer support with the use of tools like chatbots, which take the pressure off customer service helplines and free up staff for other tasks, and increasing migration of assets in the cloud, among other things. Our region continues to enjoy roll out of full fibre broadband, which is proving especially advantageous for regional areas where businesses have historically suffered with patchy, unreliable internet, but without businesses also investing in digital technology, modern IT equipment and robust cybersecurity measures, they’re not going to fully benefit from the nation’s ever increasing internet infrastructure. Despite the emphasis on computers and mobile devices thus far in this article, companies can’t afford to shirk their telecoms systems. Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) was formally standardised in 1988 and, more than thirty years later, there are still more than one million businesses with an ISDN connection in the UK. With that in mind, businesses will need out for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking which is one of the protocols you can use for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications. Essentially, it’s similar to how HTTP functions with internet pages, and provides a way to convert voice signals into data that can be decoded by devices used by a caller. Switching to a modern telecom system has a myriad of benefits for businesses, including better customer service which, at a time when customer loyalty doesn’t hold the same sway it used to – will prove increasingly valuable in the months and years to come. Moreover, modern systems can lead to greater efficiencies and budget savings – for example, expensive businesses trips can be replaced by video conferencing – as well as greater collaboration and teamwork all round. On top of the efficiency and security gains afforded by digital communications technologies, they also offer more flexibility, letting businesses communicate better both internally and externally. Not enough is said on the important efficiency gains that can be made with effective, streamlined communications technologies. Not only does it empower businesses but helps to future proof them. At a time when economic uncertainty is rife, that’s incredibly valuable indeed. 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:15 Page 432 Business Link www.blmforum.net PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY IN MANUFACTURING W hen it comes to productivity and efficiency in the manufacturing line, one aspect that many people fail to consider is that of line clearance and efficiency. Simply put, line clearance is the time it takes to empty a line of completed products and get it working again. This is less about a robot moving product off the line, and more about quality control, safety checks and the like. It can also refer to when a product line shifts over from one product to another. For instance, many factories nowadays work on multiple products – a good example being FMCG with different recipes for different foods, etc. The transition period between clearing the line of one product and then altering the recipe, changing batches, making sure it’s all set to make the new product, is a period of down-time that can cost a company millions over the course of a year. The reason this is so problematic is that much of line clearance is still done by human hands. Automation has quite often focused on making products be manufactured quicker, and packaging them quicker, but then falling behind when it comes to quality control. Part of this is because making a robot that screws a cap on a bottle of pop is easier than making one that accurately scans it for any imperfections and particles, but it’s also a case of this part of a line being overlooked. It’s not uncommon to still see workers looking over hundreds or Clearing the line Line clearance is an overlooked part of processing, and one area in which vast efficiencies can be made. 34 Á Clearing the line 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:18 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 33 PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY IN MANUFACTURING © stock.adobe.com/Martin Barraud/KOTO 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:18 Page 234 Business Link www.blmforum.net PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY IN MANUFACTURING thousands of products on a line, turning them over one by one to make sure no packaging is ripped and no foreign material has found their way inside. This is a slow process by any means, and also a risky one as humans are prone to losing focus when repeating the same task over and over, and human error remains one of the big problems leading to product recalls. As line clearance is an oft-overlooked part of manufacturing, it also becomes one in which great savings can be made – and these go beyond simply making a line quicker. If clearance and set-up of a new product line is enhanced, then a factory can take on a wider product portfolio, pumping out extra batches or even an extra product entirely. This allows companies to make their existing assets work harder for them and save on investment in new factories – which can be expensive both in financial terms and also in time. A proper factory can take up to five years to be completed, and then will require new staff and training. Being able to enhance existing lines to take on more products saves on all of this. In terms of making line clearance and new line set-up as efficient as possible it’s best to fully embrace Industry 4.0 and digitalisation. If quality control and assurance is taken care of by vision inspection machines, then these can flood a line and be used at every stage to flag and highlight defective product, which can then be quickly and easily removed by employees. This is easier if products are serialised, because the machine and database can then reference the defective serial number with a quick scan and highlight where it is kept, saving further time. In addition, this can then be backtracked if there is any foreign material in a food product for instance, to identify if that happened in the factory or if it was a problem when the raw material came in. It can even identify every potentially contaminated product in the batch served by that material, and flag them for removal. The amount of time this can save is staggering, and it can also be applied to line set-up when a factory line needs to work on a new product. Traditionally, everything needs to be changed by hand when lines are switching, which is a time- consuming exercise, but a smart factory system can use pre-programmed templates for different products, and © stock.adobe.com/JackF 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:18 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 35 PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY IN MANUFACTURING alter checkweighers, conveyors and packaging machines to suit the new product. This not only makes change over quicker and easier, but also removes another potential point for human error, as a single missed decimal place on a food ingredient, or a forgotten spool of packaging changed on a child’s toy, could lead to an entire batch of flawed product that needs to be scrapped. Industry 4.0 and digitalisation is by no means new, but it is being adopted far too slowly in our region – and in our country. The technology has been a staple in China for the longest time, which is why Chinese products are being produced cheaper and more efficiently than things here in the EU. With countries – especially ours – wanting to become more independent however, there will be renewed focus on protecting the UK’s manufacturing sector, and it will be up to ours to adopt and adapt these new technologies or be left behind. © stock.adobe.com/ Hamik 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:18 Page 436 Business Link www.blmforum.net RENEWABLES It’s time to stop dragging our feet and start looking toward environmental energy – Yorkshire and Lincolnshire has a lot to gain from it. W ith COP27, the climate change conference in Egypt in November 2022, renewable energy is big news everywhere instigating countries to discuss actions that can be taken towards achieving world-wide collective climate goals - as previously agreed under the Paris Agreement and Convention (COP21) conference and adopted by 196 parties. The launch of a five year program to improve and promote climate technology means significant work has to be done on mitigation (limiting the extent to which the climate changes) with countries communicating their emission reduction targets, and how these will be achieved, and through adaptation and resilience (adjusting to current and future climate change impacts), in essence, detailing ways to reduce vulnerability, build capacity to adapt and to integrate climate adaptation into policies and planning. The three key issues are: * to ensure the rise in the global average temperature is kept ‘well below’ 2°C, ideally to 1.5°C (compared to pre- industrial levels) * to increase the ability to adapt to climate change and build resilience * to align finance flows with ‘a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development’. Currently the Earth is already approximately 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 19th century, and as emissions continue to increase and to ensure global warming rises no more than 1.5°C – emissions must be reduced by 45% by Forward 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:23 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 37 RENEWABLES 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The UK Government’s new Net Zero Strategy sets out how the Government intends to halve UK emissions and eliminate them by 2050, this hopefully being an affordable, achievable plan that will bring jobs, investment and wider benefits to the UK and to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Three of the main measures involve new buildings being oriented to minimize HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) loads; shades and overhangs being used to reduce direct sunrays and energy efficiency measures through EPC regulations and using renewable energy measures - all being implemented. Renewable energy is energy that’s derived from natural sources that replenish at a rate more than it is used. In our region fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal are non-renewable resources and are already positioned in the region and to balance them and open further options for investment in the region’s renewable energy opportunities will be good for the region, and ultimately the world. Renewable energies are all also generally cheaper now such as; solar, wind, geo-thermal, hydro-power, ocean energy and bio energy - and they can all possibly generate three times more jobs than fossil fuels - several companies are already investing in the renewable energy market in our region. Aura Power has approval for a 49.4MW solar farm in Grimsby with its aim to generate approximately 94,000MWh/year, helping significantly to contribute to local targets and to the UK’s overall Net Zero and Energy Security targets. Plans have also been announced for a £2bn tidal barrier scheme across The Wash between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, with an 11-mile barrage from Gibraltar Point, near Skegness, to Hunstanton, generating tidal energy and protecting homes and businesses from flooding; 1,200 jobs could be offered by developers, Centre thinking © stock.adobe.com/Romolo Tavani 38 Á 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:23 Page 238 Business Link www.blmforum.net RENEWABLES Port Holdings, and the “hydro-electric dam” and about 15 tidal turbines under the water will produce enough energy to power 600,000 homes – all to be developed in sympathy with the local wildlife habitat. James Sutcliffe, chief executive officer of Centre Port Holdings, said, they want to utilise The Wash’s, “tidal area of 780 sq km for renewable energy production” and “because we can shut down the turbines, which have sluice gates in them, we can then stop…damaging the countryside and preserving The Wash as it is today.” SSE, being one of the UK’s leading gas and electricity providers, has already invested £1.7b on energy security and sustainable energy projects and here in Lincolnshire the new gas-fired power station in North Lincolnshire, Keadby 2, will be operational in December and is planned to be Europe’s most-efficient gas plant. Alistair Phillips-Davies, the chief executive states, “cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy is coming, it just needs to be built, and SSE is building at pace,” and these further investment plans will create tens of thousands of jobs and “deliver greater financial security to families and improved energy security for everyone.” The UK Government has also confirmed the West Burton Power station site, in North Nottingham, a coal-fired power station owned by EDF, will be the home to an inventive STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) © stock.adobe.com/tamas 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:23 Page 3prototype energy plant. Fusion will hopefully be a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the world’s energy supply and is aimed to put net electricity on the grid. Fusion energy is sustainable, low carbon energy and based on the same processes that power the sun and stars. Creating thousands of highly skilled jobs during construction and operations, and attracting other high-tech industries to the region, and apprentices from many employers every year. In Brigg, Centrica Business Solutions is also starting work on a plant that could provide energy storage for 43 onshore wind farms across the country providing a battery storage facility that should be able to provide enough energy for a full day’s consumption to © stock.adobe.com/adobedesigner www.blmforum.net Business Link 39 RENEWABLES 11,000 homes, or around 15 percent of homes in North Lincolnshire. Tomorrow’s engineers and investors in renewable energy are not forgotten in our region either as Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, one of the UK’s leading technology innovators for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy and Engineering UTC (University Technical College), Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, have launched a new facility at the college to inspire students to access high quality STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) teaching, and the facility also provides a space for businesses across the Humber and Lincolnshire area to inspire young people to think about a future in renewable energy. 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 06/01/2023 09:23 Page 4Next >