vertical applications for wireless lans

MARKET BRIEF
Vertical Applications for Wireless LANs
Recent advances in technology have made wireless LANs a viable alternative or addition to traditional wired networks. Wireless installed. If there were a recall, the manufacturer would know exactly which vehicles were impacted, saving administrative costs LANs enable real-time connectivity to network resources from virtually any location within range of an access point. This allows and minimizing negative publicity. many businesses to take advantage of process efficiencies and collaboration improvements. Another priority for manufacturers is keeping the production line running at all times. If the line runs out of parts, it must be shut
down until new parts can be moved to the line. Some manufacturers are using WLAN technology to empower an employee to send out an Companies across various industries realize similar benefits through using WLAN technology. Meetings become more productive with alert from the line to the parts department, detailing the exact parts that are needed to continue assembly. Parts can be immediately immediate access to information. Because cabling and construction work is minimal, a WLAN solution is scalable and easy to maintain. dispatched to the station, avoiding down time in the line and significantly increasing production.
New locations can easily be added to the network without the need to maintain and upgrade cable for each user. WLANs can also be used as a back-up for traditional wired networks. Manufacturers rely on heavy custom-made machinery. Utilization and maintenance of these machines represent a large cost for many Although many businesses may benefit from this technology, WLANs offer particular advantages in certain industries. The key companies. WLANs can be used to help track and conduct preventive maintenance, as well as detect and respond to break-downs of the to understanding these advantages lies with new applications that can be enabled once the network goes wireless. Manufacturing, machines. Workers can enter all maintenance, repair and parts requirement data in a WLAN-enabled device. With necessary parts retail and warehousing industries have all been early adopters of the technology. All three industries have inventory accuracy issues that upgrades and replacements pre-identified, technicians can be dispatched to conduct appropriate maintenance on the machinery. can be improved by implementing WLANs. Wireless LANs have also proven valuable in health care and education. Understanding how Wireless access to critical information enables quicker repair time with greater accuracy. A typical manufacturing firm may have 20 wireless has developed in each of these sectors can help illustrate its unique advantages. technicians roaming multiple buildings. WLANs can help identify technicians who posses the skills to handle the job, understand which
technicians are working on a project and dispatch the appropriate worker to complete the task in a timely manner. WLANs help Manufacturing Manufacturers are usually focused on optimizing operations and improving process efficiencies. They usually have a large volume manufacturers “dispatch the right technician, with the right parts, at the right time.” of metric data, such as time-per-build and unit costs, to maintain and analyze. Understanding and making efficient use of production capacity is pivotal to a manufacturer’s profitability. With a wireless network manufacturers can improve the accuracy and timeliness Retail Increased use of WLAN technology was experienced throughout 2006’s holiday shopping season. Retail stores have adopted the use of standard metrics by tracking every component throughout an entire cycle. of WLANs to help with price verification, inventory, point-of-sale and other real-time applications. Store managers and associates often use For example, an automobile manufacturer could establish data capture points all along an assembly line by reading the bar code of every “point-of-sale” devices, such as mobile computers and belt printers, to verify prices or promotions so customers do not have to stand in long carburetor and mapping it to the code of the chassis on which it was check-out lines. Mobile sales devices connected to a WLAN allow a sales clerk to determine if a product is available in the store. If it is not available, the clerk can verify its location at another store, input the appropriate data and complete the sale without having to send the combination of a WLAN and RFID technology, the location of every mobile device can be immediately identified within a facility.
customer to the register. This greatly reduces the number of people who leave the store without a purchase. Real-time access to retail Under HIPPA requirements, hospitals are required to track the individual doses of medication that are administered to every information via WLANs optimizes customer service, resulting in improved customer satisfaction. patient. Mobile devices can be designed to scan a patient's wrist tag, scan the medication sheet and scan the drug being administered.
Warehousing
Businesses involved in warehousing have to manage multiple priorities, including taking inventory/cycle counts and “picking” Any drug allergy or drug interaction issues would be recognized and the device would sound an alarm before the drug is administered. WLANs may offer health care a "mobile edge" that can be a genuine life-saving advantage. material to be shipped. The use of wireless devices in combination with bar coding or RFID technology has contributed to increased efficiencies in this space. Cycle count time can be significantly reduced by moving from manual inventory devices and processes Education Higher education is an increasingly competitive field, and students are a particularly demanding audience when it comes to mobility, to a WLAN environment utilizing mobile hand held devices. flexibility and access. Campus environments are natural settings for wireless implementation. A wireless university LAN improves In addition to improving cycle count time, WLAN technology can help with inventory and accuracy improvements. When supplies are learning by providing students the ability to study and collaborate without bounds. It can also aid classroom learning by allowing ordered, a worker must locate the item in the warehouse and ship it to the appropriate party. A paper-based inventory system can create students to be connected to the LAN while in the classroom. Professors can use information posted on Internet and intranet many errors in picking and shipping. Some warehouses are now using a hand-held device that acts as a scanner, providing a positive or sites to supplement textbook materials. negative scan on an item. This lets the worker know that he is “picking” the appropriate item which speeds up the “picking” process, A WLAN was designed for one of the top “wired” campuses in the country, with distributed fiber throughout the campus and a data reduces manual errors and improves customer satisfaction. drop “for every pillow” in student housing. Here, the wireless LAN was recognized as an extension of an already elaborate network
Health Care
For hospitals and health care facilities, cost containment is of paramount importance. Improved efficiencies realized from using a designed to optimize existing infrastructure investments. Campus outreach buildings were linked to the central LAN with wireless wireless LAN can lead to faster diagnostic turnaround, decreases in the length of hospital stays and reduction in labor costs. The integration bridges, eliminating the need to establish separate services at each building. In addition to the positive impact on revenue, the wireless of RFID devices, Voice over IP systems and IP-aware equipment can also create a uniquely responsive environment with everything from LAN was credited with increasing enrollment numbers because of the school’s enhanced “high-tech” reputation.
patient registration to prescription processing. An example of this application can be seen in nurse call systems. Most of the systems in Summary Many industries are using wireless LANs to help increase productivity, improve customer service and decrease tracking errors and costs. place today are centralized. A patient pushes a button which triggers a visual or audible alarm at a central station. To investigate, the nurses on the floor need to check the call board. If each nurse were equipped with a mobile device, they could check on the call from anywhere on Hospitals are experiencing reductions in medical errors, retail firms are providing immediate answers to questions, manufacturers and the floor. Judgment could be used as to which call is a priority. Such mobile devices would save time by allowing nurses to log responses wholesalers are maintaining better inventory and tracking records and universities are providing an improved learning environment. Each day and reset alarms without going back to the central station. brings new uses for the technology. Understanding how to utilize a WLAN to solve unique business problems plays an important role in its A health care environment maintains a great deal of expensive equipment that has been cart-mounted for mobility. This mobile success. has experienced representatives who can help design, implement and manage a WLAN solution that will help improve equipment must be located quickly in an emergency. Using a your business.
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