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5G Solutions Facilitate Faster, More Efficient Supply Chains

5G

5G Solutions Facilitate Faster, More Efficient Supply Chains

For supply chains to keep up with increasing demand and the need for cost and resource savings, organizations are turning to 5G and private network solutions. 5G wireless technology will improve all aspects of the supply chain from manufacturing to inventory, fulfillment and delivery.

Manufacturing: Machine-to-machine communications are a staple in the manufacturing industry. Private 5G wireless technology will improve these machines’ flexibility and agility through its ability to carry more information at faster speeds. Devices will be able to stay completely in sync without any delay or lag. With the machine’s ability to increase precision, it will, in turn, increase productivity, reliability and safety.

Inventory: Traditional inventory management has always been time-consuming and labor-intensive, while fulfillment was at a halt. With real-time inventory trackers, fulfillment centers are better equipped to manage large quantities more accurately. By using software that can accurately count and relay information back to a centralized system, warehouses are able to get real-time data into exact inventory counts, product locations and run reporting tools.

Fulfillment: The entire world experienced a major shift in fulfillment technology when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and stay-at-home orders became routine. The increase in demand and limited capacity of fulfillment centers caused many suppliers to adopt warehouse robotics as a solution for the future. Warehouse robotics are actually not new to the industry but first started being developed and used in the early 1960’s in GM factories.

Delivery: Although we may be a few years away from seeing delivery automation used on a large scale, companies have been working to reduce delivery costs and improve logistics through remotely powered drone delivery, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. For a delivery driver or pilot to control and drive a drone from the fulfillment center, the community’s connection needs to be robust, fast and reliable.

Additional Benefits Private and Public 5G Networks will Bring to the Supply Chain

Reducing Power Resources: 5G speeds use less power than traditional 4G and LTE connections. A good analogy to describe how 5G uses less energy is when a person is on their phone loading a website, it may take up to a minute for the website to load. During that loading time their phone is working much harder and using more battery power. If that loading time were to be cut down to a second, it would reduce the additional strain on the phone’s battery, increasing the battery’s life before its next charge. Now take that analogy and apply it to multiple large-scale devices making these same types of connections all day. That speed translates to significant power-saving efforts.

Reliability: When looking at private enterprise networks versus Wi-Fi and what system is right for an organization’s unique manufacturing needs, it’s important to know the difference. Private wireless networks are proven to be more reliable through better signal penetration, fewer blind spots and ability to handle increased bandwidth. 5G networks also can handle more devices than traditional Wi-Fi or 4G networks, ensuring that communications never get jammed up or slow down. When it can be costly to second guess how much a network can handle or how quickly it can transmit data, there is no better solution than private enterprise networks.

Safety: By removing humans from specific functions on the factory floor, warehouses have significantly reduced the number of accidents. In addition to these machines performing some of the more difficult or dangerous tasks, operations are accompanied by sensors that can detect problems or interruptions and immediately shut down and alert the team on the floor when something malfunctions. This split-second reaction time is enough to stop accidents and potentially save lives. Manufacturing has historically been a dangerous job, and these solutions can significantly improve safety and working conditions.

What is Needed to Make These Networks Possible

In order for these IoT’s to flourish at their total capacity, a strong and secure private 5G network is essential. It is critical to work with communications experts who are experienced in developing private network solutions at scale. As technology continues to grow, so will the increase in data, devices and bandwidth needed to ensure seamless communication between devices. It is imperative that the networks being developed are done in a way that can be expanded upon in the future without interruption to the networks in place.

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About Dan Leaf, CEO and president at Leaf Communications

Dan Leaf is an Air Force veteran with over 22 years of experience in the communications industry. Over his career, Leaf has become an expert in wireless infrastructure, successfully building and managing companies that provide unparalleled service to their clients. Leaf has worked with Fortune 500 companies, fire marshals and all major carriers to provide small cell deployment, 5G integration, first-responder systems (ERRCS), site acquisition real-estate services, architecture and engineering, and complete project management and construction services. The broad range of functions that Leaf and his team provide are what give them a holistic approach and expert experience in wireless infrastructure and communication technology.

lte

Private LTE Market is Projected to Reach USD 13 Billion by 2026

According to a recent study from market research firm Global Market Insights, The demand for the private LTE market is anticipated to grow at an incremental rate based on the increasing adoption of connected devices that require a reliable and secure communication network. Rapid urbanization and industrialization are driving the need for advanced communication technologies that are capable of handling smart logistics and manufacturing.

In order to keep up with the latest digital trends, workplaces are undertaking up-gradation activities such as implementing private LTE and industrial IoT networks. These upgrades can help enhance performance and productivity while ensuring minimal human intervention. Considering such aspects, Global Market Insights, Inc., estimates that the private LTE market might reach USD 13 billion by 2026.

The rising number of investments and developmental activities conducted by federal governments to promote the idea of smart cities could massively benefit the business outlook for private LTE providers over the predicted timeframe. However, high deployment costs pertaining to network upgrades could pose as one of the major dampening factors for this private LTE market.

The mining sector is steadily shifting towards remote applications and autonomous technologies to perform crucial tasks. Autonomous or remotely controlled equipment functioning through private networks could help mine owners to minimize human fatalities and accidents. Back in 2017, the mining industry saw nearly 17 fatalities that could be avoided by remote-controlled instruments.

The mining sector is one of the important aspects of the global economy and is integral to the infrastructure development of the nation. Mining corporations use digital solutions to adapt to the fluctuating demand, address the rising safety & environmental concerns, and control the operational costs. These solutions help introduce new levels of agility and automation to the mining facilities. It is speculated that the mining sector could spend nearly USD 2.9 billion on private networking by 2022.

In a recent turn of events, Canada based telecommunications company- Shaw Communications, had in October 2020, announced establishing its partnership with Nokia for the placement of Canada’s first industrial-grade Private LTE market network for Teck Resources Ltd’s mining systems. Labeled RACE21, the program is developed to transform the ways of mining by the company by harnessing innovation and technology. Besides, the network is also likely to offer larger connectivity and coverage at Teck’s Elkview Operations in British Columbia.

The rising adoption of smart connected systems across numerous industry verticals like transportation, urban planning, and manufacturing could enhance the deployment of private LTE networks across North America. The region controlled a major portion of the market share in 2019 and is predicted to maintain this trend by 2026.

Local agencies are also gaining interest in expanding their private LTE network. Citing an instance, Nokia along with Omega Wireless is working on launching 600 MHz private LTE network project that will support numerous critical applications for the New York Power Authority. The program intends to test the value of Nokia’s industrial-grade private LTE solution on Omega’s Band 71 spectrum.

Key Companies covered in the private LTE market are AT&T, Boingo, Casa Systems, Cisco, Druid Software, Ericsson, Future Technologies, General Dynamics, Huawei, Motorola, NetNumber, Nokia, PDV Wireless, Qualcomm, Rivada Networks, Ruckus Networks, Samsung, Sierra, SpiderCloud Wireless, Tait, Verizon, and ZTE.

Source: https://www.gminsights.com/pressrelease/private-lte-market

development

How to Bring The Future Faster For Rural Education and Economic Development

Interview with Thomas P. , Thomas P. Miller & Associates Miller

What lessons did you learn from COVID-19 that TPMA and all companies should take with them and implement for the future even after we overcome the pandemic?

I think the reality is that the pandemic will be with us for a while, so we still have to be adjusting and making adaptations along the way. One thing that has been a lesson learned by all of us was that we all knew that online learning and virtual work would be happening in the near future, but one of the aspects of the pandemic which people overlooked is the fact that it brought the future faster to us. K-12 schools and higher education institutions have all had to adapt to e-Learning. That adaptation has caused parents or caregivers to also adapt.

In rural areas, the pandemic has also heightened attention on issues like broadband. In the past when we talked about broadband, all of us had sympathy for remote and rural locations. Now, however, we’re all impacted because of the heavy demand and reliance on it. When you’ve got five to six people in a house and some are trying to learn while others are trying to do work, the issue of broadband and digital connectivity becomes even more important than we previously considered!

The pandemic has also highlighted the different ways in which we are able to communicate. We used to rely on physical meetings to understand what was happening both, workwise and socially. Since we are now virtual, we’ve all had to sharpen our precision in communication.

From both a workforce and economic development standpoint, we’re really finding that adaptability equals survivability. For companies, and even employees who are able to adapt to the environment around them, I think that they’re not only going to continue finding success during the pandemic, but they will be more successful after it as well. It’s proving to be true more and more every day, especially as we’re looking at going into a second wave.

Do you have any tips for how to develop and cultivate relationships in an increasingly virtual marketplace?

One of the things that I’ve always thought was underappreciated in communication, and I think it’s been heightened in the environment which we find ourselves in now, is listening. Being able to listen in an active, intent way – Not just patiently listening until someone’s finished talking. I think listening in an active way is a skill that’s possible to hone and really develop in this kind of environment.

The other thing that we see is the human nature of this pandemic; that to some degree, there has been certain democratization to it, in the sense that we’re all vulnerable. So, it’s opened up channels and access to thought leaders and other leaders that previously we didn’t have. It’s also going to put additional stress and strain on certain systems, like higher education.

We’ve occasionally talked or written about the agricultural model that we all adopted on learning 140 years ago and that’s clearly an aspect of education that is front and center now. People feel much more comfortable accessing learning in an online way. I think we’re going to see a growth in competency-based learning, which is mastering specific competencies and moving at your own pace. I think that will be accelerated in the workforce world.

As far as the communications environment, I feel like the pandemic has really made the communications environment more casual. We’re seeing into people’s living rooms and their kitchens, with the husbands, wives, and kids running around. It’s just a much more personal environment.

So, I think the pandemic has cut down on some of the business aspects of relationships. It’s opening the door to a lot more comfortable interactions and a lot more personal one on one interactions than what we saw previously, even when we were face to face.

What strategies can teams use to find opportunity zones and foster economic development through crises such as recessions and pandemics?

There remains a lot of work to be done in opportunity zones.

At its core, an opportunity zone really involves a city or community or region, evaluating their own assets and presenting them via a prospectus so that it accentuates those assets and entices investment into the zone and via strategies that the prospectus lays out.

Strategies, in terms of needs that those communities have and the opportunity to develop them.

I think the intensity and uncertainty of the pandemic has been a distraction; it’s been tough for people to do the type of work to optimize their zones.

There’s been some recent news out that home prices in opportunity zones are rising at a slower pace than areas outside of opportunity zones, for example. One of the key things that I think communities are starting to realize is that these opportunity zones aren’t going to develop themselves. In order to do that, many of them have to get a better handle on the demographics, the businesses, what the housing environment is like, the whole nine yards!

Stakeholders need to take stock of what’s in the opportunity zones and come up with a strategy and implementation plan for success, because it’s not going to happen on its own. One of the things we are seeing in this COVID-19 environment is a real emergence of diversity, equity, and inclusion being focal points as to how those zones are developed. Gone are the days, I think, of when people just kind of accepted gentrification and said, “this is the way to go.”

I think people are really trying to look for ways to find inclusive, equitable development in these zones. A lot of communities are reaching out to firms like ours looking for help in doing that.

Where do you see Thomas P. Miller & Associates (TPMA) in the next five years?

We’ve survived the pandemic for eight months so far, knock on wood! After 31 years of operating in a non-pandemic environment, we will continue to live at the intersection of education, workforce, and community development. There’s no shortage of work to be done, and frankly, there’s no shortage of opportunities for individuals and businesses to succeed.

We will continue to look at the future and figure out how we can help individuals, communities, and in some cases whole states, position themselves not for the economy of the future, but the economy of now. That is going to mean more of a focus on skills, not just traditional degrees. It’s going to accentuate lifelong learning in all its various facets. I think TPMA has a vibrant future ahead of it.

It’s all about talent. As we continue to help others, we’ve got to help ourselves and be able to retain and recruit the best talent that has the ‘innovation DNA’ to live on the edge.

We know that right now, as in any moment of disaster or recovery, people are going to be looking out for firms like ours, for that “North Star.” So we work really hard to try and stay ahead of that curve and be innovative while also making sure our work is actionable now and not only actionable in the future.

It’s a holistic approach to recovery where we’re guiding clients through, both for now and in the future.

working from home

New to Working from Home Full-Time? Here’s How to Stay Productive.

As the coronavirus pandemic threatens public health and the U.S. economy, more people are working from home on a regular basis. The move follows social distancing guidelines as an attempt to slow the outbreak, but keeping scattered workforces connected and productive can be challenging for managers and employees.

“This is new terrain for all involved, but employees and their companies can come out of this stronger by learning how to work together even better while they’re physically apart,” says Dr. Jim Guilkey (www.jimguilkey.com), author of M-Pact Learning: The New Competitive Advantage — What All Executives Need To Know.

Optimally, working remotely can sharpen the skills you have and open new avenues of training that broaden skill-sets and increase results. But technology alone can’t smooth the transition to remote working, and both employees and business leaders must learn how to implement new structures and some new or tweaked processes.”

Dr. Guilkey offers tips for both managers and associates to make working from home work out well for their companies:

For employees:

Get started early. “When going to the office, you normally get up and out the door early,” Dr. Guilkey says. “At home, this is more difficult. Get up, take a shower, and get started.”

Create a dedicated work space. People who haven’t worked remotely may need to experiment with different approaches to find what setting works best for them. “Just because you’re not going to the office doesn’t mean you can’t have an office. Dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to work,” Dr. Guilkey says“You should associate your home office with your actual office. This creates the correct mindset for being productive.”

Structure your day like you would in the office. Workers need to adopt exceptional conscientiousness when it comes to dividing their day into intensive work, communications, personal time and family life,” Dr. Guilkey says. “Have an agenda. Schedule meetings and project time and stay on schedule.”

For managers:

Set expectations.“It is vital that employees know what is expected of them,” Dr. Guilkey says. “When will you be available? How long will it take to get back to someone?”

Create a cadence of communication. Without daily face-to-face interaction, there’s more importance on communication. “A rhythm of communication is vital – daily check-ins, weekly one-on-ones, weekly team meetings, etc. ” Dr. Guilkey says.

Take a video-first approach. “Video, with all the current technology, is the most effective means of remote communication,” Dr. Guilkey says. “Invest in reliable tools.”

Maintain company social bonds. One drawback of working remotely is the potential breaking of social bonds that are necessary for productive teamwork. “Video conferencing or a quick Google chat with a colleague is vital to keep relationships strong,” Dr. Guilkey says. “Employees miss face-to-face banter and impromptu discussions in the physical office, so seeing faces on the screen daily is optimal for morale and a sense of normalcy.”

“Employees and employers can take this unprecedented time as a time to improve individually and as a company,” Dr. Guilkey says. “Working from home and working well together can go hand-in-hand when everyone is pulling even harder in the same direction.”

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Jim Guilkey, PhD (http://www.jimguilkey.com) is the author of M-Pact Learning: The New Competitive Advantage — What All Executives Need To Know. He is the president of S4 NetQuest and a nationally recognized expert in instructional design and learning strategy, with extensive experience in leading the design, development, and implementation of innovative, highly effective learning solutions.

Under his leadership, S4 NetQuest has transformed the learning programs for numerous corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Merck, Nationwide, Chase Bank, BMW, Cardinal Health, Domino’s, GE Medical, Kaiser Permanente, Yum! Brands, and others. Guilkey is a frequent speaker at national conferences and corporate training meetings. Before co-founding S4 NetQuest, Guilkey served as the assistant director of flight education at The Ohio State University. He received a BS in aviation and an MA and PhD in instructional design and technology from Ohio State.

BSY ASSOCIATES MARKS 45 YEARS AS MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS FIRM FOR TRADE INDUSTRY

Forty-five years ago, Barbara Spector Yeninas made the leap from maritime journalist to owner of a public relations agency aimed at the industry at a time when females were rarely seen on the waterfront.

Today, Cranford, New Jersey-based BSY Associates Inc. is not only an award-winning PR and advertising agency but an industry event planner, association manager and crisis-communications specialist.

“At industry events, I would be the only woman in attendance—not an enviable position when the only other female around was the entertainment, usually a stripper,” Yeninas recently recalled. “To say that political correctness was not a priority then would be an understatement.”

Think about this: Yeninas decided to fill a PR need she recognized during her daily newspaper career on Aug. 1, 1974, when Jennifer and Michael were the most popular baby name; the number one song was “Annie’s Song” by John Denver; and Richard Nixon was still eight days away from resigning as president.

 “We started as a communications company explaining and covering the nascent container shipping revolution as it was unfolding before our eyes,” says Yeninas. “… I saw a role for what we could provide. This is a meat-and-potatoes industry and those involved were making decisions about billions of dollars of investment in ships, equipment, terminals and training. They did not have the time or inclination to get involved in the nuances of promoting themselves. We were there to do so. I hitched up my skirts and went for it.”

Here’s to another 45, Barbara!