Christmas at the Plant-Floor Level

Katherine Bonfante is senior digital editor for Control and ControlDesign. You can email her at [email protected] or check out her Google+ profile.I bet when you wrote your letter to Santa, you asked him to bring you a technological device. Was it an iPad? I only ask because the iPad is one of the top Christmas gifts ideas for 2011. If you don't have one or one of its competitors already, you will soon.

This device is pretty cool. You check email, watch movies, make phone calls, take pictures, play games, surf the Web—and get real work done. I use mine to build and blast Control's daily newsletters. Our VP of Content, Keith Larson, uses his for budget reports, client presentations and much more.

And the iPad is not just for office work. In "The iPad Hits the Plant Floor," Michele Vaccarello-Wagner, managing editor of our sister publication www.PharmaManufacturing.com, tells how manufacturing companies such as Pfizer and MBX Systems are using this wireless device at the plant-floor level. Since the tablets were incorporated onto MBX's warehouse floor, workers have increased productivity by 14% and reduced defects by 20%.

The iPad and other mobile devices will become part of your everyday tools to get your job done. Just read Managing Editor Nancy Bartels' article "Information Wants to Be Everywhere." In it, Bartels reports that a total of 70% of the American workforce will be mobile by 2012.

Even though mobile devices can make our jobs easier, security for this equipment is also a must—especially at the plant level. Bartels' article also points out 10 security questions you should ask when upgrading your plant and workers to a mobile network. Learn more at www.controlglobal.com/articles/2011/MobileDevicesInformation1104.html.

Another article that focuses on mobile technology at a manufacturing and automation processes level is "FDT—Your APP for Smart Device Information Integration!" This article, written by Garry Cusick shows how FDT provides the enabling features for process automation the same way the "app" does for "smart phones." Go to www.controlglobal.com/articles/2011/fdt-your-app-for-smart-device-information.html.

Now, if Santa is bringing you an iPad or any other mobile device that you can use at the plant floor level, stop by our SoundOff! Blog "Are you using the iPad at the plant floor?," and let us know about it.

Happy Holidays and enjoy your technological toys!