The devices provide better connectivity at real-time and hands-free access.

Covid-19 has shut a lot of business hubs across the globe. But somehow, it has accelerated the production of food products and keeps employees at those institutions on heels throughout. No one can deny that people started storing up food to keep away a crisis.

However, it is remarkable how workers from the basic goods sector managed to overcome the chaos with technology support. The tales of manufacturing houses turning automatic with AI-powered technologies featuring the plants are not long gone. Even today, production houses are trying their best to keep employees from each other to follow social distance guidelines. They go through strict sanitation protocols in order to keep the process safe.

Farming never gets tired of going through the routine cycle. Even when the world is undergoing a pandemic, the milk manufacturers should keep the production functioning as it is a mandatory form of everyday life. Henceforth, Cisco has helped DFA, an American cooperative for milk production with technology to keep the factories running.

Cisco donated devices to DFA

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a cooperative organisation composed of more than 13,000 family farmers across the United States. DFA helps farmers operate their plants to process milk, find outlets for their products and invest in new business opportunities. It represents some remarkable brands such as Borden and Breakstone’s, Plugra and La Vaquita.

DFA operates 85 manufacturing facilities producing milk and dairy products throughout the US. The cooperative is slowly adapting to automation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic impacts. DFA is very concerned about its operation and customers safety. To complement the growing wheel of economy, Cisco, a worldwide platform for IT and networking has extended its hand to help.

The American multinational company has donated an array of collaboration technologies to DFA to help it develop more flexible manufacturing processes, enable workforce continuity and increase the ability to collaborate in real-time. Cisco gave Cisco Webex room Kits, DX-80 video conferencing kits, Webex Teams and Webex Expert-on-Demand software, and RealWear HNT-1 hands-free ‘head-mounted tablets’ devices to help DFA get better connectivity to the team members across the country.

Uses of the provided devices

Ranging from connecting team without touching the mobile phones at video conferencing to instant connectivity at crucial times, Cisco donated devices facilitates basic functionaries with mandatory technology. Here is a close look at the donated devices and its uses at DFA factories.

Cisco Webex Teams Technology provides connectivity

 Real-time connection during critical times is a mandatory protocol at factories. Cisco Webex Teams Technology allows a quick Teams message in a project space for collaboration between the necessary resources and keeps all the related data connected and retrievable. The employees don’t need to rely on disconnected methods such as text messaging, phone calls or emails to connect. The system also mandates routine maintenance, evaluation, and training.

For example, if a production manager notices that a line is not operating at full health, he or she can directly connect with the plant operator via Cisco Webex Teams to discuss steps to remediate the issue. Likewise, a maintenance manager looking for status updates on a motor control centre issue can be notified by field personnel with pictures, videos, or annotated files showing their progress.

Realwear HMT for hands-free remote access

The first perspective to keep in mind while working during a pandemic is to not touch everything. Cisco’s provided devices stand as an example and promote the initiative. Cisco’s Expert on Demand technology, accessed using the Realwear HMT, can close this experience gap by connecting workers from the plant floor to plant management or experts at other locations while allowing them to keep their hands free to work, rather than having to hold a smartphone or tablet.

The process functions by turning the augmented reality glasses in the Realwear HMT into a voice-activated collaboration headset. The Web Expert application connects frontline workers to experts who can give timely advice. The device features productivity through multi-party video calling, providing the ability to annotate images, and share these annotations between the expert and frontline worker, as well as share key documentation, all in real-time.