UK
Manufacturing companies have a lot to lose when it comes to unexpected disruptions. Whether it stems from inclement weather, insufficient staff, workplace accidents or supply chain bottlenecks, a halt in production translates to measurable profit loss.
An effective business continuity plan can prevent incidents from becoming crises. Protect your people, places and property by delivering alerts rapidly across your entire production line. Manufacturing companies can get the most out of their business continuity program with the help of efficient mass notifications.
5 Ways Mass Notifications Support Business Continuity
1. Speed Up Facility Incident Alerts.
Accidents happen. From leaks and spills to employee injuries, cyberattacks and workplace violence, your company needs a way to alert workers to an incident before it becomes a full-blown crisis. Mass notifications can support your business continuity plan and avoid a lapse in service or production.
With this technology, you can send alerts quickly so workers can take appropriate action when every minute counts. If there’s a gas leak or equipment malfunction, your security team can send a message to the personnel at that plant, telling them to avoid the area if it’s unsafe or directing the response team to fix the issue and minimize damage.
Look for a system that offers two-way communications, so stakeholders can mark themselves safe or request assistance. Make sure the product can send alerts to a variety of devices, including tablets, laptops, desktops, landlines and smartphones. Plant workers are unlikely to be sitting at their computers all day, so mobile text alerts or in-app push notifications might be the best option for many manufacturing companies. Modern business continuity software provides all of these options through one intuitive interface.
2. Automate Severe Weather Warnings.
With the increased frequency and severity of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires and winter weather, every plant has the potential to be impacted by inclement weather. Manufacturers need a way to alert staff to stay home in the event of extreme weather or seek shelter if they’re already on the premises.
An effective emergency alerting system can do this automatically, so no one is forgotten and all your people stay safe. Make sure it comes with built-in redundancies so you can maintain contact even if the power lines go down or you temporarily lose internet connection. A multi-modal approach that utilizes email, voicemail, SMS, desktop alerts and app notifications increases the likelihood your messages will be received and responded to promptly.
Three Ways Critical Communications Systems Pay for Themselves in Manufacturing
Boost your bottom line and workplace safety.
3. Make Routine Employee and Vendor Messages More Engaging.
A mass notification system is essential in emergency situations, but the technology can also simplify communications and increase employee engagement throughout day-to-day operations. Alerts can be used to remind employees of upcoming benefits enrollment deadlines, company events and training classes. Effective messaging can increase attendance and morale while delivering the support your team needs to achieve optimum productivity.
Mass messaging can also be used to communicate with stakeholders throughout your supply chain. You can notify vendors when you need an increase or decrease in supply and inform stock managers at your warehouses if a shipment’s delivery date changes.
4. Streamline Staffing Logistics.
Manufacturing companies depend on consistent staffing. Some of the biggest pain points for plant managers revolve around making sure every shift is filled and alerting employees to stay home when issues arise.
A mass notification system equipped with quota calling allows companies to send automated messages to employees to obtain shift coverage. Managers are notified as employees sign up through the system, and the messages stop automatically when all open shifts are filled. Going through this process manually can take hours, whereas quota calling doesn’t require any labor and fills shifts in a fraction of the time. The calls can also be conducted in a specific order to satisfy union rules, with an automatic record to prove management reached out to everyone.
Quota calling has the potential to pay for itself after one use. During a power outage, a plant manager may not have enough time to call each employee before the next shift starts. When workers show up under those circumstances, the company is usually still required to pay them, even though no one can work. Those wages can add up to a significant loss. An effective quota calling system can save the company time and money while preventing employee frustration.
5. Keep Response Teams Connected.
When disaster strikes, everyone needs a way to refer to best practices and pull from the digital library of communications templates. A mass notification system enables team members to access all plans and procedures, wherever they are. This prevents your team from becoming panicked and making errors due to stress.
There also needs to be a way to instantly connect the continuity team so they can strategize and coordinate a response. One-touch conference calling allows team members to start a virtual meeting no matter where they are around the world. They can discuss what occurred, agree on a plan and follow up as the situation unfolds.
In the aftermath of a critical event, it’s important to review the actions taken and messages sent. A mass notification system with an audit trail feature will help your team review past responses and make improvements as they go forward.
Better Business Continuity and Mass Notifications Go Hand-in-Hand
A solid business continuity plan supported by reliable mass notifications keeps everyone informed, connected and protected – and the production line moving.
For a closer look at how OnSolve Critical Communications can help your manufacturing company achieve these goals, schedule a demo today. To learn more about achieving greater ROI with mass notifications, download our ebook.
