Case studies

February 2022 - Brive, France

Blédina automates IT and employee workflow with a shared iPad device program and FUYL Tower Smart Lockers.

Background

As the largest B Corp-certified company in France, Blédina is a leader – not only in the infant food market, but also in its commitment to making a positive impact on society and the planet. In 2020, Blédina embarked on a new and ongoing industrial performance and digital transformation program, utilising iPad devices to go 100% paperless. 

Named after the platform their manufacturing team has adopted, “Project Poka” has allowed for digitised industrial training, industrial process training and industrial troubleshooting materials. Poka is a web and mobile app designed for manufacturers to support on-the-floor training, knowledge building and communication. With everything stored digitally, content is easier to track and archive, and staff safety and security have improved.

Challenge

Rolling out new technology is a big undertaking, especially in a company with three production sites and 1,500 employees. Blédina needed a way to secure the new iPad devices and encourage users to take care of the devices during use. Reducing the risk of lost and stolen devices is critical – to avoid the expense of replacing physical assets, and also for protecting valuable company data. The success of Project Poka relied heavily on ensuring iPad devices are charged, connected and accessible at all times.

Solution

Blédina decided that a check-in/check-out iPad workflow, with the ability to assign and restrict access to specific users based on RFID badges and User Groups, was what they needed. They found these capabilities and more in the FUYL Tower™ Smart Locker by PC Locs.

As a complete hardware and software package with PC Locs Cloud, Blédina was confident in knowing the FUYL Towers were a solution that would grow with them. They weren’t interested in investing in an entry-level locker system by another brand with a far less future-proof result.

The New Check-In / Check-Out Workflow

Results

To date, 37 iPad devices have been rolled out in their Brive factory. They are utilising six FUYL Tower 5 Smart Lockers and one FUYL Tower 15 Smart Locker, spread out across the factory floor. The contactless device sharing program has freed up valuable time for the Blédina management team, and everyone has been pleased with the results. 

Cloud Admins can remotely control locker access, which has helps in a variety of ways. For instance, when a user is returning a device they didn’t originally check out, the admin can remotely open a locker door on any of the seven FUYL Tower Smart Lockers for them. No walking across the factory floor to meet them, and no significant interruption to their day.

Project Poka’s success has already begun a ripple effect throughout the company. One production line has been upgraded from a 5 to a 15-bay FUYL Tower due to demand for more devices. Devices are being used by engineers to report issues on a production line to a remote manager. The manager can receive a solution and troubleshoot immediately. 

The Blédina back-office team saw an additional opportunity to improve upon their own processes with the FUYL Tower Smart Locker, and now has an automated workflow with on-demand shared iPad devices. Quick and easy access to these securely stored iPad devices has made their production team meetings a lot more efficient.

The FUYL Towers, along with PC Locs customer support, have been exceeding expectations at Blédina. PC Locs released new Cloud features to smooth out some on boarding, troubleshooting and RFID card features for the team, enabling Blédina to scale their device roll out.

What's Next?

Blédina continues to further scale the roll out of more iPad devices and digitised content. They hope that production orders will be digitalised so staff can receive them in real time on the iPad device. They are also exploring API integration with their factory Active Directory as well as with the ServiceNow platform currently in use.

They have no doubt they’ll be utilising new PC Locs Cloud features in the future. They expect to find new use cases for the FUYL Tower – automating new workflows and finding new efficiencies to drive manufacturing excellence and lead by example for all Danone France brands.

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Background

Special Events Group (SEG) is a leading provider of technical support for large-scale special events, offering technical services and equipment for set and stage design, event concepts and much more. With offices in Bulgaria and in Austria, they are a trendsetter for new and creative ideas in the event industry throughout all of Europe.

Challenge

In the age of mobile devices, event attendees expect convenient access to power outlets where they can charge their personal phones, tablets and laptops during the event, exhibition or conference. Many special event companies offer a table with power strips as a courtesy to meet this need. The SEG Team, however, noticed that the “charging table” was always crowded and devices left unattended were at risk of theft. They saw an opportunity to bring a unique experience to conference attendees by offering a secure place to charge and store devices while not in use.

Solution

The PC Locs FUYL Tower is a Charging Station with 15 individually-lockable compartments that works just like a hotel safe. Inside each locker is one AC outlet and one 2.4 amp USB port, making it possible for attendees to charge more than one device at a time. FUYL Tower users are able to lock their chosen compartment with a 4-digit, user-defined pin number, making it easy for the user to remember their code. By providing a secure Charging Station inside the venue, attendees are able to lock up their devices and walk away for worry-free charging.

SEG even takes it a step further by creating custom graphics for the outside of the FUYL Tower so that it fits seamlessly within the brand of the event. Product flexibility (and durability) allow SEG to use the same Charging Station at all of their events throughout Europe. And since European countries speak many different languages, they’re able to localize the sign on the top of the station that reads “Charge Your Devices Here” to match the main language spoken at that particular event.

To learn more about how PC Locs products are transforming device management for other businesses around the globe, click here.

To download a PDF of this white paper, click here.

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