The market for mobile technology is growing so rapidly that by last summer use of mobile applications outpaced traditional web browsing for the first time, mobile analytics firm Flurry reported in June.

While 79% of consumers use these programs for games and social networking, according to Flurry's research, more manufacturers are slowly adopting apps designed for specific business and plant operations. Customer service and sales-related apps are two of the top five mobile programs manufacturers are using, according to technology services company Infosys Ltd.

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. launched an app in August for the Apple iPad that provides sales representatives with specifications on its hydraulics products. With the app, Eaton's distributors and sales teams have immediate access to data on more than 200,000 products, including engineering information, 3-D parts modeling and ordering lead times.

MOBILE APPS could be a potential game-changer for the way small and midsize high-mix, low-volume operations facilitate lean manufacturing, says Shahrukh Irani, engineering professor, Ohio State University. Photo Eaton Corp.

Cleveland-based Eaton developed the app with the help of a third-party technology provider to incorporate innovation into customer management functions, says Justin Kershaw, senior vice president and chief information officer of Eaton's industrial sector.

On the Plant Floor

On the plant floor, mobile apps are less prevalent but hold significant potential for plant-floor processes, say industry experts. Mobile apps could be a potential game-changer for the way small and midsize high-mix, low-volume operations facilitate lean manufacturing, says Shahrukh Irani, associate professor of integrated systems engineering at Ohio State University.

With fewer standard orders and processes at these facilities, establishing traditional lean concepts such as production cells and one-piece flow becomes more challenging, Irani says. That's where mobile apps can help with the creation of virtual cells, Irani says.

"When you have these dispersed work centers all around the facility, but you would like them to be programmed for certain groups of parts that keep coming down the pike from the customers, you need the material-handling folks, the maintenance folks and the operators to essentially be connected," Irani says.

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