BMW Plant Links Hundreds Of Employees Wirelessly

BMW Manufacturing Corp. has begun using a new Integrated Resource Management (IRM) system -- from Metrocall Inc. -- at its BMW-MC manufacturing plant in Spartanburg County, S.C. IRM uses its own in-house VHF wireless messaging system to link hundreds of employees at the plant with virtually instantaneous message delivery. BMW-MC's Emergency Response Team members -- the primary beneficiaries of the new service -- are fitted with wireless advanced messaging devices that can be contacted as a group or individually, using a central computer-based system or traditional paging methods. The system documents every messaging event and produces custom reports such as cost center and inventory correspondence. It also allows administrators to exchange devices on demand, providing for inclusion of new technologies or replacement of damaged equipment without delay. Metrocall is a wireless data and messaging company headquartered in Alexandria, Va. BMW Manufacturing Corp. is a subsidiary of Munich, Germany-headquartered BMW AG, which had 1999 sales of 34.4 billion euros (US$38.2 billion).