Vital signs

How 3M is using its own technology to produce an eye-catching new internal communications medium.

Could this be the future of internal communications? During their break, employees gather around the works noticeboard, keen to see how their latest production figures are looking. They’re also interested in details of the company’s next social event – and, oh, they can find out that today’s lunchtime special is cottage pie.

The difference is that, at this factory site, they’re not clustered around the usual type of board covered in tatty paper notices, but a 42-inch plasma display screen, delivering information quickly and efficiently in an eyecatching, multimedia format.

This state-of-the-art communication system is now a reality at 3M sites across the UK. The system uses the company’s own Digital Signage technology, meaning that staff notices are now more accessible, timely and attractive. Messages can be delivered centrally, and there’s also the facility for team members at the site to add site-specific content or items of local interest.

So how does it all work? Each site now has several 42-inch plasma displays, which are linked and controlled by 3M software to enable the display of multimedia files, including data feeds from 3M’s internal systems. The software allows each site manager to schedule information to be displayed at pre-defined times of the day, and for different information to be displayed on different screens.
Web-delivered content can also form part of the mix. Data can be extracted from the central warehouse management system, for example, and displayed on the screens so that staff can see their productivity at a glance without having to leave their station to log into a computer terminal. Other live information, including RSS feeds such as news headlines, football results or weather updates, can also be included within playlists.

All in all, it adds up to a compelling mix of information and entertainment that beats the traditional paper-and-drawing-pins option hands-down.

3M Corporate Communications Manager, John Klee, comments: “Digital Signage has really come into its own in our manufacturing operation.

 “Around 60 per cent of our workforce are in a factory environment, and while it’s possible for them to access the intranet, they have to go to a separate workstation to do it. Now, using this technology, we can adapt stories from our intranet and site management systems so the information is available to them more quickly and easily than before. It’s a great addition to our armoury.”

For further information on 3M Digital Signage, please click here. To read a longer version of this article, please see October’s ic magazine.