Staying Connected. Click to keep reading…

22 May Staying Connected. Click to keep reading…

Even though the majority of the population is under stay at home orders, the world-wide web and social media has allowed the majority of us to stay connected as we’ve never done before! With that, many of us are beginning to realize just how connected we really are!

Let’s dive into this for a moment. In your wildest dreams or imagination, did you ever think that you would see and experience anything like the Covid-19 pandemic in your lifetime? I didn’t. If only for a few moments, push pause on your busy schedule and think of what has taken place over the last couple of months; hopefully things are beginning to ease up as you are reading this.

• Buzz words are established: Social distancing, essential business, self-quarantine, shelter in place, flatten the curve, stay at home order… say what?
• Ford enters into a partnership with 3M is manufacturing newly designed Ventilators
• Breweries and liquor manufacturers using their resources to produce hand sanitizer
• Sneeze guards being installed in offices, retail and even manufacturing environments
• People wearing face masks and gloves as they move through their day
• Shelves are empty of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, Lysol and now meat products
• Video conferencing: It’s not just for work anymore. It becomes a standard way of communicating with friends and family
• Interstates without traffic jams
• Closings: Church’s –many are using video or drive-in style configurations to hold service. Restaurants–allowing drive-thru and take out only. Other non essential businesses include bars, coffee shops, salons, barber shops, retail stores, parks, beaches, lakes, local government offices and the list goes on and on
• Elective surgeries: Put on hold until further notice
• “Essential businesses” are established: emergency care and life sustaining services including hospitals, clinics, etc. Also, grocery stores, home improvement stores, liquor stores, auto parts stores, and gas stations. Manufacturing such as medical device/equipment, agriculture equipment and more. The essential list even includes select florists and golf courses around the country.
• Many people that are used to commuting to an office and being away from home and family for the majority of their day, have become work from home (WFH) experts
• Mom’s and Dad’s are home-schooling, using internet technology
• Majority of families are eating more than 90% of their meals at home compared to 38% before the pandemic

Part of the new normal, and staying digitally connected will require that we continue to be creative. We will all need to continue to be open minded about new technology, and how we can use it to work smarter in the days to come.

In a recent Future Agenda article, it’s clear that our digital connection will only grow in the future. “Over 1 trillion sensors are connected to multiple networks: everything that can benefit from a connection has one. We deliver 10,000x more data 100x more effectively, but are concerned about the security of the information that flows.” They go on to say “By 2025, there will be over 50 billion SIM cards in use, we will have digitized all of our archives, and new information will be being created at such a rate that some see us doubling the volume of our total data set every month.”

In a world that is so connected, why aren’t we? Lupton Associates is your Manufacturing Solutions Provider (MSP)! Commentary provided by WFH Specialist, Mike Laney.