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An Introduction to Redzone: Improving Productivity Through Connected Manufacturing

Redzone is the leading connected workforce platform because it empowers frontline teams in manufacturing with real-time communication, performance tracking, and digital workflows. Acting as a hub for OEE software, quality management, CMMS, learning management, and schedule optimization, and driving bleeding edge innovation in AI in manufacturing and manufacturing analytics, Redzone delivers measurable results and a rapid time to value with double-digit productivity gains within 90 days. By supporting lean transformation, enabling IT/OT convergence, being a cornerstone of the total digital transformation in manufacturing, and functioning as part of broader enterprise manufacturing software, Redzone boosts efficiency while also driving cultural change and achieving strategic initiatives. It engages employees and recognizes positive outliers helping to identify and standardize best practices. For manufacturers seeking to stay competitive, Redzone is a proven solution for sustainable continuous improvement (CI) and operational excellence.

Redzone: Driving Productivity Improvement Through Connected Manufacturing

Manufacturers are under constant pressure to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure product quality. Redzone Connected Workforce Solution has emerged as the most widely adopted solutions for this challenge, serving as a platform for connected workers that enables communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement directly on the shop floor. Unlike traditional systems like MES that focus solely on machines or reporting systems that limit information to certain roles or levels within the organization, Redzone bridges people, process, and technology to deliver measurable performance gains.

What is a Connected Workforce Solution?

A connected workforce solution is a fully integrated platform that unifies work activities across departments and facilitates communication and connections. While many solutions say they are “connected,” a truly connected workforce solution in manufacturing creates significant interconnections between people, their work, and information that specifically enables the following.

• Communication & Collaboration: Live communication between individuals and teams for collaboration and faster problem resolution. Operators and teams communicate, collaborate, and document outcomes in the platform. High visibility of positive outliers creates a natural environment for both competition and best-practice sharing. In enterprise environments, sites are likewise connected to each other.
• Work: Both work as assigned (task management) and work as designed (SOPs and training) are available to the operator at the point of use. The operator does not have to leave their station or the platform to complete their work correctly and when appropriate.
• Data and Information: Operators and teams have real time access to production metrics that inform and guide the actions of operators and teams. Historical data is archived and accessed in the solution. With the emergence of AI on the manufacturing floor, curated results sets and information are a method of providing this information quickly as well, beyond traditional reporting.

The Redzone Connected Workforce Solution is a fully connected workforce solution. It provides a unified platform with communication tools, performance management, and a continuous improvement framework and departmental work for operations, maintenance, and quality teams is centralized within it. With Redzone, factories are no longer just collecting data about machines. With Redzone, the connected frontline workforce views line performance and barriers to success, communicates and collaborates on how to remove those barriers, creates / assigns / completes work required, and accesses historical information through run reports and AI-curated suggestions to ensure lessons learned are lessons used.

Documented Benefits of Redzone

Redzone has demonstrated significant benefits for manufacturers adopting its system. Redzone’s Productivity Benchmark Report analyzed the results of 1500 Redzone deployments and the positive change on manufacturers’ productivity. You can read the full report here. Factories commonly cite the following outcomes from their Redzone deployments:

• Productivity: Factories regularly report double-digit gains in efficiency, often within the first 90 days. The overall average productivity increase seen by Redzone customers was 26% in 90 days.
• Quality: Integrated tools for defect tracking, quality checks, and in-process monitoring support fewer recalls and less waste. Simplified digital documentation creates mistake-proofed documentation for improved external audit scores.
• Equipment Reliability: Dashboards with live line status, pareto charts of top downtime reasons, and root-cause analysis routines lead to fewer unplanned stoppages.
• Training and Upskilling: Shopfloor training happens at the point of use so operators are more confident completing assigned tasks, onboard more quickly, and make fewer mistakes.
• Engagement: Employees report higher morale and ownership when given real-time visibility and input into performance and engagement scores.

Redzone’s Integrated Solution Creates a Complete Manufacturing Ecosystem

Redzone is an all-inclusive manufacturing platform that supports all manufacturing departments and replaces disparate, siloed point solutions. Every Redzone deployment begins with the introduction of four elements to the factory floor: real-time OEE Software with dashboards and tracking; a Communication and Collaboration platform that supports problem-solving discussions for faster resolution; Champion AI, Redzone’s cutting edge AI manufacturing guidance for frontline teams; and the robust manufacturing analytics. Redzone’s strategic, module-based deployment model allows factories to determine which additional solutions they would like to utilize within the factory. Factories that have robust, effective point solutions already can choose to keep those incumbent solutions in addition to utilizing Redzone in other areas.

Redzone Connected Workforce Solution’s unified platform includes:

• OEE Software: Redzone includes built-in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) software, which calculates availability, performance, and quality. This allows teams to identify and eliminate bottlenecks on the production line.
• Communication and Collaboration Platform: Redzone unites teams with transparent communication, digital recognition tools, and company-wide updates that streamline collaboration and drive continuous improvement.
• AI in Manufacturing: Redzone leverages AI in manufacturing by analyzing production records and surfacing insights and training that help teams act faster and more accurately. AI translation of materials and chats enhances and empowers the contributions of every team member.
• Manufacturing Analytics: All of this is backed by robust manufacturing analytics, turning shop floor data into prebuilt dashboards and customizable reports that are live day 1 of every deployment and guide decision-making from operators to executives.
• Quality Management System (QMS): As a quality management system, Redzone brings quality to the source to not only document activity but improve manufacturing outcomes. It digitizes checks, corrective actions, and audits. Digital workflows ensure issues are flagged and corrected at the source. SPC charts provide real-time visualization of results for operators and QA teams.
• Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS): More than just a CMMS, Redzone is built on a platform of TPM, engaging operators differently in the care of their machines. Work orders, preventive maintenance activities, and parts inventories are digitized and documented in a single system. Operators flag maintenance issues quickly and collaborate with maintenance teams to prevent unplanned downtime.
• Learning Management System (LMS) for Manufacturing: With built-in training modules, shop-floor knowledge capture, and custom content, Redzone brings training to the operators at the point of use. Skills matrix and training plans help plants standardize work, onboard employees faster, and close skill gaps.

Redzone Impact on Strategic Initiatives

Beyond individual features, Redzone supports both lean transformation and digital transformation. It replaces manual or paper-based processes with integrated digital tools and aligns those digital tools with lean practices like kaizen, standardized work, and root cause analysis. Redzone facilitates IT/OT convergence—the integration of Information Technology (business systems) with Operational Technology (plant floor systems). By acting as a layer of enterprise manufacturing software, Redzone connects to ERP, MES, and other systems, creating a unified view of operations without burdening frontline workers with complexity. Multi-site enterprise customers centralize, monitor, and enforce corporate standards with enterprise management. Manufacturers with successful and robust continuous excellence and Management Operating Systems (MOS) in place already customize Redzone to match, support, and enhance their existing programs.

Redzone Summarized

Redzone is more than just another digital tool; it is a proven catalyst for cultural and operational transformation in manufacturing. By combining a connected worforce, OEE tracking, quality management, equipment reliability, training, and analytics, Redzone enables companies to boost productivity, empower employees, and achieve sustainable growth. For manufacturers striving to remain competitive in 2025 and beyond, Redzone represents a practical and people-centered path toward operational excellence.