Manufacturer seeks industry’s views on supply chain innovation
Panasonic has embarked on a strategic initiative that aims to engage with the rail industry to address innovation.
The global manufacturer hopes that feedback gathered from industry stakeholders can be applied to its research and development activities, making the company’s technological solutions better suited to meeting the challenges the industry faces.
In early April, Panasonic held a cross-industry forum attended by Network Rail, Transport for London and a range of train operating companies. Entitled Delivering Innovation in Rail: The Connected Passenger, it sought to collaboratively identify innovation priorities that will meet the needs of future passengers.
This was followed by an event held at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry on April 26, where 50 of the company’s technological solutions were showcased to invited guests.
Technologies on display included its ‘one-person train operation’ solution that combines imaging, transmission and display subsystems to provide feature-rich, digital information for driver-only operation (DOO).
Other technologies related to meeting the challenges of raising safety levels on the railways, increasing capacity and improving real-time passenger information.
Tony O’Brien, managing director of the European Solutions team at Panasonic Business, said: “We’ve had consistent feedback from the market that there is a desire for solution providers to demonstrate innovation, rather than continue with less outcome-based activities such as panel debates and workshops.
“Connecting the market directly with our engineers from Japan and Europe allows us to focus our new product development activities and provide industry-specific solutions. This unique collaborative approach will make us an ideal technology partner for organisations that are looking to realise innovation more quickly and with reduced risk.”