Rail (UK)

Manufactur­er seeks industry’s views on supply chain innovation

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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.”

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