Managing mobile devices and workstations on the factory floor: Improving usage, workflows, and performance
Shared devices keep manufacturing moving, but they also introduce security and workflow challenges. Explore how a modern approach to access management helps organizations reduce risk while improving performance across the factory floor.
Walk onto any modern factory floor, and one thing becomes immediately clear: very little work happens in isolation anymore.
Production lines are connected. Systems are layered. Workers move between stations, devices, and applications throughout a shift. And at the center of it all are shared devices: mobile units, fixed workstations, scanners, and terminals that multiple people rely on to keep operations moving.
These shared environments are efficient by design. But they introduce a kind of complexity that many access management strategies weren’t built to handle.
The shared device paradox
For manufacturing organizations, shared devices solve a practical problem. They reduce hardware costs, support shift-based work, and allow teams to stay flexible. A single workstation can support dozens of workers across a day.
But what makes shared devices efficient also makes them difficult to secure.
When multiple users rely on the same endpoint, identity becomes harder to track. Accountability can blur. Access controls that work well in a one-user, one-device model start to break down under the pressure of real-world workflows.
This is where many organizations accept trade-offs. Security teams tighten controls, and operations teams work around them. Or workflows are optimized for speed, and risk is introduced in the process.
Neither approach holds up for long. To understand how widespread this challenge has become, it helps to look at how manufacturers are prioritizing identity and access today:
- Leading manufacturers are 58% more likely than peers to use user and device authentication solutions
- 80% of manufacturers report increased demand for identity and access management solutions
- 32% struggle with managing contractors and third-party access
- Top IT/OT security priorities include improving operational reliability (37%), increasing employee productivity (30%), mitigating risk (25%), and ensuring compliance (17%)
- Digital literacy remains a top skill gap among frontline workers, making ease of use in authentication critical for adoption
Where friction actually shows up
The challenge is not access itself. It is how access fits into the flow of work.
On a factory floor, time is measured in output. A delay of even a few seconds (logging in, switching users, reauthenticating into an application) doesn’t feel like much in isolation. Over the course of a shift, those moments accumulate.
Workers adapt quickly. If logging in is slow, they stay logged in. If switching users is cumbersome, credentials get shared. If security steps interrupt production, they are skipped.
These aren’t edge cases. They’re predictable responses to friction.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this is where risk takes shape. Not because controls are missing, but because they’re misaligned with how people actually work.
The limits of traditional access controls
Many access management systems still reflect an earlier IT model. They assume stable environments, known users, and consistent device ownership.
Manufacturing environments look very different.
They include a mix of legacy systems and modern applications. They depend on shared workstations that need to support rapid user switching. They often involve third-party vendors and temporary workers.
In this context, access controls can’t be static. They need to move with the user, the device, and the workflow.
Rethinking access around how work actually happens
What starts to emerge is a different way of thinking about access management – one that treats identity as part of the workflow, not a checkpoint before it.
On the factory floor, this means access should feel almost invisible. Workers should be able to switch between devices and applications without losing focus. Authentication should happen quickly, consistently, and in ways that match the environment they’re in.
At the same time, security teams need stronger, not weaker, controls. They need clear visibility into who accessed what, when, and under what conditions. They need to support compliance without introducing delays that ripple across production.
Those two needs are often framed as competing priorities. In practice, they’re tightly connected.
When access is fast and intuitive, users are less likely to bypass it. When identity is clearly tied to activity, accountability improves. When systems are designed for shared device environments, both security and efficiency become easier to sustain.
The operational impact of getting it right
This shift isn’t just about improving login experiences. It changes how organizations think about performance.
Faster access reduces idle time on the line. Cleaner session management reduces the risk of unauthorized activity. Consistent access controls across systems simplify audits and reduce the burden on IT teams.
Over time, these improvements compound. Workflows become smoother. Security incidents become easier to investigate. Compliance becomes less disruptive.
Perhaps most importantly, the tension between security and productivity begins to ease.
A more realistic path forward
Manufacturing organizations aren’t starting from scratch. Most already have some form of access controls in place. The challenge is evolving those controls to match the reality of shared devices and modern production environments.
That evolution doesn’t require adding more complexity. In many cases, it means removing it.
It means designing access around shared workstations rather than individual endpoints. It means supporting fast, secure user switching instead of repeated logins. It means extending visibility across both legacy and modern systems, rather than managing them in isolation.
And it means recognizing that on the factory floor, identity isn’t just a security function. It’s part of how work gets done.
Because in environments where uptime, output, and safety are all on the line, access can’t be an obstacle. It has to move at the same pace as the people who rely on it.
Manufacturing environments are getting more complex, especially as shared devices become central to how work gets done. See how a more practical approach to access management can help you reduce risk and keep workflows moving without added friction.