“Manufacturers all across the country and every manufacturing sector are facing the hiring challenge. They need people with technical skills, with technical aptitude, with a continually learning the new technologies that come.” Carolyn Lee, director at the Manufacturing Institute.
The National Association of Manufacturers has stated a record 522,000 jobs remained available in the sector as at September. A surge from last year’s 508,000 reported by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte. With the apparent talent gap in the sector and the dwindling prospects due to misperception and the potential dangers in the job, the leading question we now find ourselves asking is: “What can be done?”
Possible answer: Robotics.
For those long repetitive tasks
Robots are designed specifically to do remote work. The one that puts the average human off by constant repetitive tasks like placing parts into machines or pushing the same button over and over again for hours. Many manufacturers have faced the problem of high turnover percentages due to these types of jobs. Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. listed this as a reason skilled machine operators did not stay more than their first day. Using robots, the company managed to save $180,000 yearly.
Safety is paramount
The perception of high risk and low payment is a big issue for recruiters in this sector. Reports state that work in the factory causes 3 deaths per 100,000. Inexperienced workers have a higher risk and are prone to the many hazards that may occur on the working places of the industry. This is one of the major contributors to lower retention. Many manufacturers may find themselves spending a lot of money on health schemes and safety awareness.
This bodes a huge problem for both recruitment and retention with a lot of potential labour already knowledgeable of the hazards before them. Now, robots not only improve the overall safety, but they also contribute to the preservation and retention of the highly sought-after talent.
Robots are faster and more reliable
Adidas cut downtime delay with the shipment when they opened the Speedfactory. The company stated to the media that the factory was ‘reinventing manufacturing’ by fully automating production. Two of the major hazards of manufacturing are heavy objects and transportation. Start-up companies create spare parts considering two main robotic needs: weight and speed.
Up!
Drones were initially used for military function but have recently gained significant commercial footing. It’s easy to see how they have impacted the manufacturing sector with their modern versatility. Drones allow for better landscape surveillance than planes, easier location of raw materials, and faster transportation. Drones are uniquely able to fly at very low ground level for better surveillance and take advantage of vertical space. This is very useful for offsite transportation. Some companies have begun to use drones to deliver parts for manufacturing as SEAT, a Spanish car manufacturer.
A solution to transportation logistics
Truck transportation is responsible for the delivery of more than 70% of manufactured goods. With the advent of AI, most of the issue of transportation and logistics can be solved via automated trucks. They largely reduce the human factor that slows down the delivery system in the manufacturing industry.
And the future?
Manufacturers may see a dawn of a revolution in the sector within the next decade. There is apprehension as to the availability of jobs if robots do them instead. But here is what Joe Gemma chief regional officer for the Americas at KUKA Robotics Corp has to say to that: “There is no statistical information that proves that automation is reducing opportunities. Every time robot sales go up in the past few years, unemployment has gone down.”
With cheaper production and more jobs, a foreseeable rise in living standards is next in line. The future of manufacturing, despite its present problems, has probably never looked so promising.
