Why this article is worth your time:
- Learn about the 6 critical workforce challenges facing manufacturers.
- Discover the important robotics skills industry needs most.
- Find out how to improve the manufacturing workforce's AI and cybersecurity skills.
The move toward greater use of automation has been a key facet of production that precedes the Industrial Revolution. In its earliest forms, automation was commonly known as mechanization, which refers to the replacement of human or animal power with mechanical power of some form, as noted by Brittanica. Examples of such mechanization date back to waterwheels, windmills and simple steam-driven devices.
Within this well-known history are the seeds of concern about machines and other technologies replacing the work and, potentially, the livelihoods of humans. While these concerns are certainly valid, especially as fast-developing technologies are adopted by industry, what is often missed are the new jobs created in these technologies’ wake. Coupled with this is the reality that most people don’t want to work in the dull, dirty and dangerous industrial jobs that once required vast amounts of human labor for much of industry’s history until just a few decades ago.
All of this brings us to where we stand today, as industry faces a lack of skilled workers knowledgeable about the new technologies industry has been adopting to optimize production operations. This problem stems from the general public’s perception of industry as still being dull, dirty and dangerous as well as a general lack of knowledge about the new roles in industry that remain largely unfilled.
To get a better handle on where things stand today — from someone actively working at the intersection of industry, government and academia to solve this issue — Automation World connected with Lisa Masciantonio, chief workforce officer at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute network, for an episode of the “Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered” podcast to answer the question: How Are Robotics and AI Impacting Manufacturing Workforce Issues?
Listen to the Automation World podcast discussion with Lisa Masciantonio.
Critical workforce challenges for manufacturers
Masciantonio noted that there are currently about 800,000 open manufacturing jobs and there are not enough people coming into the workforce to fill those jobs. Added to this is the fact that, in manufacturing, there’s a vast number of older employees leaving the workforce.
“What we're seeing is this labor shortage trajectory getting larger and larger,” Masciantonio said.
This presents industry with six workforce challenges:
- “The first one is that U.S. education is currently insufficient to focus on advanced manufacturing careers,” she said. “If you look at the training programs that are out there, they are not able to move as quickly as the technology is changing.”
- We continue to have negative perceptions of manufacturing. Older generations are telling their kids: ‘Don't get into manufacturing. Your grandfather got laid off. Our whole city crumbled because of it.’
- Negative perceptions about robots taking jobs. “But there are so many unfilled jobs that automation has to be part of the solution,” said Masciantonio.
- Small and medium manufacturers have limited resources to prepare their talent. “They can't afford to bring in training and they can't afford to take people off the line for training if they could afford it.”
- The typical manufacturing workforce is not prepared to re-skill continuously. “They're not focused on that lifelong learning journey to keep pace with all of the technology changes.”
- Industry’s investment in technology is outpacing skills development. “We're not getting the workforce ready to the point that manufacturers can install those solutions.”
Overall, there remains little coordination between initiatives to address these issues, said Masciantonio, which is why the Manufacturing USA Institutes, of which the ARM Institute is a part, were developed “to help be that organization — or sets of organizations — that help to catalyze and innovate for the broader good of the nation.”
The robotics skills industry needs
Masciantonio noted that members of the ARM Institute have developed a free robotics competency framework for manufacturers which can be accessed at roboticscareer.org. This resource outlines 26 key robotics competencies at a fundamental level to highlight the basic skills people should have for a career working with robots in industry.
These skills include:
- Mechanical systems, maintenance and troubleshooting of electronics and controls.
- Knowledge of PLCs, fluid power, vision systems and sensors.
- Machine safety and risk assessments.
- Robot programming.
- Quality inspection.
In addition to these skills, Masciantonio said the ARM Institute framework then helps people connect these skills to industry applications such as:
- Integrating systems across a manufacturing line.
- Analyzing data to bridge manufacturing and engineering requirements.
She pointed out that these technical competencies are only one component of the framework. The other is helping people improve “essential soft skills, such as critical thinking, team problem solving, technological aptitude and leadership. You really can't have a successful pathway if you're not focusing on these soft skills too.”
Developing greater AI and cybersecurity skills
Though AI-powered data analytics have been a part of industrial applications such as predictive maintenance for years now, use of AI in manufacturing has been expanding almost as fast as new AI technologies are being developed.
To offer AI skills development along with its core robotics training, the ARM Institute has just launched a new initiative to build out an AI competency framework. Masciantonio expects this AI framework to be available in spring of 2025.
She noted that key aspects of this AI framework will focus on data analytics and general digital literacy.
“With the rise of smart manufacturing, workers that are currently on staff often don't understand the Internet of Things and Big Data, cloud computing or cybersecurity,” Masciantonio said. “These are new concepts to so many of the workers and they're not realizing the need for them to make that pivot.”
This is a particularly critical need in terms of cybersecurity expertise. “When you look at the instantiation of Industry 4.0 and smart factory tools and techniques, the cybersecurity threats are enormous,” she noted. “But many workers don't understand these threats. For example, a worker could be on the factory floor taking a break and open a social media platform on a computer connected to the plant network. By doing this, they could be opening a gateway for someone to come in and do something malicious.”
Masciantonio pointed out that Manufacturing USA has invested in two institutes focused on cybersecurity to provide free resources for manufacturers to help them secure their systems and avoid cybersecurity risks. Those institutes are:
The ongoing concern about automation replacing humans in industry
We’ve all heard countless examples about how automation frees up manufacturers to move workers to more high-value jobs in the facility. So, I was curious to know from someone like Masciantonio, who works at the intersection of automation and the manufacturing workforce, if they see this playing out in industry at scale.
She said the key lies in helping manufacturers first understand which situations make sense to automate. “They often simply don't have enough people working to get their product out of the manufacturing space. So, it becomes a matter of economic performance and productivity. If their productivity and throughput is reduced because of a workforce gap, that might be a sensible place to automate. It’s about striking the balance between not having enough workers and not being able to pay for the workforce you need because your productivity is down.”
Another instance where automation makes sense is in advanced manufacturing processes that require specific levels of precision and quality metrics. For example, surface treatments on airplane wings or any component used by the military.
In this wing surface treatment example, consider a manufacturer that runs multiple shifts and the worker manually treating the wing surface on one shift is grinding at a certain strength with a particular motion. But on the next shift, the worker applies a different level of strength with a slightly different motion. In such cases, that wing might not pass inspection. This is where automation can address specific production and throughput issues.
Other candidates for automation are those jobs that are widely considered to be dirty, dull and dangerous. Automating these tasks improve worker safety and well-being and, therefore, should be considered key processes to automate.
While these examples address the value of automation overall, what about the often-associated move of workers out of existing jobs and into higher-value jobs?
Masciantonio said the ARM Institute regularly sees such successful transitions but adds that automation is definitely going to change the nature of certain jobs while creating new opportunities. “Many of those opportunities are in higher-skilled, better-paying roles,” she said. “The challenge is to ensure that the workers are part of the decision process and that they're really prepared for these technological shifts.”
To prepare workers for this move, she advises emphasizing human/robot collaboration.
“Encourage lifelong learning to help them step outside of traditional manufacturing functions and embrace those new functions,” she said. “I think manufacturers really have to prioritize reskilling and upskilling and make it part of their workforce’s lifelong learning journey and part of their key investments. And by doing so, manufacturers need to expand accessibility to this kind of training. We should not expect workers to have to step away from their work and not get paid so that they can get upskilled. Accessibility to online training or bringing training in and having a cohort of workers all take the same class so that they're all ready and able when the technology solutions come on board is key.”
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