How can you get students interested in jobs in manufacturing? That’s the perennial question that manufacturers have been struggling with for years as they continue to face a critical shortage of skilled workers to fill hundreds of thousands of open positions.
One hurdle to getting students to consider a manufacturing career is the negative impression that many people continue to have about manufacturing in general. Factories are dirty, uncomfortable places to work, right? Manufacturing careers are for people who don’t have the skills to find a better job, correct?
These are the views that manufacturers must battle, and it’s incredibly frustrating because modern manufacturing facilities don’t resemble the buildings full of low-skill assembly line jobs that existed when modern stereotypes were developed.
Instead, today’s manufacturing facilities are marvels of modern technology that need highly skilled workers who want to work with and alongside some of the most advanced technologies available. As manufacturers seek to stay competitive on the global stage, they’ve enthusiastically embraced advanced automation technologies as the means to maximize efficiency and productivity.
In fact, to stay competitive in the modern manufacturing sector, most manufacturers have adopted at least one technology that takes advantage of connecting systems via the Internet of Things (IoT). According to an IoT For All article by Micah Statler, “[b]y leveraging advancements in…IoT…manufacturers are revolutionizing their approach to maintenance and service delivery, particularly through predictive maintenance services.”
Statler highlights three technologies that “are helping manufacturers reduce downtime, optimize resources, and maintain peak operational performance”: “real-time analytics, AI-driven predictive maintenance, and smart sensors.”
For example, smart sensors “which can be integrated into manufacturing machinery – are key to transitioning from reactive to predictive maintenance strategies.” This allows manufacturers to reduce equipment downtime that “can translate to significant production delays and revenue loss.”
Likewise, “IoT-connected devices in manufacturing facilities generate vast amounts of operational data. By leveraging cloud-based real-time analytics platforms, manufacturers can centralize this data for deeper insights…[that] allow operators to prioritize maintenance tasks and adjust workflows, resulting in minimized disruption and improved throughput.”
Building upon analysis of actual data from smart sensors, “[p]redictive maintenance – powered by artificial intelligence (AI) – takes IoT applications to the next level. Machine learning algorithms process sensor data to predict when a component is likely to fail.”
How is that helpful? “Imagine a manufacturer relying on…AI…[to] flag[] potential failure points weeks in advance. Maintenance teams or external service providers can schedule interventions during planned downtime, preventing costly production halts. This proactive approach reduces maintenance costs and extends the lifespan of equipment.”
While these advanced automation technologies offer benefits only imagined a few years ago, they’re not without hurdles to widespread adoption by manufacturers. For starters, many manufacturers already can’t find enough workers to fill open positions. Where are they going to find the highly skilled workers to take advantage of these new technologies?
The solution, of course, is to either upskill current workers or hire new workers with the advanced automation technology skills they require. How can manufacturers be certain prospective workers have the skills they need?
Manufacturers should look for candidates with industry-standard credentials that prove they already possess the skills they need to thrive. For example, if workers possess a certification from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA), employers can feel confident they’ve already proven they have the knowledge and hands-on skills needed for working with advanced smart automation technologies. SACA has been hard at work collaborating with industry leaders to develop a wide variety of industry-standard certifications that will help employers find workers who possess the advanced connected-systems skills they need to take their businesses to the next level. Be sure to check out SACA and all it has to offer!
