Robots: The Complementary Solution to Address Labor Shortage
NOW HIRING! Signs are prominently positioned on many doors across American businesses. America is open for business, and organizations are hiring.
In my Midwest area alone, all point-of-purchase retailers, small manufacturers, and large corporations are adding headcount, presumably as they ramp up to pre-COVID hours, meet customer demand, and experience growth. Companies are increasing visibility to their employee benefits and creatively positioning their organization as a desirable employer. Lacking a robust field of quality hires, human resource personnel are casting wide nets to attract talent. They are using career forums, employment search engines, employee referral programs, local chambers of commerce, in-person hiring events, etc. The career search engines, newspaper, and radio are flooded with advertisements touting immediate hire, open houses, and sign-on bonuses. Companies are pulling no stops to tout their company culture as the ultimate employment desire and are leveraging any and all communication to reach the demographic of employable personnel.
It is a fact there is a critical lack of skilled labor for the trades. Thought leaders, celebrities, and organizations themselves have been vocal, practically shouting, how education is not preparing the future work force for skilled trades. In the 1980s, manufacturing was positioned as undesirable and dirty, and got a bad reputation as a career choice. Today, manufacturing is a large component of the US economy and needs to be powered with a talented, robust workforce. And yet, there is a shortfall of labor. Throughout manufacturing organizations, employment opportunities run the full employment range from white-collar professional services to hands-on blue collar, with entry level roles to advanced professionals.
Education has begun a pivot and is now incorporating STEAM and STEM education. This is critical to build the next generation of employable workers. However, students of today are not naturally equipped for the skills the current market demands, and the nation is experiencing the labor gap. Makerspaces and fab labs are starting to infiltrate the school model for all subject matter. Technical schools and community colleges are also pivoting to meet the demands of today. It is important to adapt quickly to help local employers find skilled labor and deliver employable students.
Trade Shows such as ProMat, Modex, Automate, and Pack Expo continue to expand and showcase how the factory of today is experiencing transformation, largely due to integrating new technologies and innovation. It is relevant to say the factory of yesteryear has faded as it shifts into a new industrial revolution as manufacturing continues to elevate processes and leverage emerging technologies, wherever they can. Companies who utilize the combination of human capital and automation will see their efforts roll to the bottom line and profits soar as they maximize efficiencies, reduce and eliminate waste, and leverage human capital.
The winning companies will include efficiencies gained by incorporating new technologies. AI and robots are gaining popularity as viable solutions for manufacturing and industry. Robots can be the complementary solution to fill the labor shortage and leverage human capacity for positions that require complex human decision-making abilities. Robots are partnering with humans to automate the line by taking on the repetitive, hard-to-fill positions and leaving sophisticated, more mentally challenging positions for humans.
Robots may be initially considered “expensive” as companies look to incorporate new technologies. New technology presents some “fear” as one begins to learn how robots can make process improvements. The perceived challenge is not a mountain that cannot be climbed! Partner with a robotics company eager to ask questions, learn your operation, and perfect your process. Investment cycles are driven by budgeting and Capital Equipment Expenditures (CapEx). In fact, small to medium manufacturing companies stand a chance to gain the greatest in overall production process improvement. A popular solution that eliminates the budget cycle time constraint is the Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. Robotic automation is available to personalize and improve your process flow. Employment constraints somewhat dissipate as repetitive tasks are reliably filled with robotic automation. The hiring constraints and personnel issues ease as the sheer volume of employees are not in demand to fill the repetitive, mentally unchallenging, commonly vacant positions.
Robotics is becoming easier to incorporate as venture capitalists invest heavily in start-ups, positioned to make robotic technology accessible for all. Technology advancements and innovation continue to address today’s industrial challenges. All businesses across America will continue to evolve as they leverage human and robotic capital in shared space. Small and medium manufacturing facilities are in a strong position to incorporate robotic automation integration.
