One Piece of the Manufacturing Workforce Challenge Puzzle

The existence of a manufacturing workforce shortage is old news. I wrote about it in a December 2019 blog, and it wasn't new news even then! But what we're hearing now from the manufacturing community echoes what we're all hearing, reading, and seeing more broadly — the pandemic has exacerbated workforce shortages across most sectors of the United States economy.

• People have been retiring both earlier and in greater numbers in response to the pandemic. This is especially challenging when you add it to the "gray wave" manufacturing was already experiencing before the pandemic.
• Further, some people have been pivoting to other kinds of work, sometimes to be able to work from home. Others have been moving to new geographic locations. In both cases, more people have been leaving their jobs. 
• Additionally, many people have been rethinking their ideas about work, and that has translated into an increased desire for more interesting, fulfilling, and/or balanced jobs and career paths.

The impact on small to medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) is an acute workforce crisis. Experienced workers are leaving in droves, and it's hard to get new workers in the door — even with the promise of training. When new workers do come on board, there's a significant risk of them leaving because they find the job uninteresting or being lured away after six months because competitors can offer higher wages for already-trained labor.

Being shy a few workers is one thing. Operating without 25% of the employees you need to run your operation is another thing altogether.

What We're Doing

In talking with SMMs and others in our community, it has become clear that automation is a key part of the solution to the manufacturing workforce problem. Automation can simultaneously fill some of the workforce gaps and free the workforce that is available to perform more interesting and higher-value tasks.

Collaborative robots, or cobots, are a natural place to start on the automation spectrum. Capable of being programmed — and reprogrammed — for an almost limitless array of tasks, working essentially around the clock, operating safely around people, and costing less than many other options, cobots are an ideal first step in manufacturing automation.

Machine tending, a repetitive and relatively low-value set of tasks, is a logical entry point for cobots in many manufacturing operations. Another potential gateway is parts finishing, where the workforce challenge is compounded by a combination of boring and ergonomically demanding work.  

To help SMMs expand the use of this type of automation, EWI now has dedicated space in Buffalo’s Northland Workforce Training Center to develop first-generation systems to support a Haas CNC lathe and a Haas CNC mill, and we are currently proving them out.

This project will serve as the foundation for an SMM-focused platform combining cobots with advanced inspection and process technologies. We hope to be ready in the next few months to work with local manufacturers on getting the first systems out on the factory floor and integrated with their workflows.

At the same time, we have absorbed lessons learned in the development phase and are already assessing what we need for second-generation systems that will either provide machine tending for other types of machines or lend themselves to parts finishing. We expect success in the first-generation applications to spur broader interest in this type of automation and want to be prepared for the next stage.

What This Gives Manufacturers

This project is classic EWI. With expertise in identifying options and then developing and implementing solutions to meet manufacturing challenges, we are charging ahead with one solution — and we recognize that it must be one of many — to today's dire workforce shortage.

We expect the work we are doing will provide manufacturers relief, hope, and help in multiple ways:

• Cobots can almost immediately fill at least some of the workforce gaps in a cost-effective manner.
• Higher-tech environments with more interesting roles for workers hold the promise of both attracting and retaining employees if boring or ergonomically challenging tasks are removed from the equation.
• EWI can help tailor these largely ready-made systems to individual manufacturing operations and offer support throughout implementation.

Ultimately, we believe these efforts will enhance productivity, growth, and competitiveness. What manufacturer doesn't want that?

Interested in learning more about what we're doing with cobots? Or how we might help your operation think through automation options to mitigate your workforce shortage? Leave a message here or contact me directly.