by Gary Mintchell | Apr 25, 2024 | Operations Management, Workforce
I’ve been working some with a software company called Quickbase (disclaimer: they sometimes pay me for posts without dictating content and also for appearing on webinars and podcasts). They produce a number of products and software solutions in a no-code/low-code environment for customers. I picked up a phrase from them called “Gray Work”—the time lost when searching for data and information. This news announces the release of their second edition of the Gray Work research report – the “Gray Work Index” released April 16.
In brief:
- Work is Harder and Less Meaningful than Ever, and Everybody Knows It
- More than half – 54% – of workers surveyed feel it’s harder than ever to be productive in their day-to-day work and 58% spend less than half a typical work week on meaningful work that drive results
- AI could be a solution, but only if key steps are taken to ensure the right foundation
According to a recent survey by Quickbase, the software application platform for dynamic work management, over half (54%) of 1923 workers in the US and UK feel it is harder than ever to be productive in their day-to-work – even as their organizations ramp up investments in technology tools and software to enhance productivity, work management and collaboration.
Looking across a dozen complex, operationally and process-driven industries (including Construction, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and others), the survey sought to uncover the ways in which disconnected data and information, outmoded and ineffective processes and workflows, and too many technology tools lead employees to feel overwhelmed, ineffective, and frustrated.
- Overwhelmed by technology – 94% of respondents reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of software solutions they need to use every day to get their work done (up from 87% in 2023).
- Too much manual work – 74% of those surveyed say the amount of manual work has either stayed the same or increased compared to one year ago.
- Less time for impactful work – 58% say they spend less than half a typical work week on meaningful work that drives results.
- Hard to get what they need – 45% of respondents say they spend 11+ hours every week chasing information across their organization.
66% of respondents reported that organizations increased investments in tools/software to enhance productivity, work management and collaboration.
Top three challenges per the survey:
- miscommunication (44%)
- duplication of work (43%)
- project delays (42%)
Project management:
- Almost 70% of respondents say the use of multiple project management software solutions makes it harder to share project-related information with others.
- 10% of respondents say they are “extremely confident” in the accuracy of the key project information in their current software solutions
- the remaining 90% express some level of doubt
Quickbase’s “The Gray Work Index” surveyed 1,923 workers in the United States and the United Kingdom & Ireland in February 2024. Respondents included employees from more than a dozen operationally complex industries, including construction, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare, and state & local government.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 25, 2024 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Software
Emerson continues on the software development path. In brief: DeltaV Workflow Management delivers scalable recipe authoring and execution technologies for life sciences companies.
Global automation technology and software leader Emerson on April 16, 2024 introduced DeltaV Workflow Management, a next-generation software designed for life sciences companies in early-stage development. The new software continues Emerson’s expansion of capabilities of the evolving DeltaV automation platform to offer more scalable options to suit the needs of smaller life sciences innovators. For companies with limited IT infrastructure, DeltaV Workflow Management provides a cloud-based, software-as-a-service solution for simple recipe authoring, execution and electronic data capture.
DeltaV Workflow Management transitions recipe workflow data from manual records to digital “paper on glass,” providing a simple and scalable solution that helps accelerate the drug development process with no coding experience required. The software also generates searchable digital records that are easily organized and exported and data that can be more easily analyzed and reported. In addition, this digital shift minimizes the contamination risks associated with paper records in sterile clean rooms.
Within DeltaV Workflow Management, users employ simple drag-and-drop elements to create steps for a recipe and automate workflows that meet Good Manufacturing Practice standards. Within those steps, they can add new parameters and e-signature requirements for quality control and regulatory compliance, run product recipes, authorize users for specific tasks and create digital batch records.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 24, 2024 | Generative AI
A personal development speaker I often listen to delivers a set of talks on developing personal guardrails designed to prevent us from going off the deep end emotionally and relationally. Similarly as we explore this new age of artificial intelligence (AI) people are recognizing that we could use a set of guardrails to help guide our collective decisions using this new technology.
Collective guardrails generally include social norms, laws, and rules. Do we have any existing guardrails that will help us navigate AI? Where might they come from? What guardrails might work? Which might fall short?
Guardrails: Guiding Human Decisions in the Age of AI by Urs Gasser and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger came out recently. I promised to read and review it a couple of months ago. It got buried amongst other reading, plus it is not one of those “skim through” business books. This book has real meat. Based on the latest insights from the cognitive sciences, economics, and public policy, Guardrails offers a novel approach to shaping decisions by embracing human agency in its social context.
The authors with meticulous research lead us through technology approaches and social approaches through laws and regulations revealing the benefits but also the shortcomings of each.
From the press release: In this visionary book, Urs Gasser and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger show how the quick embrace of technological solutions can lead to results we don’t always want and explain how society itself can provide guardrails more suited to the digital age, ones that empower individual choice while accounting for the social good, encourage flexibility in the face of changing circumstances, and ultimately help us to make better decisions as we tackle the most daunting problems of our times, such as global injustice and climate change.
They conclude, “We hope that our readers—and everyone in governments, companies, and communities tasked with confronting some of humanity’s biggest challenges—will embrace this timely opportunity to think about and experiment with smarter guardrails to work toward better, fairer, and more sustainable futures.”
Urs Gasser is professor of public policy, governance, and innovative technology and dean of the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich. His books include (with John Palfrey) Born Digital: How Children Grow Up in a Digital Age. Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is professor of internet governance and regulation at the University of Oxford. His books include Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age (Princeton).
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 24, 2024 | Generative AI
I went to the Aras customer conference for the first time this year. Interesting company, good products, innovative customers. But, sorry, I’m hardly shocked that a survey of 835 “executive level experts” say their companies are not prepared to use Artificial Intelligence. We are all still feeling our way along the path toward discovering if there is a use or not. AR and VR are much farther along the hype curve and still haven’t really found a place.
However, you can check out all the details here.
Aras, a leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) and digital thread solutions, announced today findings from its report, “Spotlight on the Future 2024,” highlighting that nearly 80% of industrial companies lack the knowledge or capacity to successfully use artificial intelligence (AI).
Oh, PLM users seem to be the best positioned to benefit. You can pick up a few ideas from my interview with CTO Rob McAveney.
Despite this unpreparedness, 84% of companies expect AI to provide new or better services, while 82% expect an increase in quality. These findings come from Aras’ recent global industry study in which 835 executive-level experts across the United States, Europe, and Japan were surveyed.
“Adapting and modernizing the existing IT landscape can remove barriers and enable companies to reap the benefits of AI,” said Roque Martin, CEO of Aras. Current gaps in the industry according to Aras’ global study, include capacity bottlenecks 79%, lack of knowledge 77%, reliance on isolated IT applications 75%, and existing data quality concerns 70%.
The findings from the report suggest that augmenting product lifecycle management (PLM) with AI leads to improved effectiveness. Some 75% of respondents noted AI’s influences on their PLM strategy, while 2/3 of respondents said that their current PLM platform and data infrastructure is well-prepared for AI technologies.
Martin added, “Companies that are already using a flexible and modern PLM are much better prepared for the challenges of new, data-intensive technologies, leveraging AI to their benefit.”
Study participants rely primarily on datasets such as product data, quality control data, production data, or customer data. Many survey respondents acknowledge their data quality is not enough to achieve their company’s goals. As a result, 51% of respondents are intensifying their efforts to improve production, while 46% are looking at services data, and 45 percent are paying special attention to research and development datasets. These findings show a growing recognition of the important role that high-quality data plays in driving successful AI use within enterprises.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 22, 2024 | Operations Management, Workforce
I recently connected with Adrian Heaton, Global Service Manager for ABB Measurement, to discuss the global skills shortage for technical talent in our industry.
A 2021 study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute (MI) predicts that 2.1 million manufacturing positions will go unfulfilled by 2030, partly due to an increasing skills gap.
Following are several points Heaton made during our conversation.
Heaton works in the Measurement and Instrumentation group of ABB focusing on services. He told me that from a service resources point-of-view, finding technicians who want to work in the area and have relevant skills is difficult. In Europe it can take 6-12 months to fill a spot.
He told me, “This is reality—not fake news.” (OK, the US meme has reached Germany, from which we connected.)
It appears to be a pretty global situation that tech colleges are an important source for people with technical skills. I’ve witnessed that in the US for several years. Looks like the same in Europe. He also mentioned that that can be a problem as students graduate in one country where opportunities are not abundant, so they move to other countries to find appropriate jobs.
I asked about something I had heard years ago where the large automation suppliers may have an advantage hiring talented people over smaller companies. He said that sometimes customers are having trouble finding people while the large automation suppliers have brand awareness that helps attract applicants. While marketing is key to attracting talent, training and employment contracts that offer more potential for development are also important.
Training, has always been a strong suit at ABB, but they are standardizing more, making it consistent across lines. E-learning of instrumentation is an adjunct to the classroom. Training is prepared as part of product launches so that all concerned can get thorough updates. “It’s the DNA of the product program.”
Safety is an important part of training at ABB. They are taught to evaluate what is risk. Perhaps instrumentation is low voltage but there are enclosed spaces, and underground places to consider. The global services team puts on as many miles driving to sites as miles around the Earth. So driving safety is another part of the service training DNA. “It’s extensive so that the team gets home at night.”
Heaton confirms my observation that Virtual Reality technology seems best suited for training. But it is very expensive to develop the visuals for VR in order to achieve good industrial training.
I asked about Augmented Reality (AR). ABB has a program Visual Remote Support that allows remote experts to “look over the shoulder” of the on site technician. This program was a success during COVID. People couldn’t travel and customers found the experience quite good. But after COVID, people wanted to meet people face-to-face again, so the program has dropped off some. It remains useful for checking things out prior to a visit such that the traveling technician can bring the right tools and parts.
ABB put together training using AR/VR technologies during COVID. They found customer experience was quite good. There were a number of programs where customers could “send” multiple people to training without travel cost. Students could actually manipulate instruments and valves from their remote locations.
AR remote support faces one major challenge for in oil and gas plants and other plants with hazardous areas—you can’t take an iPad in.
I haven’t had a talk with ABB for quite some time. It’s good to see how a major automation company responds to the skills crisis.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 16, 2024 | Design, Operations Management, Software
Develop a new product category, hire an analyst firm to conduct some market research, and show how your new product provides benefits to customers. We see it in some “scientific” studies and also studies broadcast on TV advertisements. Here is one by a company called Makersite who touts their new approach called product lifecycle intelligence (PLI).
Makersite, a software company pioneering a new approach to sustainable product design and sourcing, released research conducted by Forrester Consulting, titled “Transform Product Sustainability into Performance Initiatives with Product Lifecycle Intelligence,” that reveals over half of organizations’ sustainability efforts are driven by regulations despite the benefits from adopting more sustainable product lifecycle intelligence (PLI).
Once again we are eliminating data silos. After more than 15 years of writing about products doing just that, I cannot believe it’s still a problem. It’s like the companies relying on complex Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to manage production. Oops, many still do that, too.
Currently, manufacturers struggle to translate compliance initiatives into making informed decisions during the product design phase due to outdated data systems and data silos. The study, commissioned by Makersite, shows that by implementing PLI to integrate data held within their systems, product engineers in the design phase can create products that are more sustainable (30%), have faster time-to-market (28%), and reap higher profits (26%).
The 2024 study, which included insights from 493 respondents with product design and sourcing decision-makers in manufacturing, also pointed to several operational improvements including the ability to support product lifecycle decisions with better data quality (29%), improved visibility of materials and component supply chains (28%), and more efficient sustainability reporting (28%).
Engineers always have trouble translating their benefit calculations into language the C-suite understands—or even cares about.
Despite the benefits, however, respondents reported experiencing challenges while securing executive support for incorporating sustainability in PLI (53%), measuring and quantifying the environmental impact of their products (51%), and obtaining budget to gather material, component, and supplier intelligence integral to optimizing their product’s quality, cost, and sustainability (50%). These difficulties are a manifestation of poor maintenance of availability, cost, sustainability, and performance data in manufacturers’ material and component libraries – an issue for 49% of decision-makers.
For more insight into the impact of product lifecycle intelligence, download the full commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Makersite: “Transform Product Sustainability into Performance Initiatives with Product Lifecycle Intelligence.”
