What workforce problem has populated every industrial trade press issue for the past 10-15 years? Baby Boomers are retiring taking decades of knowledge with them. How can the new workforce of engineers and technicians be provided the skillset quickly?
Actually, new people have come into the industry continually for years. Recall the conferences you’ve attended (except during the pandemic) over the past several years. The demographic has been trending younger and diverse.
However, the search for better ways to train new workers is, and will be, never ending. We’ve traveled the simulation path. Better virtual reality technology may improve that experience.
Another solution comes from a new company formed in Detroit with former Siemens executives. (The press release says, “with a vision to use AI to accelerate skills training for shop-floor and other highly technical skilled trades workers.”) DeepHow utilize generative AI to enable teams to capture their know-how using a smartphone, turning expertise into step-by-step how-to videos that can be translated into multiple languages in a matter of minutes, to create a unique and extremely valuable library of organizational knowledge that can be effectively transferred to every worker.
This looks like one of many cool uses of technology that may not translate as well into practical everyday use as might be desired. But…it may, if it is easy to use, find widespread usage among industrial engineers.
The recent news concerns funding of the startup. DeepHow has closed $14M in Series A funding. Owl Ventures, a specialist in education technology investing, led the round, with participation from another new investor: LG Technology Ventures. Existing investors Sierra Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, and Foothill Ventures also participated in this round.
DeepHow plans to invest in go-to-market initiatives to accelerate its business growth, and to ramp up its investments in product, engineering, and generative AI innovation. In response to customer demand, DeepHow has already fast-tracked development of powerful product enhancements that leverage the power of generative AI to accelerate SOP video creation, multimodal workflow generation, AI chat assistance, and strategic knowledge mapping.
I had an opportunity to speak with Ken Fisher, SVP of Product Management & Solutions Consulting at QAD Redzone, about ways the US can maintain continued manufacturing through the use of technology.
Redzone is a leading workforce collaboration and connectivity solution company acquired by enterprise and MES software company QAD. Fisher told me that MES is primarily a management tool. The Redzone solution focuses on front-line workers, although supervisors and managers also benefit from the collaboration tools.
They use OEE as one measure of effectiveness because it’s an easy way to benchmark, a good way to compare. However, Redzone acknowledges that OEE can also be easily gamed by operators and others, so they apply filters to try to standardize data as much as possible. Evaluating success does not stop with OEE. They also go to the controller to check on P&L numbers such as overtime hours worked.
A plant implementing a new MES may see a productivity improvement by as much as 2%, while a typical Redzone implementation results in about a 29% improvement.
The solution is essentially an app that runs on tablets but is also accessible by smart phone. It’s intuitive to use applying familiar tablet technologies. But the solution is not just an app on an iPad. Redzone’s application also includes coaching on how to best use the tools.
A few features:
Reduces administrative load on operators’ data entry
Gives a voice to the operator using various chat and communication tools
Employee engagement enhanced
Works within a Lean culture
Includes a skills matrix to find the right person to fill a slot in an emergency
Allows personnel to pinpoint and deal with anomalies during the day
These new data from QAD Redzone found that 700 factories raised their overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) by an average of 21 points after just one year of using these types of tools. Additionally, a variety of less-tangible benefits were noted, including enhanced communication and collaboration, greater worker engagement and retention, lower absenteeism, enhanced operational flexibility and agility, and more.
Based on actual anonymized production data directly from the plant and equipment, the productivity benchmark report is the largest and most comprehensive study of plant productivity of its kind. The study includes:
Starting plant performance (OEE) benchmarks by industry
Resulting OEE uplift and productivity improvement
How results vary by continuous improvement (CI) maturity
How results vary by starting point
Estimated annual savings by plant size
Based on on-site assessments, our Engagement Study explores how 50 plants authentically transformed their levels of frontline engagement by tapping into the laws of human nature.
These plants increased productivity and reduced staff turnover by focusing on these five areas of engagement:
Festo has made significant investments in education and training over the past few years in Mason, Ohio just outside of Cincinnati. This news notes the next step.
Festo Didactic Learning Systems North America and its partners announced plans for the Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program (MAP) at its Regional Service Center (RSC) in Mason with industry, education, and government coming together.
And a word from a graduate.
“Festo’s side of the apprenticeship provided an affordable, unique, hands-on approach to learning mechatronics. This program taught me the very basics of electrical power up to advanced industrial troubleshooting,” said former Festo Didactic Apprentice, Kenneth Bibb. “I was able to gain more learning and experience with Festo than I would have in a traditional four-year university. Festo has set my life up perfectly by providing the skills I needed through the apprenticeship to begin a successful Mechatronics Engineering career.”
The award-winning mechatronics program has been a growing collaboration among Art Metal Group, Clippard Instruments, E-Beam, MQ Automation, Nestlé, Festo Didactic, and others. At its core, MAP supports manufacturers locally and nationally in training and retaining skilled workers. Heading into its sixth year, MAP will begin accepting apprenticeships on a rolling admission basis instead of a semester schedule. The program will consist of 57 weeks of training instead of five semesters. This transition will allow for more apprentices to enroll faster, train faster, and get to work faster.
My grandfather launched a solid career in manufacturing through an apprenticeship program in the early 1900s. Companies stopped doing that for a long time. I’m happy to see a rebirth.
Nationwide, apprenticeship continues to experience strong growth. On September 1, 2022 the White House launched the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative—a national network of more than 200 employers and other organizations who signed on to create almost 500 hundred new registered apprenticeship programs. Through the new federal initiative, companies agreed to build new programs across a wide range of industries and to hire 10,000 new apprentices in the coming year. The Department of Labor also announced plans to invest over $330 million through grants to states, employers, labor organizations, and workforce intermediaries to expand and diversify Registered Apprenticeships.
According to apprenticeship.gov, managed by the Department of Labor (DoL), 93% of apprentices who complete an apprenticeship retain employment, with an average annual salary of $77,000.
While we are on a robot/human collaboration theme, take a look at this exoskeleton from WearTech Center. The evolution of ergonomics and human-assist tech has fascinated me for a very long time. I’m old enough to remember the hard and dangerous ways. Given some of the stuff I’ve done early in my career, I’m lucky to be hear with all my extremities intact.
The WearTech Center, an applied research center accelerating the development of emerging technology products, along with Arizona-based wearable device companies GoX Labs and AKE, and Arizona State University’s top mechanical engineering researchers, are advancing worker wellness and safety with new exoskeleton technology. Through the public-private collaboration, Arizona-based innovators announced they are developing a new exoskeleton that will make workplaces safer for millions of workers in many industries. The wearable exoskeleton technology called PhenEx will help workers squat and lift heavy loads promoting overall worker health.
Previously, GoX Labs, AKE and ASU successfully developed a similar ex called the Aerial Porters Exoskeleton, or APEx. More than $31 million is spent annually in disability benefits for retired aerial porters, who had a high incidence of musculoskeletal injuries, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center study. To promote worker wellness and make pushing and lifting easier and safer, APEx is designed to assist people in loading a 10,000-pound pallet and pushing it onto an airplane.
“There are 89 million workers exposed to injury at work every day. As Arizona continues to grow as a hub for many different industries, the need for exoskeletons that promote workplace wellness only increases. Working through the WearTech Center to collaborate with ASU’s researchers gives us the push we need to take our technology to the next level,” said Dr. Joseph Hitt, CEO of GoX Labs.
At the WearTech Center, GoX Labs’ and AKE’s exoskeleton technology product development follows the applied research model which accelerates the process via collaboration with public and private sectors partners. The center shepherds these innovative products through the idea generation, project formation, validation, and commercialization phases.
“Innovations like what GoX Labs, AKE and ASU are developing through the WearTech Center have a high impact on reducing workplace injuries and enhancing Arizona’s economic development,” said Wes Gullett, Operations Director of Applied Research Centers for the Partnership for Economic Innovation. “The Arizona Legislature’s public investment in applied research capabilities and our ability to connect innovators to the tools they need to accelerate their product’s development grows Arizona’s economy and fuels its innovation opportunities.”
APEx is already being used by the U.S. Air Force by aerial porters to load heavy cargo onto planes. GoX Labs, AKE and ASU are continuing their collaborative efforts creating the quasi-active exoskeleton PhenEx with the support of the WearTech Center. The wearable PhenEx leverages sensors to activate spring elements when workers need to perform physical activities for their jobs. The quasi-active exoskeleton unlocks when the worker is at rest, walking or driving as to not hinder motion. The WearTech Center will assist with applied research and testing for product development.
GoX Labs and AKE will test out PhenEX on local employers like Amazon, Lucid Motors, and other industry partners through WearTech. Arizona employers can get involved in the testing of PhenEx by emailing [email protected].
I’ve had a hectic couple of weeks. Therefore, I didn’t post much last week, and I’m a bit late today. One of my brothers caught the corona-virus bug. One thing led to another, and I traveled back to Ohio last week for a funeral. We were four. Now we are two.
On the plus side of things, we visited Indianapolis over the weekend before to watch our granddaughter swim in a regional, invitation meet. As a 12-year-old, her times would put her in the top half of the high school league we left behind. On the other hand, she’ll have to improve those times to even make the team in the high school she’ll attend. They are much more serious about swimming up here in the west Chicago suburbs.
ARC Forum was to be next week, but it has been postponed to June. We were going to vacation for a week visiting my wife’s two sisters. However, she slipped on ice while hiking at a state park yesterday and broke her wrist. Now, we wait for the surgeon’s diagnosis and treatment later this week.
Like I say, crazy.
Meanwhile, I’ve had a communication link with a Rockwell Automation communications strategist. I told her that no company has changed as much the past five years as Rockwell. The software strategy seems more solid. The executive team has diversified bringing in women, minorities, and (gasp) outsiders. I’m also pleased that corporations are stepping in where governments fear to tread to improve things for society at large.
Here is news (with more to come) from Rockwell regarding its efforts in the area of human rights and equality. Oh, yes, I should mention before the news, that earnings and stock price seem to be doing well, too.
Rockwell Automation has earned a top score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report that measures corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. This is the 10th consecutive year Rockwell has earned a perfect score.
“Earning the top rating on this index is important to us because it’s one of the ways we can show potential employees that we offer a safe and equitable work environment,” said Rockwell’s Becky House, senior vice president, Chief People and Legal Officer. House also serves as executive sponsor of ROKout, the company’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group.
“We work to create an environment where all people can bring their full selves to work,” said House. “We listen to what our employees want and need, and we try to follow through with new benefits and other initiatives.”
For example, in 2021, Rockwell expanded its medical benefits package with enhanced coverage for transgender employees.
“Updating and aligning our healthcare benefits with our values demonstrates how we continually strengthen our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Rockwell’s Samantha Murphy, a system engineer and ROKout’s transgender liaison. “It’s one thing for a company to talk about inclusion; it’s another to carry it through.”
Established in 2013, ROKout provides a networking and support resource for LGBTQ+ employees and allies, helping to foster an inclusive workplace where all employees are empowered to be their authentic selves. The ERG is a valued voice for LGBTQ+ issues related to recruitment, retention, culture, and benefits.
“Congratulations to Rockwell Automation for working to advance inclusion in the workplace and achieving the title of ‘best places to work for LGBTQ+ equality,’” said Jay Brown, Human Rights Campaign senior vice president of Programs, Research and Training.
“When the Human Rights Campaign Foundation created the Corporate Equality Index 20 years ago, we dreamed that LGBTQ+ workers—from the factory floor to corporate headquarters, in big cities and small towns—could have access to the policies and benefits needed to thrive and live life authentically,” Brown continued. “But there is still more to do to create more equitable workplaces and a better tomorrow for LGBTQ+ workers everywhere.”
I have worked in manufacturing as an hourly worker and alongside hourly workers. Despite spending many years in management among some who held condescending views of them, I’ve found most hourly workers to be intelligent, hard working, and creative. Companies that have discovered how to build teams of “knowledge” workers and “hourly” workers have discovered rewards from increased productivity, reduced scrap, improved quality, and better relationships.
Although I seldom write on human resources, a white paper found its way to me called Human Resources in Supply Chain & Manufacturing: How Industry 4.0 Will Play Out. Authored by insiders from General Motors, Whirlpool, Alcoa, General Mills, and the Boston Consulting Group, this forecast and trend report for HR professionals in the manufacturing and supply chain industry contains insights and advice.
The authors of the paper have developed a technology to meet the demand for ways to foster communication between employer and employee. The company, TeamSense, was acquired by Fortive last year.
The authors are Sheila Stafford, a mechanical engineer who has developed a technology to systemize COVID-19 symptom tracking and is currently CEO of TeamSense, Alison Teegarden, a graduate of Stanford, Peking University and the Harvard School of Business, who developed a mobile text tool while at Pioneer Square Labs, and Eric Welke, a supply chain expert from Alcoa, General Mills and Yoplait.
TeamSense makes a human resources technology that is used by the manufacturing industry to revolutionize communications between deskless workers and their employers. The use of technology was utilized, specifically to close a communications chasm that currently exists between teams of hourly workers and their employers.
Industry 4.0 is upon us, yet 90% of funding for technology innovation ignores 80% of the global workforce, the hourly makers of the manufacturing industry. The shift toward smart factories, combined with the pandemic and labor challenges, has created a new blue ocean of opportunity for technology innovation to impact the manufacturing industry and the hourly workers who make it run. Specifically, there are many human resources processes in this industry in need of a next generation upgrade. Manufacturers need updated tools to attract and retain hourly talent and remain competitive in the future.
Despite it being a time in history when technology such as artificial intelligence has almost reached human levels of understanding, hourly workforces are often still being managed in antiquated ways. In 2021, supervisors are still making phone calls and leaving voicemails to call on / off team’s of 1000’s to 10,000’s of workers. Because hourly workers do not have corporate emails and some do not speak the same language as their employer, it’s not easy (or fast) to communicate with these teams. While it may seem unlikely, these practices persist in this industry.
There are many hourly worker processes that remain laborious, outdated and paper-intensive such as attendance, tracking COVID symptoms, sick days, onboarding, exiting and team announcements. Updated systems are needed to reach this population easily and quickly for emergencies and high stakes standard operating procedures, such as incident reporting. The opportunities that exist for technology to ease these burdens are endless, exciting and portend to skyrocket efficiencies for manufacturers.
