Over the course of the last century, manufacturing has begun a downward dive in reputation, leading to less interest in the industry as a career path and, consequently, to broader ignorance in its developments, but there are ways to fix that. As a result, the industry is experiencing a skill-gap in its prospecting professionals who are not being prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. This is apparent in AM, as businesses are still encouraged to “work with the willing, and go from there”, but a lot of projects are starting to deal with this lack in education. Automation is engulfing the production pipeline and many businesses are not sure where to even begin investing their time and resources to start embracing IIoT and other smart technologies.
How to Fix Manufacturing’s Poor Image
U.S. manufacturing suffers from an important image problem that undermines its competitiveness, according to a new survey released on July 13 by Deloitte, along with the Manufacturing Institute. Only 50% of Americans think manufacturing jobs are interesting and less than 30% are likely to encourage their children to pursue a career. However Americans have not yet given up hope on the industry and in fact are overwhelmingly optimistic for its future […] much needs to be done to make sure that the public, including educators and those in a position to guide talent to the industry, understand the facts, the report concludes.
Read more about the findings in the Deloitte report here.
Overcoming the Additive Manufacturing Skill Gap
How does a company owner find experienced talent in an industry that’s only a few years old? This is the problem early adopters of Metal Additive Manufacturing are trying to solve. […] Indeed, additive is already playing an important role in the advanced manufacturing world, but there’s an unresolved pain-point felt across the industry; a small pool of skilled AM professionals, trying to satisfy the workforce needs of a rapidly growing industry.
Read the full article here.
Automation in the Warehouse: Asset or Obstacle?
Automation is a powerful tool and comes in many shapes and forms. In the warehouse, automation is generally used to make gains upon existing processes by improving efficiency, speed, reliability, accuracy and (eventually) cost savings. Gone are the days of thinking that paper-based processes are enough. Automation is at everyone’s disposal, yet investing in it doesn’t mean it will solve every goods-handling issue or be the right fit. Humans are still better at a lot of things.
Read more on smart automation deployment here.
As always, we hope to see you next week for another edition of the News-In-Review! In the mean time, our Twitter feed will keep you topped up on AM and IIoT related news, so check that out as well!
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