Addressing Workforce Challenges with Automation and Robotics

With evolving manufacturing market demands, there’s a constant need to improve operational processes and performance with minimal chances of error. However, industrial operations are complex and risky. Along with the continuous pressure for higher productivity and faster output, companies have recently been increasingly facing workforce challenges. 

Over the last few years, skilled labor shortages have been a significant concern. The industrial sector is also experiencing high employee turnover rates, unfilled positions, skills gaps, and rising wage demands. A recent report, Manufacturing could be short 1.9M workers if the talent gap isn’t fixed, claims that if the current global skills gap is not addressed, there could be a shortage of 1.9 million workers over the next decade!

Fast-paced technological advancements can help deal with these problems to a considerable extent. For instance, automation and robotics have significantly transformed industrial operations and boosted production. They also address safety concerns, reduce operational costs, and augment human capabilities. In the upcoming years, automation and robotics will extend even more robust support to industries and proficiently cater to the changing demands. 

Here’s more about addressing workforce challenges with automation and robotics and implementing them successfully for the best possible outcomes. 

Workforce Challenges

Industrial demands are highly fluctuating. They involve complex operations, heavy standards, strict protocols, and uncompromised quality. Workers must be skilled enough to handle intricate machinery and carry out extensive tasks efficiently. Besides, rare seasonal peaks and unpredictable demand cycles can be physically exhausting. These pressing workforce challenges make it difficult to align with the dynamic nature of manufacturing industries. 

Here are some of the major challenges experienced by modern-day industries recently:

Labor Shortages and High Demand for Skilled Workers

New-age innovations have drastically reshaped conventional industrial operations. Technologies like AI and ML are powering day-to-day tasks. This has widened the skill gaps since workers need to adopt emerging tech innovations and enhance their existing competencies to remain relevant and productive. The aging workforce finds it challenging to develop these skills, and new-age employees are not attracted much to the highly demanding industrial space. This ultimately leads to labor shortages and increases the demand for skilled workers.  
Increasing Operational Costs and Turnover
Manufacturing units already have strained budgets due to the competitive nature of the labor market. Besides, the operational costs of the production floor are too high. There’s a constant need to synchronize demand and supplies, maintain quality control practices, and integrate the latest technical advancements to ensure maximum output. Businesses must also incur recruitment costs, invest in consistent training and development, and address rising wages and benefits demands to avoid turnovers.

Pressure for Higher Productivity and Faster Output

As modern businesses increasingly adopt a consumer-centric approach, they must stand out in their services and products. The market space is becoming more competitive every day, which often puts pressure on higher productivity and faster deliveries without compromising quality. Humans have physical limitations. They cannot work 24/7 without breaks or getting fatigued, so they often get exhausted by these critical demands. Also, there is a higher chance of error in manual operations, ultimately affecting overall business performance and productivity.   

Role of Automation and Robotics 

As the world gears up for Industry 4.0, successful digital transformations are the need of the hour. Automation and robotics have revolutionized industries and simplified complex and extensive operations. Here’s how automation and robotics solve workforce issues:

Smart Factories

Smart manufacturing is an urgent priority for resilient industrial operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has especially exposed the inefficiencies of traditional manufacturing ecosystems and how a digital-first approach can minimize operational disruptions. Thus, leveraging automation and robotics fosters interconnected systems with complete visibility. This improves industrial performance substantially and eliminates the need for manual coordination and decision-making. There are intelligent technologies involved, like demand forecasting, predictive analysis, Big Data Analytics, 

Reduced Costs

Automation and robotics enable smart factories with streamlined operations, enhanced control and monitoring, and strategic resource allocation. They automate repetitive and mundane tasks and thus save considerable time, energy, and effort. This reduces operational costs, hiring costs, training and development investments, and constant reskilling and upskilling demands. Automation and robotics also help with flexibility and scalability and can efficiently cater to changing business needs. So, there’s no need to increase hiring when there’s a sudden spike in demand. 

Workplace Safety

Industrial operations involve physically demanding tasks, and they are highly unsafe. Since heavy equipment and machinery are involved, one has to remain extremely careful on the factory floor. Humans are prone to make mistakes, and even a small one can cause significant damage. However, automation and robotics help create safe workspaces. They eliminate risks by reducing human dependencies for critical industrial operations. For instance, laser scanners, safety laser scanners, obstacle detection and other sensors trigger warnings in case of potential mishaps.  Besides, industrial robots can efficiently carry out exhaustive tasks without manual intervention. 

Implementing Automation Successfully 

Implementing automation and robotics has its challenges and complexities. It requires technical suitability, strategic planning, and workforce preparedness. Although human intervention reduces to a large extent, it is impossible to eliminate it completely. There must be skilled employees who can manage and maintain automated systems, handle their operations, and make intellectual decisions. Besides, industrial automation demands enormous upfront costs, regular maintenance, and infrastructural upgrades. Thus, the best way is to start small and scale with time to maximize benefits.   

Real-World Benefits of Robotics and Automation

According to The International Federation of Robotics, there are over 4 million robots operating in factories worldwide. Business giants like Amazon, BMW, Ford, and Walmart have already adopted automation and robotics to address skills shortages. The reduced dependency on human labor produces greater output. Additionally, there are no burnouts, fatigue, or inconsistencies. Thus, they efficiently address labor challenges that industries and manufacturing units face and establish sustainable long-term solutions for driving growth and improving performance. Also, they complement human capabilities and fill in gaps, resulting in substantial improvements. 

Hokuyo: Smart Solutions For Your Automation Needs

High-quality smart safety sensors are crucial to automation and robotics solutions. These devices help detect a variety of parameters for real-time monitoring and control. Their unmatched reliability and performance ensure a safer and more efficient working environment. 
At Hokuyo, we offer top-notch sensing solutions integrated with the latest advanced technologies for remarkable precision and efficiency. These can effectively cater to all your factory automation, logistics automation, and process automation needs.