This post was originally published on this site.
This is a particularly critical need in terms of cybersecurity expertise. “When you look at the instantiation of Industry 4.0 and smart factory tools and techniques, the cybersecurity threats are enormous,” she noted. “But many workers don’t understand these threats. For example, a worker could be on the factory floor taking a break and open a social media platform on a computer connected to the plant network. By doing this, they could be opening a gateway for someone to come in and do something malicious.”
Masciantonio pointed out that Manufacturing USA has invested in two institutes focused on cybersecurity to provide free resources for manufacturers to help them secure their systems and avoid cybersecurity risks. Those institutes are:
The ongoing concern about automation replacing humans in industryÂ
We’ve all heard countless examples about how automation frees up manufacturers to move workers to more high-value jobs in the facility. So, I was curious to know from someone like Masciantonio, who works at the intersection of automation and the manufacturing workforce, if they see this playing out in industry at scale.
She said the key lies in helping manufacturers first understand which situations make sense to automate. “They often simply don’t have enough people working to get their product out of the manufacturing space. So, it becomes a matter of economic performance and productivity. If their productivity and throughput is reduced because of a workforce gap, that might be a sensible place to automate. It’s about striking the balance between not having enough workers and not being able to pay for the workforce you need because your productivity is down.”
Another instance where automation makes sense is in advanced manufacturing processes that require specific levels of precision and quality metrics. For example, surface treatments on airplane wings or any component used by the military.
In this wing surface treatment example, consider a manufacturer that runs multiple shifts and the worker manually treating the wing surface on one shift is grinding at a certain strength with a particular motion. But on the next shift, the worker applies a different level of strength with a slightly different motion. In such cases, that wing might not pass inspection. This is where automation can address specific production and throughput issues.
Other candidates for automation are those jobs that are widely considered to be dirty, dull and dangerous. Automating these tasks improve worker safety and well-being and, therefore, should be considered key processes to automate.
While these examples address the value of automation overall, what about the often-associated move of workers out of existing jobs and into higher-value jobs?
Masciantonio said the ARM Institute regularly sees such successful transitions but adds that automation is definitely going to change the nature of certain jobs while creating new opportunities. “Many of those opportunities are in higher-skilled, better-paying roles,” she said. “The challenge is to ensure that the workers are part of the decision process and that they’re really prepared for these technological shifts.”
To prepare workers for this move, she advises emphasizing human/robot collaboration.
“Encourage lifelong learning to help them step outside of traditional manufacturing functions and embrace those new functions,” she said. “I think manufacturers really have to prioritize reskilling and upskilling and make it part of their workforce’s lifelong learning journey and part of their key investments. And by doing so, manufacturers need to expand accessibility to this kind of training. We should not expect workers to have to step away from their work and not get paid so that they can get upskilled. Accessibility to online training or bringing training in and having a cohort of workers all take the same class so that they’re all ready and able when the technology solutions come on board is key.”
More industrial workforce coverage from Automation World: