We’ve all heard the news stories of employers that are not able to fill jobs. It’s been a challenge for all segments of the industry. Even in areas of high tech, which is not unusual. In the manufacturing industry, it’s been a long-time coming. Workers struggle with plant conditions, including the technology that manufacturers have or have not invested in.
Are you still using paper to do your work? How about white boards in your shift huddles? Magnets to post instructions and warnings in various areas throughout the shop?
It’s difficult to attract workers into that environment. No matter their age, your workforce is using technology to do everything now. From grocery shopping to visiting the doctor, the pandemic has put all of us on the technology ride for everything. How, then, can you engage workers in using paper packets in plastic sleeves?
The top 3 issues we hear for reasons that manufacturers are not investing in technology are the cost, the fear of the implementation and just not knowing what they need. Here we are in June, and tens of thousands of young students just graduated from universities and colleges across the country. These are people looking for work. They also have been embedded in the use of technology during that journey.
I was watching an ad for a major, online-only university that now offers a laptop to every student to access their content. The laptop is included in their school charges and is teaching these learners to work not through books and paper but the digital trail. Whether that’s through on-line video classes or the submission of work, they are using the digital platform to do it. It then gives them a new laptop when they graduate for use in the workforce.
How, then, are you engaging these same people to work? Are you thinking about these people as a workforce for you? Imagine that you were able to remove the paper packets from your shop? Imagine, further, that you provided every person all the information and materials they needed to do their work when and where they needed them. What if your workforce were able to be more productive for you and less frustrated with the work? Would a more engaged and happy workforce help you make more money?
Over the summer, we want to start a conversation around tools you provide your workforce to help you be more profitable. We’re naturally going to spend time talking about an MES, as that’s what we know most about, but also ERPs and other tools, including huddle topics. We’re basing the conversation on the areas of most typical waste in a shop floor. First stop, inventory. More on that next week.
We believe in the critical importance of manufacturing for companies of all sizes right here in North America. We are a software company that believes in standard toolsets affordable for shops from 20 to 200. We believe in finding manufacturers the tools they need to work, whether it's a simple Google doc, an Excel sheet or a Production Control system. To learn more about meeting your targets for 2021 or just getting a question answered, visit us at CIMx Software.