ERP software can also help manage the whole manufac- turing enterprise, especially around project programs, linking internal and external business operations, helping to plan and manage those resources. Increasingly, much of this software runs on a cloud, too, releasing manufacturers from the cost of software licensing and the frequent headaches of maintenance and manage- ment. Instead, manufacturers rely on Software as a Service (SaaS) models, often with a periodic fee, accessing their software wherever they are in the world and allowing for more simple global integration, which is becoming commonplace in today’s manufacturing environment.
Given the tight skilled-labor market, another major trend in software manufacturing is the push to make all software and machines more accessible and easy to use for less skilled workers. That’s especially true when it comes to the controls on the machine, where machinists are especially in demand. Developing robots that are controlled with standard machine controls, rather than complicated robotics language, is also on the horizon, another simplification meant to address a short- age of certain high-skilled workers.
Further upstream, tools to analyze what some are calling “big data” may lead to more rapid matching of production with demand, or even customize products in real time.
Productivity and Workforce Development The shortage of high-skilled workers is a serious prob- lem for the US, especially its manufacturing industry. While some debate its size and scope, the short- age of workers is already changing the way manufac- turers do business and is, according to many firms, straining operations and curtailing growth. A 2011 report authored by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, “Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing,” notes that the biggest areas of workforce shortage “are those that impact operations the most and require the most training,” such as tech- nicians and engineers. That report pinned the shortage at 600,000, despite a consistently high unemployment rate for several years, ranging between 8 and 10%. Even though a report from the Boston Consult- ing Group challenged the notion that the workforce shortage was very severe, it did agree that the shortage could eventually become problematic and advocated higher salaries to ease the problem.
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ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | April 2013
Regardless of size, how the shortage of workers educated in STEM fields is addressed will likely determine the nation’s position in the global manufacturing peck- ing order and, conse- quently, its levels of business innovation and financial status in the future.
WORKFORCE IMPERATIVE:
A MANUFACTURING EDUCATION STRATEGY
This notion is
backed up by several reports. The “2013 Global Manufactur- ing Competitiveness Index” found that the top indicator of a country’s com-
petitiveness was the supply of talented workers. Separately, “Manufacturing the Future: The Next Era of Global Growth and Innovation,” a major report from the McKinsey Global Institute, projects “a potential shortage of more than 40 million high-skilled workers” globally by 2020, which will inevitably help determine how the fast-changing manufactur- ing sector will shake out longer term.
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is working diligently with various stakeholders to bolster STEM education, and its recommendations are outlined in a 2012 white paper, “A Work- force Imperative: A Manufacturing Education Strategy.”
Many programs are underway to promote STEM fields, including manufacturing, to students. That includes SkillsUSA (shown here) and FIRST Robotics, among others.
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