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SKILLS & TRAINING
with robotics can encourage progress in Industry 5.0 strategies. For example, highly accurate digital replicas of manufacturing processes can be devised to test scenarios and plan for potential disruptions, better known as digital twins. A virtual sandbox with the ability to make unlimited mistakes is also made possible by the deployment of 3D simulations, allowing employees to trial production or process ideas without any resources being used up in the real world. Users can also devise the most efficient floor layouts when it comes to the design of new production facilities.
THE UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITIES OF INDUSTRY 5.0 The skills gap is better described as more of a chasm in reality. Figures by the Association for Manufacturing Excellence suggests that 10 million manufacturing jobs around the world are unable to be filled, creating panic among businesses and their decision-makers. It is a threat to progress in Industry 5.0 strategies, which, with strong backing by the EU, is primarily focused on human productivity, sustainability and resilience. Resilience in particular has become essential to protect business operations as political tensions continue, supply chains face disruption and weather patterns remain unpredictable. Employers in the Industry 5.0 era need to maximise the return they make from each employee brought in, rather than see them as an expense. To enable this, robots, cobots (collaborative robots), virtual reality, augmented reality and exoskeletons all play a key role in supporting people on the factory floor, in addition to artificial intelligence and data analytics. To take innovation a step further, bringing edge computing infrastructure and SaaS innovation in
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE SKILLS SHORTAGE Unfortunately, many organisations have been unable to leverage the benefits of Industry 5.0 due to the skills shortage. In fact, research by Visual Components across manufacturing professionals in the US, UK Germany and France discovered that over half (55 per cent) were failing to train employees in how to use supporting solutions. Close to a third of respondents also admitted that most of their workers were not skilled in the use of automation and robotics.
Without these human skills, mistakes are more
likely on the manufacturing floor, which reduces resilience and raises costs. Almost a quarter of respondents also cited inflexibility as a core difficulty in leveraging robots and their capabilities, with some even incurring more than €500,000 in costs due to a manufacturing process error. These are mistakes they simply can’t afford to make.
INCORPORATING SIMULATION TECHNOLOGY The onus is on organisations to look at training of employees in a new way, and simulation software provides the answer. Rather than force workers to test and train robotic applications in the real world, offline programming software (OLP) can replicate the robot’s work cell and its associated movements and workflows in a fully simulated environment. Deployed robots can be
programmed with optimum flexibility and adapt to new requirements as needed. Manual programming of cobots, for example,
can take days or even weeks before they provide value. To allow them to support humans straight away, OLP technology empowers workers to refine their movements and workflows for immediate automated value, eradicating the need for any manual work or input. This supporting software features plug-and-
play components that can quickly enable humans to both program and maintain robotic deployments to ensure their continued efficiency. Easily repeatable processes reduce the opportunity for costly mistakes. Rather than remove humans from the factory floor, these platforms can work with people to build their skills and solve the talent crisis, helping to further Industry 5.0 initiatives. And with the knowledge stored safely in the software, manufacturers don’t need to worry when experienced professionals leave the business and take the expertise away with them. For manufacturers to make the most of
robotics and automation, technology is needed to empower the workforce and encourage a new era of efficiency, productivity and resilience. By working together, humans and technology can enable manufacturing success.
Visual Components
www.visualcomponents.com
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