Industrial automation and robotics offer huge benefits to manufacturing and warehouse distribution and fulfilment operations. This is not a new concept; articles going back decades have explained how these applications can improve quality and consistency, optimize productivity and throughput, increase worker safety, and reduce direct labor cost.
The topic has gained currency and urgency in today’s dynamic industrial landscape because of the dramatic labor gap in the U.S. The gap is a critical issue affecting the U.S. economy, and automation and robotics can be a strong part of the solution.
About the Labor Gap
Entering the summer, there were 8.1 million job openings in the U.S. but only 6.8 million unemployed workers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Even if the country achieved an unrealistic 0percent unemployment level, millions of open positions would remain. Workforce participation is a contributing factor; the labor force participation rate recently stood at 62.7 percent, down from 63.3 percent just before the COVID-19 pandemic and 67.2 percent in January 2001.
Traditional labor models are facing unprecedented challenges. Factors such as an aging workforce, skill shortages and evolving market demands have created a pressing need for innovative solutions to close the labor gap.
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Addressing these demographic challenges to bridge the gap will require strategic efforts. By analyzing workforce demographics, skill requirements and industry trends, manufacturers can identify the specific pain points impeding productivity and growth and putting business continuity at risk. Automation and robotics stand out as potentially transformative tools to supplement the existing working to provide efficiency, scalability and adaptability to fill the labor gap and meet the demands of modern manufacturing.
Enabling More Effective Resources
Automation technologies encompass a spectrum of solutions, ranging from semiautomated machines and autonomous vehicles to fully automated warehouses as well as advanced systems driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Through strategic deployments, manufacturers can optimize workflows, minimize downtime and enhance output consistency. Automated processes also mitigate reliance on manual labor, thereby reducing the impact of workforce fluctuations.
Applications of automation extend beyond traditional manufacturing domains — they can include related sectors such as logistics, healthcare and agriculture. From warehouse automation for distribution and fulfilment operations to surgical robotics, there are numerous ways robotics and automation can revolutionize operations in diverse settings.
Automation is more about job evolution than job displacement.
Despite common popular misconceptions, automation is much more about job evolution than job displacement or elimination. The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has found a strong correlation between increasing industrial robot shipments and civilian employment over the last few decades. As repetitive tasks become automated, the workforce can focus on higher-value activities, such as process optimization, data analysis and strategic decision-making.
Automation technology tends to automate specific tasks, rather than all tasks within a job, according to a 2020 report from the Brookings Institution. It is rare for entire jobs to be eliminated because of automation.
Upskilling initiatives and workforce development programs have a pivotal role to play in empowering employees to leverage these newer technologies effectively. Strategic planning for the use of automation should also focus on moving workers away from monotonous, ergonomically challenging and dangerous tasks.
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In one example of the efficiencies that can be unlocked through automating warehouse operations, we found that one large consumer goods company we studied could reduce the footprint in the building by 65percent. These reductions could free up significant space to establish additional manufacturing or warehouse operations.
We also recently helped a food manufacturer that had been experiencing a high turnover rate in its packing and palletizing operations, which had been forcing it to use contract labor to offset the gap in full-time employees. By automating ergonomically challenging and monotonous tasks — and training the manufacturer’s operators to run the automation equipment — the manufacturer was able to reduce its turnover rate to below 10percent, securing and enhancing several permanent positions.
Automated firms tend to become more productive, which can enable them to keep costs from increasing and thus keep product pricing competitive. Growing sales can drive business expansion and increase employment accordingly — research from A3 has found that as robot shipments have increased, unemployment has decreased.
In contrast, failing to automate addressing the labor gap could result in a loss of sales because of potential production capacity reduction. Those who do not invest in technology and suffer from lower productivity risk declining business, which can lead to layoffs.
Preparing for the Potential
While the benefits of automation are compelling, implementation hurdles abound, ranging from capital expenditure considerations to the intricacies of technological integration. Upfront investment can be substantial, depending in part on the complexity of the processes being automated.
By automating challenging tasks, turnover dropped below 10percent.
Manufacturers can navigate these challenges by fostering a culture of innovation, collaborating with technology partners and leveraging industry best practices. Steps that area developers and manufacturers can take to establish an appropriate automation strategy to optimize operations and mitigate potential labor gaps include:
- Develop master plans that incorporate automation where it makes sense. Not all processes require automation. For example, if a company is co-manufacturing various products at very low production volumes, it might not make sense to automate due to technical complexity and high costs. However, intensive and repetitive tasks are good candidates for automation because they offer higher ROIs.
- Support organizations that help train the technology-based workforce of the future. This could include local universities, community colleges and other organizations that offer training for automation.
- Explore existing and emerging technology solutions that can help automate current processes. Achieve this by attending industry conferences, researching suppliers — more easily achieved now with the support of generative AI — as well as hiring consultants with in-depth knowledge to help identify potential solutions.
- Offer training programs for current employees. Such programs can help prepare teams to support automation and automated processes.
While the labor gap in manufacturing poses many opportunities, it ultimately serves as a catalyst for transformation. Through strategic investments in automation and robotics — and workforce education and upskilling — manufacturers can maintain business continuity while achieving new levels of efficiency, agility and competitiveness. Prioritizing workforce empowerment and technological integration will help them attain the vision of a harmonious future in which humans and machines collaborate synergistically and unlock ongoing value.
