Digital transformation and Industry 4.0 are changing manufacturing, but the fact is that skilled operations talent is increasingly harder to come by. With projections that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs will be unfilled by 2028, the question becomes: What talent and skills do companies need in order to succeed in the factory of the future? Industry Week (Aug. 25, 2021) looks at four manufacturing jobs and how they are expected to evolve.
Production Planners will shift from managing shop floor issues to more proactive roles in which they analyze data insights, manage exceptions and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. They will move from using manual processes for monitoring inventory to using predictive analytics and “digital twins” (virtual representation of a part or a process) to create optimized production schedules and proactively manage inventory issues. And they will need skills in lean and six sigma, data analysis and visualization.
Industrial Engineers will increasingly use digital twins and other cyber-physical systems, in addition to other methods of automation, to create greater connectivity between manufacturing processes and shop floor operations. They will need skills in the areas of design for manufacturability, data science, python and R programing languages, co-bots, IoT sensors, digital twins and wearables.
Machine Operators. Today’s operators tend to specialize in one machine or product line and rely on personal judgment in overseeing machines and processes, leaving room for human error. In the future, operators will use digital twins and AI to proactively identify and solve issues. They will be trained as generalists who can work across machines and product lines.
Quality Analysts. Today’s quality experts are often making changes to standards in reaction to customer complaints, bad yields, or defective products. In the future, they will be able to monitor processes in real time, predict quality issues before they occur, and quickly trace and diagnose any issues through the use of digital twins, advanced analytics and the ability to embed intelligence quality controls. This will require an understanding of big data, data science, and machine learning.
But beyond the clear need for a much higher level of digital acumen, there is also a critical need for human skills that machines cannot replicate such as conceptual thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, and innovation.
Classroom discussion questions:
- How many of your students will consider manufacturing jobs? Why?
- Explain the concept of a “digital twin.”
