Two of the biggest trends in manufacturing today are the industry’s digital transformation and the ongoing skilled worker shortage.
Of course, the two are interrelated and directly impact each other. The digitalization of the shop floor and overall manufacturing organization puts software engineers and data analytics at the forefront. While this requires workers with different skill sets, smart factories also are designed to take other technical—and manual—burdens off humans’ to-do lists.
This, in turn, drives the need for so-called soft skills—aka interpersonal or people skills. In a perfect world, employees will have a mix of hard and soft skills, while embracing automation and other technologies to better focus on value-added tasks and improve overall efficiency and quality.
Needless to say, we’re not there yet. But things are moving in the right direction, thanks to technical advances, innovative training programs and evolving employment policies.
The growing importance of workforce development is the focus of three articles in this issue: In our Workforce Lessons series, we detail how Jane Addams Resources Corp. helps train prospective employees in underprivileged neighborhoods; Sandvik Coromant’s Carrie Makamba provides an HR perspective in Inclusive Insights; and SME President Jim Schlusemann extols the virtues of the national SkillsUSA competition and his experience as a high school co-op student that launched his manufacturing career.
Recent software advances, meanwhile, are front and center throughout our feature stories. In “Plugged in Platforms,” for example, contributor Kip Hanson details how shops increasingly use integrated software and analytical tools such as ERP, MES and PLM to improve their businesses.
Manufacturing equipment also is becoming smarter and more sophisticated, thanks to next-generation controls and software. Thom Cannell covers the latest trends and advances in “Sustaining CAD/CAM Agility.”
Jim Lorincz highlights similar improvements for CNC turning machines in “A Turn for the Better.” And Ed Sinkora examines AI and its task-focused cousin, machine learning, in the aptly titled “Machine Learning for Machine Tools.”
I’d also like to welcome and introduce Jake Volcsko, SME Media’s new vice president of integrated media. Jake has the perfect blend of digital expertise, soft skills and leadership, as well as a diverse publishing background and a passion for excellence.
Prior to joining SME, Jake was in charge of SEO, digital and content strategy at DealNews. Another important thing to know about Jake is that in his spare time he officiates Division III NCAA football games. This means he’s fair and process oriented, as well as extremely versatile and not afraid to make the tough calls.
Be sure to stop by and meet Jake at one of SME’s upcoming industry events. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the issue.
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