America’s Manufacturing Renaissance
Hello again,
Here are some interesting insights from John Miller, Passport Software’s President, about America’s manufacturing renaissance. In Part 2 of this post, Ian Creswell, Passport’s Manufacturing Product Manager, adds his thoughts as well. We hope you find it useful.
Many New Manufacturing Jobs
Cheap labor drove manufacturing companies to off-shore millions of high-paying jobs. But there is one thing better than cheap labor, no labor. And advances in manufacturing automation, including robotics, are driving the labor component lower and lower.
There will be a lot of jobs created to manufacture and maintain these new automated factories and there will still be some labor on the factory floor, but overall, the reshoring has started, and it signals the renaissance of manufacturing in America.
That is good news and will create many new jobs that will pay well. This trend will continue and grow as the technology continues to improve. And while we do not really know all the answers at this juncture, it will be good for the economy.
The new types of jobs will be maintenance of equipment, quality control, R&D, process improvement engineering, and more. The types of jobs that will not be as prevalent are the manually intensive labor on an assembly line, or the punch press type of positions.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) will be an added technological tool to help improve the manufacturing processes. But do not think in terms of old-line manufacturing; the key to success in the future will be creative engineering and flexible processes that adapt to different tasks.
Most small manufacturers run many products through their floor, and tracking, scheduling, and monitoring progress will be very important to profitability. PBS™ Manufacturing ERP is a robust solution at an affordable price that provides staff with the flexibility they need to cover multiple tasks:
– Streamline your entire operation and improve profitability
– Better visibility with in-depth reporting for better business intelligence
– Better inventory management, production scheduling, cost tracking, and more
– Specifically designed for small to midsized manufacturers
America’s Manufacturing Renaissance Part Two – Skilled Workers
Growth in the manufacturing sector has been accelerating over the last few years here in the United States. As world events led to supply chain breakdowns, it became clear that we needed to start building things here in the United States once again.
Many companies have already begun to increase their overall on-shore production and many more are exploring doing the same.
The primary issue these companies are facing is a lack of trained factory workers. It’s easy to create an ad looking to hire an assembler, warehouse worker, or machinist with multiple years of experience, but it’s another thing to find someone to fill those positions.
The current reality is we’ve lost a generation, pushing our youngsters to go on from high school to obtain college degrees. In truth, many aren’t cut out for that path and wash out of the college system with no degree and plenty of debt, and no meaningful skills. This isn’t news, we’re all aware, so how is it we address the problem?
It’s time for the manufacturing industry to step up and start working with our school’s guidance counselors and begin intercepting those kids who aren’t cut out for college. Offer to host some work-study students, and begin identifying the kids who have an aptitude for whatever type of manufacturing activities you perform. Then here’s your opportunity to mold a teenager into a well-trained, skilled laborer. Someone that you can add to your workforce on a full-time basis when they graduate.
I recently visited with a newer customer of ours that takes a unique approach to this. He met a pastor of a local church that was working with troubled young adults. These are folks that have come out of rehabilitation facilities, or in some cases, have done some time in jail for petty crimes.
The pastor has identified individuals that were making a genuine effort to rehabilitate themselves, and he then partnered with local companies to hire these folks.
The process has been a big success for this company. They currently have four active employees that came to them through this process. They started the new hires out at lower wages, trained them to become the employees they needed, and then rewarded them when they became what they were looking for in an employee. This last part is critical to retaining someone in this position.
It’s also one of the biggest concerns of companies when it comes to hiring a kid out of high school, or someone a little older who’s has some problems and are trying to get back on track. They fear they will train them, and then lose them.
Often, when someone is brought in for lower wages, the company that brings them in continues to pay them low wages well after they are trained and working successfully within the organization. If you wish to retain them, you need to reward them for their success, otherwise someone else will.
PBS™ Manufacturing ERP allows users to accomplish more in less time to reduce product lead times, maintain leaner inventory, and automate your shop floor control to plan for growth. You can scale up or down with our modular system, and our expert consulting provides individualized solutions to meet your unique needs.
Call 800-969-7900 to learn more about PBS Manufacturing ERP, an affordable yet robust system designed to serve the needs of small to mid-sized manufacturers. Or, contact us – we are here to help.