High turnover and low labor retention rates remain prevalent across packaging and processing industries, which affect companies’ resiliency and disrupt their operations. Labor issues appear to be a worldwide problem for manufacturers. However, industry professionals have approaches that move toward solutions.
That’s according to PMMI Business Intelligence’s “Technology & Workforce: Using Smart Technologies to Bridge the Skills Gap,” a report that captures insight from packaging and processing end-users and OEMs on the role technology can play in addressing the increasing skills gap and the burden of costly training periods for new hires. The report stems from a Q&A session and roundtable discussions between expert panelists and industry participants at PACK EXPO International 2024.
A change in mindset and streamlining training
The excessive cost of repeatedly training new employees coupled with losing a generation of highly experienced, dependable operators and technicians is a notable burden. Yet, one industry professional believes a mindset shift in the hiring process is a step forward.
“[You] want to hire owners into [y]our business, not renters,” a global leader from a large fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) corporation explained.
The idea of hiring someone who will “own” his or her role in a business, rather than the individual seeing the work from a “renter,” a temporary or perhaps less invested perspective, is a solution that empowers employees. This can help foster long-term commitment.
A short-term labor solution proposed by experts is improving training for employees. One panelist referred to the process as “shortening the training curve.” Experts advocated for leveraging technology that technicians and operators are familiar with, such as videos, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), radio frequency identification (RFID), and human machine interfaces (HMIs) to streamline training and enhance operational efficiency.
“A picture equals a thousand words, and a video equals a thousand words per frame,” one panelist stated.
SOURCE: PMMI Business Intelligence: Technology & Workforce: Using Smart Technologies to Bridge the Skills Gap
For more insights from PMMI’s Business Intelligence team, find reports, including “2024 Data Acquisition, Sharing and Utilization” and “2024 The AI Advantage in Equipment: Boosting Performance and Bridging Skills Gap” at pmmi.org/business-intelligence.
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