Challenges associated with attracting and retaining workers to the manufacturing and processing industries have been ongoing for decades. And while some types of automation technologies, such as robots, help keep humans out of the repetitive and potentially injury-inducing work that can make industrial employment less desirable, other types can also help attract and retain human workers.
Chief among these technologies that can help attract workers are connected worker (CW) platforms. This Industry 4.0 technology is designed to guide workers in their tasks using smart glasses, smartphones, tablets, and PCs, enabling them to handle complex processes.
Dominic Gallello, CEO of Symphony Industrial AI, a supplier of CW, digital manufacturing, and plant performance technologies, explains that CW systems “leverage cloud computing, mobile telecommunications, and wearable technology to inform frontline and deskless workers and offer them state-of-the-art, human-driven instruction support by providing ‘byte size’ work directions to act upon.”
Benefits of Connected Worker technology cited by Gallello, include:
- Up to 50% savings of time on operations such as changeovers through standard work guidance;
- Facilitating autonomous maintenance with step-by-step instruction workflows;
- 30% faster onboarding of new workers;
- Achieving 100% compliance with work duties via automatic execution logs; and
- Time savings of up to 70% on inspection process with digital CAPA (corrective and preventative actions) management.
Author: David Greenville, Automation World
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