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The most pressing issue in North American manufacturing does not
involve competition from overseas. The critical issue involves
the short supply of qualified technical labor available to get
the work done.
Your ability to deliver trickles up from the manufacturing
floor. The number and quality of goods you can manufacture is in
direct relation to the number and quality of people you’re able
to employ on your floor. It is a simple equation made
increasingly complex by various factors, including the aging
workforce and a diminishing interest in the skilled trades.
In order for your company to survive this crisis, you must
aggressively pursue a three-pronged approach to the problem:
-
Recruit
labor
in new ways—by promoting skilled trades, forging community
partnerships, and delivering accelerated training programs.
-
Retain
employees by bringing greater value, challenge, ownership,
and mobility to their jobs by redefining roles and
streamlining training.
-
Optimize
the performance of your labor, your equipment, and your
processes through strategic techniques designed to make jobs
easier.
Figure #1: Skilled Trades Shortage: Estimated Timelines
When do you think your organization will face a skilled trades
shortage?
In a survey conducted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, 41
percent of respondents estimated that a skilled trade shortage
was imminent in their organization within the next five years.
Adding up the numbers.
To understand how critical this crisis is, let’s take a look at
some statistics:
-
The
average age of an industrial tradesperson today is between
50 and 55.1
-
Canada’s industry will need 400,000 new workers within the
next 10 years to replace retiring industrial tradespeople.1
-
Automotive parts manufacturers will be unable to fill 42
percent of skilled trades through 2007.1
-
A
shortage of 334,000 skilled workers between the ages of 24
and 54 is projected by 2012 in Michigan alone.2
-
Michigan’s manufacturing output stands to lose $26.7 billion
because of that shortage. Compare that with a loss of $1.2
billion because of wages lost to outsourcing.2
·
A serious lack of skilled workers will begin in 2005 and grow to
5.3 million by 2010, and 14 million by 2015.3
·
More than 75 percent of the workforce must be re-trained to keep
the jobs they have. 3
1Source:
Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.
2Source:
Seema Chaturvedi, Managing Director, Accelerator Group.
3Source:
US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figure #2: Expected Increase in Demand for Industrial Skilled
Trades
The US Labor Department projects a significant increase in the
number of available jobs in certain skilled specialties between
2006 and 2012.
Understanding the reasons behind the shortage.
The reasons for the decline in skilled workers are many and
complex. According to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the
reasons most cited for the shortage are as follows:
-
Skilled trades are no longer viewed as desired professions.
Therefore, the supply of potential candidates has decreased.
-
The
educational system lacks a focus on skilled trades,
resulting in a diminished supply of apprentices.
-
It is
becoming increasingly difficult to attract apprentices and
skilled trades workers.
-
The
effort, time, and cost to train apprentices exceed the
benefits.
Many subtleties exist behind these causes. For example, in the
1950s, it was commonly accepted and respected for a person to
earn their high school diploma and move on to a job in
manufacturing. Over the past 50 years, however, it has become
increasingly more common for high school students to move on to
college and for college students to transition to white-collar
careers.
With that trend toward higher education, many schools have
dropped shop classes and work-study programs, and guidance
counselors now point students in other directions than the
skilled trades. As a result, the educational culture is no
longer supporting technically and manually intensive careers as
it once did, and those careers are no longer accepted and
respected in the ways they once were.
Further, many of the professions that used to supply skilled
workers have suffered from a changing society as well. The
hydraulics industry, for example, used to find well-trained,
disciplined workers among those exiting the Navy in search of
jobs in the private sector. Over the years, however, the
military has downsized and restructured, focusing more on the
retention of their people. As a result, that pipeline is drying
up in the hydraulics industry.
Exploring a critical gap in capabilities.
Perhaps the biggest reason that the industry is experiencing a
shortage of workforce is the gap that exists between the
advancement of technology and the advancement of human
capabilities. In the past century, the complexity of
manufacturing systems has grown. That growth has been especially
sharp over the past 20 years.
Exacerbating the situation are work rules that don’t change
often enough to keep pace with the increasing complexity of
manufacturing systems. As a result, workers’ capabilities remain
far below what they need to be in order to effectively and
efficiently operate and maintain equipment. A system can only
rise to the level of its weakest component, and unfortunately in
North American manufacturing, that weakest component is the
skilled workforce.
Figure #3: Skill and Knowledge Gap
The increase in complexity of manufacturing systems
exponentially outgrew the increase in work rules and human
capabilities in the last part of the 20th century.
Addressing the cultural issues that hinder interest in skilled
trades.
The solution to this labor crisis begins by finding new ways to
recruit and attract new workers to the skilled trades.
Recruitment cannot be sufficiently accomplished merely by
offering attractive salaries and benefits. As discussed
previously, the problem is largely cultural, so as an industry,
you need to start changing the culture back to one that values
skilled trades. This can be assisted through a number of
different tactics:
-
Raise awareness
of careers in skilled trades by promoting them as a viable
career option in the schools.
-
Promote the image
of skilled trades in the media through associations and
cooperative partnerships between manufacturers.
-
Lobby the government
to provide financial support for employers who train
apprentices.
-
Develop national standards
to recognized trades, and promote ease of movement across
the country.
-
Adjust legislation
to make the apprenticing system more efficient and effective
through accelerated skills programs.
It’s important to note that any change in perception takes time.
So the time to start is now. If lobbying to promote skilled
trades began in schools today, it would take many years before
those messages started to filter through the schools in any
measurable number. It would take at least an entire educational
cycle—12 years in the US—for students raised and schooled in a
culture where skilled trades are promoted to consider the trades
desirable.
Assuming those students enter into the current 4-year
apprenticing system, it could be as much as 20 years before
manufacturers start seeing an upswing in the effects of a
promotional effort coming through the schools. It’s a necessary
step in helping the industry get where it needs to be, and it
needs to begin now.
Establishing a culture of skills development.
In addition to the preceding measures, the formation of
partnerships can go a long way toward revitalizing the interest
in becoming a craftsperson, as well as in helping the
development of skills. Some partnerships that manufacturers can
look at include the following:
-
Community colleges,
which can help promote and train students in skills that
could develop a healthier workforce.
-
Industry associations
can help in promotion, as well as training, certification,
and other educational approaches. One suggestion is to
establish a Master Craftsperson Certification to recognize
achievement and inspire tradespersons to work toward higher
goals in their careers.
-
Government-sponsored organizations
that can bear some of the burden of promotion and skills
development to offset the impact the shrinking manufacturing
workforce will have on the economy.
-
Similar companies.
This option may seem counter-intuitive, but your real
competition is not coming from the manufacturer down the
street—it’s coming from other countries. By banding
together, North American manufacturers can team up for joint
training initiatives and other efforts that can fuel the
promotion and perception of skilled trades.
Pursuing new avenues of recruitment.
Another change that can be made to help combat the decline of
skilled workers is looking at recruiting and hiring methods with
fresh eyes. The same partnerships that can help with training
and promotion can also help with recruitment by revitalizing
interest in the skilled trades. In addition, the following
tactics can be considered:
-
Hire retired tradespersons.
For a variety of reasons, including the decline of
retirement programs and the increased health and vigor of
those of retirement age, today’s retirees are more
interested in seeking work and income beyond retirement.
They provide a tremendous pool of resources for sharing
their expertise, working part time, and handling specialty
projects.
-
Find new recruiting pools.
For example, companies can begin recruiting at
“non-traditional” military sites where prospects may have
complimentary skills to those you seek. Those who worked on
mechanical systems in the Air Force or Army, for example,
may not have the exact skills you’re looking for, but they
do have a propensity toward understanding mechanical
systems.
-
Hire specialists.
One model is to hire “heavy hitters” for every shift—such as
specialists in hydraulics, industrial automation, and
high-voltage electrical applications—people who can
troubleshoot any problem. Give these specialists enhanced
benefits and importance. Let them share their expertise.
This concept is similar to having a master craftsperson on
duty at all times. It raises the standards of your workers
and gives them something to work towards.
-
Maintain high standards.
Your company’s competency and competitiveness rise only as
high as the level of competency of your workers. While it
may be tempting to hire as many seemingly capable people as
possible, consider the damage incompetence can do to your
bottom line.
-
Reconsider the rules of employment.
Many companies have nepotism or other rules that limit their
hiring pool. Consider this: Certain trades, propensities,
and skills run in the family. Children often emulate their
parents and will work hard to protect and maintain their
family’s reputation if they choose to make a certain trade a
family legacy. Your workers’ families could be one of your
most reliable sources of dedicated and skilled labor.
Updating your training efforts.
Once you hire new employees, the next step is to train them. But
behind the training must also some forward-thinking strategies.
A few ideas include the following:
-
Streamline internal training programs.
The traditional model requiring years of apprenticeship
training needs to be reorganized and streamlined. Many
companies have had a great deal of success restructuring
their programs and delivering competent workers in as little
as 12 weeks for mechanical skills and 24 weeks for
electrical skills.
-
Provide reliability training for technicians.
Consider expanding operators’ skills to include routine
maintenance tasks.
-
Establish operator-to-maintenance progression.
By redefining the role of the operator, you also provide a
natural avenue for advancement within your company, which,
in turn, helps with staffing maintenance positions.
Changing the role of the craftsperson.
Traditional operator and maintenance roles show a sharp division
of labor. Operators operate; maintenance technicians maintain.
With more than 80 percent of maintenance costs attributed to 20
percent of equipment issues—ones that can be minimized by proper
cleaning, lubrication, inspection, adjustments, and
filtration—it not only seems natural, but necessary for the
equipment operator to be involved in the maintenance process.
After all, the operator knows the rhythms, sounds, and visual
cues of the equipment better than anyone else. So they are in a
better position to address the needs of the equipment at the
point and time of need, if so empowered.
By training the operator to perform simple maintenance tasks,
many benefits emerge for both roles:
Operators:
-
Care
for the equipment at point and time of need, and emerging
issues can be more proactively diagnosed and forwarded to
maintenance technicians.
-
Establish a greater sense of ownership, pride, and
responsibility for the equipment, resulting in better
overall care.
-
Learn
skills that forge an upwardly mobile path for them to pursue
as their maintenance skills and interests increase.
Maintenance Technicians:
-
Move
into the role of “Equipment Care Coaches,” planning and
scheduling the maintenance process, overseeing procedures,
and helping restructure the roles through training and other
tactical strategies.
-
Focus
more intently on preventive and predictive maintenance, as
well as corrective repairs.
-
Develop more appreciation for their jobs because they become
now more challenging and engage of all their skills.
Figure #4: Traditional Operator and Maintenance Roles
Figure #5: Future Operator and Maintenance Roles
One tactic toward combating the shortage of skilled workers and
increasing interest in skilled trades is to give operators more
power to maintain their equipment, thereby freeing maintenance
technicians to move on to more proactive and rewarding work.
Supporting the change using visual tools.
One of the ways you can support a smooth transition for the
changing role of the craftsperson is to simply bring controls,
gauges, and other checkpoints out from behind closed doors. By
replacing metal doors with Plexiglas windows, you remove steps
from the inspection process and simplify the task.
Another tactic is to standardize or otherwise simplify the
reading of gauges and controls by indicating ideal conditions on
the gauge plate, as illustrated in Figure 6. This idea can be
repeated throughout the plant to indicate the following:
·
Normal operating range for gauges
·
Acceptable reservoir unit levels
·
Type and directional flow of hoses and pipes
·
Direction of rotation on motors, drives, and pumps
·
Lube points and types
·
Temperature of equipment with temperature-sensitive decals
·
Replacement dates and schedules
Figure #6: Visual Controls
By removing metal doors and replacing them with Plexiglas,
gauges are easier to access. Standardized or intuitive markings
used to indicate ideal operational levels make them easier to
read, too. These small changes pay off big by reducing training
and increasing the capabilities of operators when it comes to
helping maintain their equipment.
Figure #7: Simplifying Routine Inspections
Inspections can be further simplified by taking pictures of
inspection points, labeling them, and making laminated guides
those technicians can use on their inspection rounds. On the
back of each sheet is a checklist outlining inspections points
and expected readings.
Simplifying and reinforcing training
You can reinforce trained procedures with simple, one-point
lessons that remind operators of best practices. Located at the
site of inspection, these quick guides visually and verbally
outline a maintenance procedure step-by-step.
One other way to reinforce skills is to provide a computer
terminal at the point of operation or analysis with Electronic
Performance Support System (EPSS) capabilities. The EPSS is
embedded within the equipment operating system so that when a
failure occurs, for example, instructions on repairing the
system are automatically made available. In essence, whenever
the system requires an operational, recovery, or repair
procedure, it not only informs you of the need, but also of the
means by which you can correct it.
Moving toward change
The strategies and tactics presented in this paper are just the
beginning of the things you can do to accommodate the changing
role of the craftsperson in your firm. The workforce crisis
facing manufacturing will not go away on its own. It must be
addressed. And by looking for new ways to recruit qualified
labor, promote the benefits of the technical trades, redefine
the role of the craftsperson, and streamline your re-training
efforts, you will be taking a step in the right direction.
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