IoT Insider gains insights from Steve Tonks, SVP EMEA at WorkForce Software, to discuss the recent Labour shortages, which are a perennial problem in manufacturing. By 2030, estimates point to a shortage of 8 million workers. To recruit and retain vital talent, manufacturers must adapt or risk becoming obsolete.
“A modern workforce management system analyses everyday employee data to better understand the workforce’s productivity, needs, and challenges,” Tonks says. “Just as smart factory technologies impact the production line, using smart workforce management technologies empowers manufacturers to have better visibility of their employees and respond to them in timely and impactful ways.”
Tonks emphasizes that just as other industries have embraced new ways of working, so must manufacturing. In today’s digital landscape, this means exploring technological innovation through data and connectivity, to better support the changing needs of workers, and greatly improving their employee experience.
“One of the greatest obstacles to delivering heightened employee experiences to manufacturing workers is that they are often dispersed and deskless. Digital technologies are closing this experience gap,” he adds. “As manufacturers progress toward smart manufacturing, the opportunities digitalisation can bring to workers must be integrated as part of a strategy of holistic innovation.”
