The packaging and processing industry continues to seek better ways to bridge the chronic skills gap and labor shortages experienced in recent years. Increasingly, mitigation efforts include a strong focus on retention and smart technologies, according to Technology & Workforce: Using Smart Technologies to Bridge the Skills Gap, a white paper from PMMI Business Intelligence, a division of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, the producer of the Pack Expo portfolio of trade shows.  

Based on input from representatives of consumer packaged goods companies and OEMs participating in PMMI’s Vision 2030 sessions in November 2024 at Pack Expo International in Chicago, the report reveals the top three solutions to workforce limitations are automating changeovers, app-based troubleshooting and greater reliance on digital technology.

When asked about hurdles to implementation, attendees cited a lack of budget and knowledgeable staff, concerns about return on investment, substantial training needs, difficulty accessing machine data due to firewalls and classified machines, challenges in updating legacy technology, internal resistance to change and difficulties experienced in any transition to a new system.

With manufacturing worker tenure shrinking to an average of three years in 2023, minimizing turnover is essential to maintain productivity and control training costs. Tactics seen as essential to promoting loyalty include automating repetitive tasks and empowering employees to give them more control over their time and career development.

Attendees also cited the importance of advanced training tools such as video, virtual reality, augmented reality and radio frequency identification, as well as personalized training individualized to each operator’s learning style. Advanced human/machine interfaces can provide resources such as personal assistant avatars, which present instructions and feedback tailored to the operator’s language preference, skill level and capabilities, and exploded views of the machine to help personnel locate and fix problems and expedite training. Standardizing HMIs across lines and facilities can boost operational efficiency by eliminating the need to learn and operate multiple systems.

The white paper also mentions the benefits of smart tools, such as intelligent illumination, which can direct operators to the correct door or compartment, halo lenses, or machine-mounted cameras, which provide real-time visibility inside the machine to monitor performance, and AI-based large learning models, which can increase the efficiency of troubleshooting, predictive maintenance and changeovers.

Effective collaboration, potentially supported by AI, is also viewed as a crucial aspect in streamlining operations and enhancing job satisfaction.

Source: PMMI