Tag: labor shortage

Robots-For-Hire and Continued Investment in Our Workforces

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Here’s a bit of news I noticed last week, courtesy of the USGlass daily e-newsletter—Wisconsin’s Pioneer Metal Finishing, facing heightened demand and the inability to find enough reliable human workers, has begun paying robots to do a few critical jobs in their plant.

Yes, the robots are being “paid.” Pioneer Metal Finishing is renting the machines, paying Hirebotics a $15/hour rate. That rate is only paid when the robots are productive—about 80 hours per week. It’s a unique business model from Hirebotics, allowing a renter to save the major capital cost that would ordinarily come with purchasing several customized bots.

The fenestration industry is no stranger to labor issues, of course, and robots-for-hire might offer us a glimpse into the future of our shop floors. Many manufacturers continue to make the investment in automation—be it ancillary processes or full, high-speed lines—both for the new efficiencies these technologies can bring to our operations and for their ability to help us do more with less. It seems reasonable to believe that some glass and window manufacturers might find the robot-for-hire model attractive.

While they shouldn’t be, these can be scary developments for today’s plant worker. “Robots are taking our jobs,” isn’t an attitude you want flourishing on the floor, and today’s successful glass shops need to be getting in front of it. It’s part of why fenestration professionals must be continuously engaging and investing in their workforces.

This is a subject I’ve written about in the past. I’m passionate about it, and labor remains perhaps the single biggest challenge facing my customers today. With a strong economy helping drive increased demand in our industry, labor challenges can become more acute—such was the case for Pioneer Metal Finishing—and it may be the case for any number of commercial glass manufacturers.

In that way, I think any automation (whether it’s the robots-for-hire model or anything else) is best framed as an investment in both operational efficiency and in our workforces—with an emphasis on the workforce. Because no matter where we’re applying automated technology, it always has numerous human benefits. We can allocate workers to more specialized, skilled tasks. We can eliminate repetitious, ergonomically taxing procedures by letting a robot take care of them. We can reduce the risks associated with tasks like glass cutting and insulating glass assembly by automating them. That’s what investing in the workforce means—it’s providing workers the skills and the tools necessary to do their jobs better.

Sometimes it takes seeing the benefits in action. It’s natural for a workforce to be skeptical of automated processes taking over human tasks. But glass manufacturers who have gone through the process of implementing an automated line—and who’ve taken the time for proper training and to communicate the benefits—typically report high rates of employee satisfaction with the new technology. The successful glass shop of the future will be filled with employees who know how to best implement automated technology to drive increasing success.

Investing in the Employee of the Future

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A few months ago, I wrote about the glass industry labor shortage and some of the ways we can be tackling that challenge head-on today. The topic is on my mind again this month because we’re in the thick of our busy season, and as projects heat up, things can get even more challenging.

Making the investment in the right employees to drive your business forward isn’t just a challenge for the present, though. It’s something we’re doing for our continued benefit in the future. We need to always be thinking about the evolving skillsets needed as the industry changes.

What do we need to be thinking about in people who will be good employees today, as well as 10 years from now? Here are some things I’ve been considering recently:

Specialists vs. Generalists

A few of my recent posts here have focused on the architectural community and the ways the glass industry can continue to foster a strong relationship with those folks. One of the reasons that’s important is because commercial building design continues to grow more complex, unique and demanding for both glaziers and fabricators.

This has as much to do with product quality as it does with the people putting those products to use. Today’s designs make use of custom glass shapes and sizes, specialty coatings, oversized glass, electrochromic glass, and more. The range of new glass technology has sparked a bit of conversation among the glazing community—should training be specialized to certain niches, or should contract glaziers be able to do a bit of everything?

The answer to that question might not be immediately clear, but one thing is: Whether it’s a “standard” job or a complex specialty project, correct installation remains paramount. We need to be making sure that tradesmen are armed with the skills to do the job correctly, and that available training programs are keeping up with industry demands.

An Evolved Plant Needs an Evolved Employee

The need for an evolving, adaptive skillset is true of both glaziers and fabricators. Because we’re not just manufacturing new, specialty products—we’re doing so with new and evolving equipment and processes.

Glass fabrication has changed over the past few years—as is no secret—and high-speed automated lines grow in number across the North American market. And for those on the floor, the job isn’t exactly what it used to be.

As we continue to leverage new technology in our plants, a well-rounded, tech-savvy employee base will only become more important. Staff needs to be knowledgeable about digital systems in place; about the required maintenance for new equipment; about the tracking of product quality throughout the supply chain, from raw materials sourcing to shipping; about new capabilities a plant might be adding to match demand. We must account for these things when investing in the employee of the future, both in our hiring processes and in how we’re training people to do the job.  Add to this the challenge of a multigenerational workforce and it gets quite interesting.

New and changing technology allows for a more empowered workforce in many instances, across all parts of the glass industry. But it only happens if that workforce is equipped with the right knowledge and the right attitude. Staying ahead in a changing industry depends on it.

How to Overcome a Labor Shortage

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There’s a similar story being told throughout the building and construction industry. I wrote about it in my last post and why it’s time to start thinking differently about IG production on a broad scale.

Of course, I’m talking about the skilled labor shortage. It was a hot topic at the GANA BEC Conference, which I attended in early February. Though the conference primarily targets commercial glass and curtainwall installers, many conversations mirrored those we’ve been having in the manufacturing space recently. How do we attract new talent? How do we transfer decades of institutional knowledge to a new generation of workers?

While it’s true that advancements in technology have enabled glass fabricators to weather the labor shortage in certain ways, we’re not immune to the labor shortage. Recruiting and retaining skilled workers remain critical challenges for any glass fabricator—and anyone in the fenestration industry at large.

Easier said than done, right? Especially when recruiting millennials to manufacturing positions—across all sectors—has proven an uphill battle. According to the Wall Street Journal, there will be an estimated 2 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2025, and it’s millennials who must be convinced to fill them.

Part of what we’re facing here is a perception problem. It’s become apparent that traditional manufacturing and installation jobs are unattractive to a younger generation, so it’s up to us to engage with these potential employees to show them the benefits and change that perception. There is money to be made, there are good incentives, and there is room for growth for those willing to put in the effort.

Also, as later noted in the Wall Street Journal piece, “For millennials choosing careers today, the most sought-after industry is technology.” It’s here that I sense another way in which the fenestration industry’s strengths may play well to the oncoming challenge.

We’ve seen how technology is transforming our industry, as high-speed automation has revolutionized some of our traditional manufacturing processes, allowing us to maximize labor in the face of a shortage. There are emerging ways to optimize these systems, taking advantage of new software solutions to streamline our processes from beginning to end. Robotics and automation itself require specific, technical know-how.

We need to communicate that our industry is one that is moving forward, looking ahead, and utilizes new and emerging technologies. For both recruiting and retention purposes, it’s worth considering partnerships with trade schools or universities to extend your influence with potential employees and as an investment in your current ones.

An investment, yes—but a worthwhile one to make as we forge ahead. What I found at the BEC Conference was a sense of camaraderie. Yes, though competition is fierce, we’re working together and sharing best practices to overcome a shared challenge. Our industry is alive and ready for growth, and there’s something in that for all of us.

Joe Erb is a commercial sales specialist at Quanex Building Products.