IMTS 2024 Recap: Connecting workers, technologies together for greater change
Connecting workers and making their jobs easier through technology, concepts and philosophies was a major theme at IMTS 2024.
Connected worker insights
- The emphasis on technology without solid problem-solving processes has hindered productivity improvements in manufacturing over the past decade.
- Empowering workers with connected tools and a well-structured process can significantly improve decision-making, operations, and employee retention.
IMTS made its return to McCormick Place in September and was, in some respects, a return to its machine tooling roots. It’s a slight change of pace from past events, which also heavily emphasized automation, the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and digital transformation. Those themes were certainly present, but they were more in the background.
Nevertheless, the show went on and went very successfully with more than 1600 exhibitors across all four halls at McCormick Place.
One main theme throughout the event was improving connectivity for the worker and giving them the tools to make better decisions. Eric Whitley, director of industrial transformation at L2L, said manufacturing productivity has stagnated. Why? Because there’s been too much emphasis on technology at the expense of developing a process to solve the problem.
“We have to get back to the thought process of improvement. We need to have a problem-solving thought process,” he said in his presentation “Transforming Continuous Improvement: The Role of AI and Connected Worker Technology.”
There’s so much data for workers to parse through, but it comes down to the process. Technology is a tool. It’s not a solution. It can be used to find a viable solution, but all too often, it ends up being viewed as the savior without any real thought on what it can do to improve productivity, which hasn’t measurably improved over the last decade.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the same way. There’s been so much discussion about what it can do and how its potential is untapped. All true. AI, coupled with concepts like IIoT, digital transformation and the smart factory, could make workers’ lives a lot easier. It also makes the barrier to entry a lot lower.
The lack of skilled workers is a big enough problem for manufacturers. Chris Kuntz, VP of strategic operations for Augmentir, said manufacturers are facing a $1 trillion problem and the root cause is people in his presentation “The Future of Industrial Work – How the Augmented, Connected Worker is Transforming Manufacturing.”
A connected, informed worker with the right tools and a digitized process that gives them the ability to make better and more informed decisions. This also might help with the revolving door of workers who aren’t staying in the same place for years at a time. Even a few years ago, that might have been the case, but that isn’t true anymore. Young workers aren’t gonna stick around if they’re handed a clipboard and pencil. That’s not what they want and it’s not what they need. Manufacturing is the same way.
A connected and informed worker with the right tools can improve operations and productivity, but the process behind it needs to be just as powerful. We’ve gotten away from that and it’s time for manufacturing to learn some lessons from the past.
Chris Vavra, senior editor, Control Engineering, WTWH Media, cvavra@wtwhmedia.com.
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