Today’s industrial companies are leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies to boost operational performance, drive innovations, generate efficiencies and reduce wastage. The transformational impact of cloud connectivity and sensors, combined with advanced analytics, machine learning, robotics and automation all hold significant potential for the future of production. However, this is just one side of the productivity equation.
The manufacturing sector is also confronting a significant skills shortage. It’s a perfect storm. This shortage is being driven by a confluence of several factors. These include an ageing workforce, ongoing technological advancements, and difficulties attracting younger talent to the sector. Indeed, according to a 2024 report released by The Manufacturer, 75% of UK manufacturers say that unfilled jobs and skills shortages pose the biggest threat to growth.
In response, manufacturers are in dire need of strategies that will enable their workforce to work more efficiently and confidently. Simultaneously, however, they must find ways to make it easier and safer for workers to operate and service complex machines.
Fortunately, today’s digital technologies are rewriting the rules of the game where workforce empowerment is concerned. Let’s look at what’s on the horizon for 2025.
The next-generation mobile worker
Technologies such as enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions are already helping industrial organisations to bridge the skills divide and transform the delivery of real-time information to frontline workers. EAM empowers operators to work more efficiently.
When integrated with mobile technologies, these systems automate several key functions. These include the delivery of checklists, work instructions and collaboration tools directly to workers’ devices. This allows workers to view critical asset information and register executed work in real-time, from any location. Integrated solutions allow this information to flow into the organization’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, providing all stakeholders with accurate up-to-the-moment operational insights into all their critical assets.
The value this creates transcends the individual worker or even team. By increasing the productivity of frontline workers, such as maintenance technicians, operators and warehouse staff, these connected technologies bridge the gap between back-office and frontline teams. By enabling more effective workflows and communications between physically distanced teams, organisations can eliminate the silos that create the delays and inefficiencies that get in the way of productivity. Doing so helps prevent the wastage that occurs when technicians must wait around for instructions, spare parts or work orders. Meanwhile, mobile hardware is a key enabler. Barcode scanners help simplify inventory management. Scanning QR codes or NFC tags allow for easy and fast identification. Everything becomes manageable by having your data accessible from a centralized, single-source-of-truth – such as an EAM solution.
These technologies are not new. However, they have helped paved the way for a series of next-generation technological advancements that will help industrial organisations further transform how they upskill and empower frontline workers.
Taking mobile further – enabling the human-centred connected worker ecosystem
Imagine a setting where every worker performs at their peak. Not only they, but they get the individualised real-time support they need, the moment it’s needed.
By harnessing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, wearables and other mobile tools, industrial companies can now deliver real-time decisioning and support to workers that augments how they undertake tasks. By doing so, organisations boost operational efficiency and simultaneously achieve other important human-centred goals, such as employee engagement and job satisfaction, as well as increasing workplace safety.
In maintenance, production and warehouse settings, wearables featuring augmented reality (AR) technology can be used to overlay digital information onto real world environments. They can also deliver visual guidance and instructions to operatives and workers. This advancement in technology supports a large variety of real-world tasks. These include navigation with the support of overlaid directions, reading maintenance instructions with visual guidance, understanding complex assembly processes with step-by-step instructions, identifying components with the help of troubleshooting guides and accessing repair instructions simply by looking at a machine.
Wearables can also bridge the generational knowledge divide, enabling frontline workers to access an organisation’s central knowledge repositories, containing years of technical data, schematics and know-how. Having access to this wealth of information allows front line workers to work competently and confidently on assets. On top of this, generative AI technologies allow workers to verbally interact with AI-driven co-pilots. This will further enhance the efficacy with which they act and operate.
Intuitive to use and easy to interact with, these connected worker technology ecosystems give workers access to immediate immersive guidance and skills acquisition in meaningful workplace contexts. Harnessing the power of AI through a highly human centred approach allows organisations to boost their most important capital – their workforce.
Elevating the workplace experience
Today’s connected worker technologies enable organisations to capture real-time data to boost productivity and performance on the frontline. They also enable organisations to personalise the workplace experience for individual employees, fostering a culture where workers benefit from easier collaboration and greater autonomy.
By adopting today’s connected worker technologies and harnessing AI and other evolving technologies, organisations create more adaptive and supportive work environments that reshape how employees interact with their work. This is to the benefit of the individual worker, the organisation and the customer – everyone wins.
For industrial companies looking to overcome the current skills gap challenge, these solutions empower workers to adapt swiftly to evolving demands, stay connected and always informed and continually enhance their competencies, while getting real-time performance feedback. Plus, immersive technologies such as AR/VR are easy to adapt to with minimal training. Not only that, but they hold a strong appeal for the next generation of industrial workers. Lastly, they enable workers of all ages to adapt smoothly to evolving workplace demands.
In workplaces where workers are the heart of the operation, it’s imperative to utilise Industry 4.0 technologies to their fullest. They unlock the true potential of an organisation’s workforce, by seamlessly upskilling them for the future of work.
Connecting workers and assets: the wider value-add advantage
Alongside boosting the safety, productivity and engagement of the workforce, today’s connected ecosystem solutions support several other key organisational goals.
By driving seamless and automated data capture and information flows, these powerful solutions enable organisations to transform traditional work processes and create intelligent and agile production environments that can be optimised over time. Real-time sensors and monitoring systems can predict and prevent machine failures, allowing companies to improve uptime and ensure safety and sustainability compliance. By leveraging real-time data to streamline supply chains, organisations can further reduce energy and resource waste and maximize asset availability.
An EAM platform acts as a centralised, single-source-of-truth. Integrating connected worker and mobility systems with the EAM platform further elevates the data that flows into this source. This makes it easier to monitor and optimise asset performance, increase efficiency and control maintenance costs.
Some organisations want to go one step further, however. Utilising AI, predictive analytics and machine learning makes it possible to predict and plan for future events or opportunities. This has a direct and positive impact on asset availability, time savings and effective resource allocation. By offering the workforce the support, data and tooling where they need it most, skilled labourers experience less administrative burden. This frees up valuable time for them to focus on more impactful and higher value-add tasks.
For industry leaders that want to achieve seamless and integrated operational excellence, maximise how they leverage their Industry 4.0 investments for enhanced agility and sustainability, and tackle the workforce talent shortage, connecting employees to the working world around them will empower them to work smarter, stay safer, and deliver better business outcomes.
- Digital Strategy
- People & Culture
