There are a number of widely-held views about manufacturing, particularly within the US, which don’t stand as much as scrutiny. The sector has lengthy been regarded as dying, however reviews of the “loss of life” of US manufacturing have been drastically exaggerated. Slightly, the business will play a pivotal position within the 21st-century economic system.
Delusion 1: Manufacturing is a Dying Trade
Whereas it’s true that the share of jobs in manufacturing has declined steadily within the US, this pattern didn’t begin within the 70’s or 80’s, however moderately simply after WWII.
Although manufacturing’s share of nominal GDP has additionally declined, its share of actual GDP has remained a near-constant 12 p.c. That is hardly the doom and gloom situation that manufacturing’s detractors would lead you to consider.
Delusion 2: The US Isn’t Aggressive Globally
One other long-standing fantasy is that the US simply isn’t aggressive, particularly when it comes to labor prices. That is the primary cause manufacturing jobs are exported to lower-cost nations, like Mexico, China, or Vietnam. The widely-held perception that US manufacturing has been successfully outsourced overseas is used as “supporting proof” for its decline. Though there’s some fact to this, the truth is extra sophisticated. Whereas a lot low-value manufacturing has departed the US shores and is unlikely to return, excessive value-add manufacturing has really elevated lately.
The truth is, the US is commonly ranked on the prime in international competitiveness, in response to the World Financial Discussion board and the UN’s Aggressive Industrial Efficiency Index. If the numbers don’t help this fantasy, why is it so persistent? It’s due, partially, to common manufacturing wages within the US and different superior economies being considerably increased than in lower-income nations. Nevertheless, evaluating these wages, actual or nominal, shouldn’t be evaluating like-for-like and is deceptive, contemplating manufacturing’s share of nominal GDP. The reason being that the US has misplaced the majority of its manufacturing jobs to not different nations, however to automation.
The talents required to work successfully in high-value manufacturing should not the identical as the talents in locations like Asia, the place guide labor – not automation – is the norm for the overwhelming majority of producing amenities. KPMG has thought of the “all-in” prices of doing enterprise in numerous nations, and the US ranks very favorably when contemplating this extra detailed metric.
The KPMG report concludes that “for manufacturing actions which might be extra routine in nature and require much less superior expertise, the place the lack of productiveness could also be outweighed by decrease prices, corporations might take into account finding their manufacturing amenities in decrease prices nations reminiscent of China, Vietnam or Taiwan; nevertheless, in higher-value-added manufacturing the place the method is extra advanced or automated and requires extremely expert labor to handle, the US could also be thought of extra favorably as a location.”
Regardless of the comparatively excessive ranges of automation and complexity current throughout its industries, the US nonetheless has an extended option to go in its automation journey. Estimates fluctuate, however solely round 10 to twenty p.c of all manufacturing processes are at the moment automated, with most of these within the automotive and electronics sectors.
McKinsey estimates that nicely over 80 p.c of procedures at the moment being carried out manually are nonetheless ripe for automating. If the US is to stay aggressive, extra investments have to be made in autonomous, clever, and modular automation.
Delusion 3: Sunk Prices Are Too Excessive
Many producers are unwilling to make such investments, largely as a result of they’ve been burned by the advertising and marketing of “autonomous” manufacturing for a few years, the place the promise didn’t stay as much as the hype.
Each manufacturing unit has a again room the place the previous “newest and best” automation expertise is gathering mud. Nevertheless a lot this causes reluctance to buy newer gear, the US can’t be caught out due to Aesop’s well-known “crying wolf” allegory. This time, there actually is a wolf: developments in sensor expertise and AI. Failing to grasp how that is the case will go away the US flat-footed competitively.
Delusion 4: AI is only a Parlor Trick
Whereas instruments like ChatGPT wow lay audiences, skilled practitioners know that it takes much more to revolutionize manufacturing expertise. Many have heard this hype earlier than, and it’s justified to be cynical after years of false begins. Generative AI creating artwork and textual content is a step ahead, however the applicability of such algorithms is slender and unsuitable for many manufacturing purposes.
Essentially the most related revolution is in machine studying, and it’s occurring at an unprecedented tempo. What was as soon as “pie-in-the-sky” claims are rapidly turning into business-as-usual. Anybody left doubting the potential influence is prone to dropping their aggressive edge, as this pattern will solely speed up.
Delusion 5: Automation Will Substitute Everybody
Automation doesn’t work in a vacuum. Effectively-trained employees should oversee the advanced interactions between modules in an effort to take full benefit of those new applied sciences. Employees need to be taught and enhance their ability set, as nobody is motivated to do 3D duties (soiled, boring, harmful) within the 21st century.
Moreover, there’s a reciprocal impact at play: the extra mundane the manufacturing duties, the much less engaged the worker. In consequence, corporations acknowledge the shortage of motivation and begin seeing their individuals as interchangeable cogs. This pattern can’t proceed.
It’s harder and expensive to repurpose outdated manufacturing gear than it’s to coach or retrain motivated workers. That’s partly why McKinsey views up-skilling as a definitive pressure in the way forward for manufacturing and sees the share of guide labor dropping over 25 p.c between 2016 and 2030.
Regardless of the extent of automation, extremely expert personnel are required to make sure that all techniques proceed to run easily and optimally for each facility. With out persevering with to spend money on individuals and their coaching, corporations threat being left behind within the race for expertise.
The Backside Line
Manufacturing should grow to be extra environment friendly, autonomous, and more and more depending on AI and machine studying. Solely via the deployment of superior automation expertise will employees be unchained from mundane duties and allowed to unleash their full potential.
Lukas Pankau is co-CEO of Industrial Subsequent, an organization creating autonomous manufacturing for automobile producers and different producers.
