Feature Story

PODCAST: How to connect your plant’s most valuable asset

The skills gap is consistently ranked among manufacturers’ top concerns – and it’s been further compounded by the COVID-19 safety measures that require less workers to be present on the floor.

In the fourth episode of Machine Language: The Podcast, we’re exploring how the “connected worker” can improve communication between people and machines, and serve as one of the solutions to the skills shortage.

Sundeep Ravande, Innovapptive

We discuss the challenges of communication in factories with Sundeep Ravande, CEO of Innovapptive, a technology platform and information portal combining ERP data with worker-centric information such as instructions, work orders and inspections.

Ravande says that companies not only need to think about how digital technologies can help their bottom line, but they also need to recognize that they will attract new, younger workers to roles in manufacturing.

“Industry 4.0 has transformed the world of work with strategies such as connected assets, connected equipment, connected plants, connective automotives,” Ravande says. “If you combine what’s happening in Industry 4.0 – artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced robotics, automation, analytics and the Internet of Things – it’s already created a fear that it will eliminate jobs.

“However, we’re seeing the contrary,” he says. “These technologies are creating more jobs than they replace.”

Listen to the full episode here:

Return to: 2020 Feature Stories