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How Technology Can Ease Workforce Issues in Food Manufacturing

Food and beverage panelists at Rockwell’s Automation Fair discuss technology’s role in hiring and retaining labor, and how applying real-time data can improve production forecasts.

Rockwell Automation Fair Chicago
Attendees browse the West Hall of Chicago's McCormick Place during Rockwell's 2022 Automation Fair.

The 31st annual Rockwell Automation Fair drew more than 18,000 attendees over two days in Chicago, giving industry professionals an inside look at how Rockwell is addressing current challenges and trends through industrial automation and digital transformation.

One session during the event featured food and beverage executives discussing how technology can be applied to ongoing labor issues and other processing challenges. Here are some key takeaways from that session.

Working with a purpose

The panelists agreed that before any technology options are implemented into a food processing facility to help with labor—like adding robots or cobots, for example—the company culture from the top executive down to every new hire needs to be infused with a sense of purpose.

“Really think about the culture of your organization,” said Michael Chaney, retired SVP, product supply at Proctor & Gamble. “Employees want to feel like what they do matters and is valuable, so make it valuable. Let them know they’re making a difference. Train them and let them know they’re developing and learning new skills. All of that is part of the culture you create as an organization. If you’re dependent on [retaining staff through higher wages] it’s not enough.”

Brian Marsh, senior director, digital manufacturing at Nestle, added, “There’s not a large enough labor pool out there to fill our needs. There’s lots of options for people to do other things now, so it’s really important for us to create a new environment for people to come into manufacturing. We’re constantly looking at new ways of working in our factories to try and make it more fun and easier by eliminating jobs nobody wants to do.”

Marsh mentioned a new initiative he created that combines technology and team communication is an OEE workgroup made up of line operators at Nestle that meet regularly and parse data to identify trends on their equipment, and lets them solve challenges together. “You need to allow time in their schedule so they have an opportunity to do that,” he said.

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