Digital Debate: Solutions for the Shifting Industrial Workforce | Recap
By Isaac Brown
Earlier today, I had the pleasure of hosting a virtual panel-style debate with my friends Michael Muilenburg (Head of Operational Technology & Strategic Planning at 3M) and Brian Sallee (Co-founder at Dozuki) – see the recording here.
Over 100 global executives joined the virtual event from companies like: AB InBev, ABB, Albertsons, ArcelorMittal, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bosch, CEMEX, Coca-Cola, CNH, Colgate, Embraer, Enel, Flex, Goya Foods, Gulfstream, Harman, Henkel, Honeywell, Mars, Rockwell, Schlumberger, Siemens, Solvay, Stryker, SUEZ, Transocean, Volvo, Whirlpool, and many more…
The discussion kicked off with the big picture question: What does a “shifting workforce” mean and how are industrial companies coping? The shifting industrial workforce creates existential threats for the world’s industrial enterprises – the downstream effects of retiring workers and shorter job tenures are highly disruptive. Digital vendors have begun emerging with solutions for this problem… but it’s a race against time to see whether they can plug the gaps before tribal knowledge is lost and the skills gap continues to widen.
To get to the heart of the matter, we debated the following points:
What downstream problems are created by retirement and shortened job tenure?
How can digital tech solutions capture tribal knowledge and preserve quality?
How can tech enhance the employee experience, rather than be viewed as a threat?
How do you sell digital tech up and down the org chart for maximum adoption?
Finally, Mike and Brian discussed 3M’s work with Dozuki. 3M is scaling the Dozuki solution across its operations, targeting some heavy ROI in the partnership – with one major value generator being the reduction in changeover times across the factory footprint, with savings globally of many tens of millions of dollars.
The shifting industrial workforce creates existential threats for the world’s industrial enterprises – the downstream effects of retiring workers and shorter job tenures are highly disruptive.
We briefly covered a few questions submitted during the Q&A, but would welcome any additional thoughts folks might have on these two questions:
How do you secure budget for digital projects BEFORE being able to demonstrate ROI?
How can you accurately benchmark operational performance before and after investing in digital solutions?
Leveraging our deep network to keep us all connected during these unprecedented times, Landmark will be hosting an ongoing series of digital events featuring renowned thought leaders in industries ranging from cybersecurity and industrial tech to digital marketing and social impact. To learn more about our digital series as either an attendee or partner, please contact me – ibrown@landmarkventures.com.
And in case you missed it, check out the recording!
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