So far in this series, I’ve talked about how job descriptions have evolved as the industry has matured. Along the way, I’ve emphasized that the objective is not to impress you with the advanced power of the servo—it is to impress upon you the importance of the journey of keeping up with advancements, both as individual companies and the industry as a whole. Now, it’s time to hone in on what keeping up will really mean to all of us.
Hans Hundegger once said his machines “helped the small independent CM compete with the large CM.” Today, technology remains a central component in maintaining and growing a business. Alongside that technology journey, we must be aware of the human components that will be essential to success.
The Machinery to Keep Up with Technology
In today’s technologically advanced world, computers can perform just about anything that we can imagine. The technological innovations have helped usher in amazing new opportunities and possibilities. CMs are investing in equipment, software, automation, and even robotics. But sometimes, it’s actually a question of whether a machine can perform the tasks that our people imagine.
The lack of productivity growth over the past 10 to 15 years has been a hot topic of discussion. Investment in the CM industry has been strongly concentrated in a few areas, while labor productivity— the key driver of profits and wages—hasn’t grown much at all. You can see the computer age everywhere but in manufacturing productivity statistics.
Hundegger is not alone in offering CMs high precision fully automatic machines. Today’s CMs have choices at every stage of their manufacturing effort. And the advancements are coming faster than ever. The important question for CMs, however, is to ask themselves—how much (more) advanced equipment do I need now, and how much return on investment can I expect? Is equipment the sole driver of productivity?
The People to Keep Up with Technology
Acquiring new advanced equipment is only half of the equation—the other half is having the people who can operate and maintain it!
The technology that props our cutting-edge equipment is complicated. That means people have to be able to do more than load a file and push a button. They need to take ownership. Learning will take patience. It takes a commitment to figuring out how it works and how to keep it working. In today’s production and manufacturing world, we’re not really looking for human cogs who will simply stamp out their widgets without thinking about anything else. The people on the plant floor and in the yard need to pay attention to this journey. They should all be concerned about the quality of the end product. Whether they are directly operating the machine or simply one person in a larger process, they need to be trained on how the entire process works so that they can understand how they are all part of the same team.
So far, we have not seen any servo equipment that replaces all labor. Especially smart labor. Full automation is still a ways off. In order for today’s equipment to meet expectations, we still need people to create, monitor, and drive those expectations.
In addition, the team that helps a business succeed includes both the employees and the suppliers. As equipment manufacturers, we can help you define the path you would like to take. We can help you keep your business humming. And responsible equipment manufacturers shouldn’t pressure you into acquiring too much technology before you’re ready. Honestly, some companies aren’t ready for all of the latest and greatest machines…yet. Each company needs to evaluate both the machinery component and the people component to see how it all fits together best for them.
Technology-Driven Changes and Productivity
There is a lot of hype with new start-ups in the industry. A lot of interest with a lot of money is chasing the CM industry. Hundegger, along with other companies, is selling equipment to a new breed of CM which is starting to make some very big moves. And the thing driving this revolution is technology.
All of this new movement is built around the hope that current and future technological advancements will offset the barriers to higher productivity in the industry. Productivity—the total economic output per WORKER—in the construction industry has remained flat, partly because of the slow adoption of new technologies across the industry.
Since 1945, productivity in manufacturing, retail, and agriculture has grown 1,500%, while it has barely gone up in construction, according to a McKinsey report from 2017.
For crying out loud!! Government productivity is doing better than Construction and the Government is at ZERO productivity!! There definitely are productivity gains to be captured.
We’re probably still a ways off from 3D-printing houses en masse, but changes are coming. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is becoming increasingly popular. I won’t pretend to be an expert here, but I can recognize the trends. Tech Companies, Large Capital Investment companies, and even your bigger customers see the opportunity of technology in Construction as the last technology frontier. Increasingly, it’s becoming clear that there are two types of CMs—the CMs that have the vision and adopt technology to increase productivity, and companies that just have the vision.
It seems to me that the real success will go to those who figure out how to combine technology and productivity. Remember what I just said, “Productivity is the total economic output per WORKER.” As an equipment salesman, I can’t believe I am saying this but here goes…As Technology advances, as companies like Hundegger innovate…as we up our game, you must “up yours”! Start with your people. We still need workers to be productive!
Keeping Up and Survival
In 1995, one of our Hundegger associates from Germany was here in the USA. He was installing the first saw in North America. The customer knew he had made a huge leap forward and asked Franz what was the most important thing to remember about the new saw. Franz told the customer the most important thing to know, “Wenn mann die Maschine liebt, liebt die Maschine mann zurück.” The advice is still used today. Direct translation: “If man loves the machine, the machine loves man back.”
We cannot just sit back waiting for the technology revolution to happen. Survival is not plug and play. It is a process that it is not easy. It’s about the journey…the equipment AND the people, AND the culture of your business.
If you want to own technology, OWN IT! If you really truly OWN IT, you will LOVE IT!!