INTEGRATOR VIEW 43 AW APRIL 2022
Supply Chain Headaches Reveal Industrial and Utility Communication Opportunities By Keith Mandachit Senior Engineer, Huffman Engineering
Good communication can help you strategize for the long term and alleviate concerns your team may have about being replaced by a robot. Instead, it can show them a new future at their position where their time could be devoted to additional career development.
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here’s not an industry in the world right now unaffected in some manner by supply chain headaches; and the constant logistics needed to keep up can be maddening. Turbulence in the supply chain, shortages of skilled labor, economic uncertainties, and increased demand specifically for manufactured household items are playing a significant part in outlining what 2022 will look like. And it doesn’t look like it’s easing up any time soon. So, what does that mean for industrial manufacturers looking to automate their plants and ease worker tensions while still keeping up with production? One option is for companies to push projects aside until supply chain issues get corrected. But, with no foreseeable end to these issues in sight, that is likely not the wisest decision, espcially in light of continued fierce competition across industries and legislative bills poised to require further investments in automation and the upgrading of existing systems. With this in mind, how can industrial companies go about making their supply chain operations a success?
Strong Communication
Let’s start with the basics: communicate well and often. Good communication with your internal team and the customers you serve will go a long way to helping you understand where supply chain hiccups will affect you the most. Internally examine both your personnel situation and your existing systems. Are you having a hard time finding skilled workers to take once fillable positions and is your HR team spinning their wheels trying to find skilled labor at rates that won’t put you out of business? Is this an opportunity to introduce some form of automation or a collaborative robot to take on the monotonous jobs and ease the burden of finding good skilled labor? Communicate with your existing team the challenges you’re facing and talk creatively about how you could free up some of those positions and divert important human personnel to focus on more strate-
gic, intuitive processes. Good communication could effectively help you strategize for the long term and alleviate concerns your team may have about being replaced by a robot. It should, if communicated well, show them a new future at their position where their time could be devoted to additional career development. Do outdated systems require inefficiencies and time-consuming battles you can’t afford now while still achieving your production goals? Now is the time to have some strategic discussions about the future of your company and its longevity in a highlycompetitive environment. Allowing supply chain issues to impact your long-term strategy may prove detrimental in the end. Seek out opportunities to gain access to federal monies devoted to upgrading and automating processes and secure your team’s place with growing and thriving companies. Solid communication with your purchasing department and those on the front lines is imperative. Talk about which component parts are experiencing the most setbacks and share any knowledge gained of alternative solutions that could work for a given project. Information shared within the company can allow better communication outside of your walls. Consistent and accurate information passed on to your customers can be your biggest weapon in the fight we’re all in regarding supply chain issues. Being forthcoming on any possible supply chain setbacks you may be able to predict allows your customers the flexibility to go back to their own team and talk through their options.
3/29/22 9:51 AM
