Podcasts
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:

Every month, Machine Language covers the latest technologies and trends in industrial automation for the manufacturing market through interviews with industry experts. Topics are related to automation and machinery, including safety integration, robotics and sensors, motion control, software solutions, Industry 4.0 and the IIoT, cybersecurity and networking, and artificial intelligence.

Find the podcast on MA’s Podcasts page or on Annex Business Media’s site, as well as on Annex Business Media’s SoundCloud and iTunes accounts.

Missed our last episodes? We recently spoke with Jonathan Gross, managing director at Pemeco Consulting, about how COVID-19 is putting pressure on companies to begin digital transformation. Andre Vittorio, president and founder of Idealogical Systems Inc. shared cybersecurity tips for manufacturers in the wake of COVID-19. And in our premiere episode, we discussed what’s been happening in Ontario’s manufacturing sector as a result of the pandemic with Shelley Fellows, chair of Automate Canada, and Mike Bilton, chair of the Canadian Association of Mold Makers.

If you have an idea for a Machine Language podcast episode, email host Kristina Urquhart at kurquhart@annexbusinessmedia.com.