WWEMA Window: The New Face Of Manufacturing
Like many of you, I have recently been listening to and participating in many webinars and reading articles about the current challenges facing the manufacturing community — supply chain disruptions, material price escalations, workforce safety issues, market uncertainties and volatility, etc. One of the more difficult challenges focuses on worker shortages and the inability to find the right people with the right skills.
Before I continue with this article, I think it important to provide a couple of key pieces of information for context: 1) I was in school in the ’60s and ’70s, and college and graduate school in the early ’80s; and 2) I am a scientist. I say that not to date myself but to better frame my experience and perspective. In school we studied the industrial revolution and learned that it changed the way things were made as new machines invented in the 1700s and 1800s meant it was possible to mass produce goods in factories. Starting in Britain and spreading through Europe and North America, a period of rapid social and economic change began with widespread urbanization. As an event, the first industrial revolution, with a focus on water and steam to mechanize production, had both positive and negative impacts for society. Although there were several positives, there were also many negative aspects, including poor working conditions, poor living conditions, low wages, child labor, and pollution. The second period of industrialization took place from the 19th to early 20th centuries and saw rapid advances in the steel, electric, and automobile industries. It used electric power to create mass production.
All of this manufacturing and industry cumulatively had a negative effect on our environment and public health. In 1962, Rachael Carson published Silent Spring, which ignited an environmental movement surrounding agriculture’s chemical use and the adverse effects of such chemicals as DDT on the environment and human health. Many credit this environmental movement with the ultimate creation of the U.S. EPA on December 2, 1970. This book, as well as what I learned about the negative impacts of manufacturing and industry, led me to pursue higher education in aquatic ecology and aquatic toxicology. In the early ’80s, my master’s research focused on the toxicological damage, including lesions, cancer, and changes in blood parameters experienced by bottom dwelling fish species in rivers like the Cuyahoga and other tributaries of the Ohio River impacted by earlier decades of pollution from manufacturing and industry. The “hot” sediments contained polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that, while not water-soluble, were lipophilic and bioaccumulated in many types of bottom-dwelling fish. All this is to say that manufacturing and industry had a negative connotation from both my schooling and early work experience.
But this is not the manufacturing of today, and I wonder what the kids are learning in school now as we have moved beyond those early centuries and into the third industrial revolution, or Digital Revolution, that began in the late 1900s and is characterized by the spread of automation and digitization through the use of electronics and computers, the invention of the internet, and the discovery of nuclear energy. The rapid decline in transaction costs brought on by this third revolution are leading to the democratization of information, energy, manufacturing, marketing, and logistics, and the ushering in of a new era of distributed capitalism that is likely to change the very way we think of commercial life. Many experts now say we are in the fourth industrial revolution, which is blurring the boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. It's a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies.
These are exciting times and manufacturers are leading the way in research and development, utilizing the digitization tools of today to make manufacturing faster, cleaner, and safer. These are the leaders in solar and wind energy generation, electric vehicles, developing biofuels, and reusing water to maximize efficiency. Artificial intelligence is all around us, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants. We no longer refer to wastewater treatment plants but rather resource recovery facilities. We are reducing our carbon footprint, focusing on sustainability, and making our world a better place in which to live and work. Is this excitement, and are these new opportunities being shared with the students of today? Are we creating a learning environment that helps them see that they can be problem solvers and solution providers and the leaders in manufacturing tomorrow?
I was on a webinar last week of Ohio CEO leaders put on by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) where many of these issues were discussed — labor shortages and encouraging new careers in manufacturing being high on the list. These leaders noted that while it used to be that a pair of hands, a strong back, and a committed work ethic were the most important skills for enjoying a career in manufacturing, in recent years there has been a transition from the assembly-line style of manufacturing of the past to the technology-driven manufacturing of today — redefining the type of worker needed for the manufacturers of tomorrow. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are key issues manufacturers are dealing with as well. Currently only about 29 percent of the manufacturing workforce are women. In writing this article, I researched the types of skill sets that manufacturing hiring managers are looking for in prospective employees. Some of these skills include: 1) attention to detail; 2) critical thinking and decision-making; 3) strong communication skills; 4) interest and aptitude for technology; 5) dependability; 6) ability to be cross-trained; and 7) the ability to write and understand code and program manufacturing-specific machines and devices. This is in addition to a continual need for electricians, plumbers, welders, machinists, and operating engineers. All well-paying jobs waiting to be filled.
There are a number of factors that are positioning our industry to take advantage of opportunities to close this employment and skills gap. The growing cost of a four-year college degree and the burgeoning student debt that is weighing down the next generation speaks to a need for these skills to be offered at the community college or associate degree level. The Biden administration has even proposed two years of free community college. What if we could structure that curriculum to teach the skills we need and quickly move the next generation of young adults into well-paying, stable careers in manufacturing? A number of our WWEMA members have partnered with local colleges to offer internships and apprentice programs to get students in the door and provide on-the-job training with the opportunity for full-time employment after graduation. One WWEMA member recently posted on LinkedIn about an event that brought community leaders to their manufacturing facility to highlight the innovation and progressive attitude that characterized this company. At the end of the event, one of the participants said he would like his kids to come for a similar visit so that they could see the opportunities for good employment right in their community. I know the water sector, EPA, and Congress are spearheading efforts to close the employment gap. Maybe we need some good public relations and an add campaign that explains today’s manufacturing and shows the diversity of people and skills that it takes to provide the products that drive our economy and way of life. We need to get the message out that manufacturers are leading the efforts to innovate and create a better world for today and tomorrow!
Vanessa M. Leiby is Executive Director of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA). WWEMA is a non-profit trade association that has been working for water and wastewater technology and service providers since 1908. WWEMA’s members supply the most sophisticated leading-edge technologies and services, offering solutions to every water-related environmental problem and need facing today’s society. For more information about WWEMA, go to www.wwema.org.