DIGITAL FACTORY
“ Companies always knew there were better ways to do things but stayed the course due to fear . It took something as dramatic as the pandemic to create the inertia to be brave enough to take the plunge , and now that we have seen how it can be , we cannot unsee it . And through all this , it ’ s magnified that people are at the centre of it all . Companies need to offer the tools to empower their people to be their most successful selves , regardless of their physical work location .”
What Can We Expect in the Future ? Rest assured , Bragstad firmly believes that manufacturers will find their way . “ They are going to strive to be agile , flexible , and intentional with their operations and communication . For the most part , though , we have been given the blueprint , and many leaders are brave enough to experiment ,” says Bragstad .
“ The bigger changes now are going to be for the deskless workforce that did not have the option to be remote or hybrid until now . They have been ignored for years , and over the last 18 months , none of the technology spend went their way , which has left them feeling very underappreciated . How I see the future for manufacturing here is a new level of technical capability for this workforce as they need it every bit as much as their remote peers . Technology that facilitates easier collaboration , quicker help when needed , support in the line of work , and most importantly , the ability to take their life back into their own hands will be key to empowering workers to do their best work . Simple things like the ability to swap shifts so that they can have some of the flexibility of their remote counterparts does wonders towards capturing some of the same momenta as described above . This is where the focus for most manufacturing leaders should be if they want to unlock the true potential of their greatest assets , their employees .”
manufacturingglobal . com 49