Where automation and diversity intersect

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Where automation and diversity intersect

15 Dec 2022

Maggie Glisan

Maggie Glisan covers consumer trends and emerging markets for the Commercial Baking media group. She spent the bulk of her 15-year career as the senior food editor at Better Homes and Gardens, where she was responsible for producing, writing and editing stories and developing recipes for the monthly magazine and special interest publications. Prior to that she worked as graphic designer and assistant art director in the Food Group at Better Homes and Gardens, where she took on an increasing role in content creation and editorial development.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Innovation and the adoption of smart technology in today’s bakery equipment is changing not only how the work gets done but also who can do it. The industry has been gradually embracing robotics and automation to streamline key aspects of production in recent years, but the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated that trend. As manufacturers contend with ongoing supply chain challenges and labor shortages, investing in system automation is no longer a novelty; it’s a necessity.

This shift is having a considerable effect on who is working on the production floor. The days of relying on physically strong — often male — workers to lug around heavy bags or lift cast iron have become a thing of the past. And although automation and robotics aren’t eliminating the need for manual labor altogether, it is easing the industry’s reliance on physically demanding positions.

As such, automation could provide greater opportunity for manufacturers to tap into a more diverse pool of candidates, such as women or people with otherwise physical limitations, for jobs on the production line.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, policies and practices are top of mind industry wide. According to an April 2022 American Bakers Association (ABA) study, 65% of companies in the baking industry have DEI programs in place. Additionally, 44% provide DEI training to employees and 26% plans to implement diversity education programs.

Pursuing DEI initiatives isn’t just beneficial to improving workplace culture; it also attracts a more engaged workforce and improves customer loyalty. Data from the Manufacturing Institute cited “becoming an employer of choice” and “reflecting the community in which they operate” as the top two reasons companies develop diversity initiatives.

At a time when the industry faces alarming workforce shortages (a study by the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte indicates the shortage could result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030), DEI initiatives should remain at the forefront of manufacturers’ strategic plans for recruitment and retention.

One tool that’s becoming more common is robotics. But it comes with a misconception that its primary purpose is to eliminate jobs.

“When we first started talking about automation, people were scared,” said Nathan Norris, director of DEI for Northbrook, IL-based Highland Baking Co. “They thought automation was coming to replace them.” He said the transition required some education and communication of the advantages, but that ultimately workers were receptive to the new technology, especially when they saw how it benefited them.

Automation has also been a win-win for DEI at Highland, Norris said, and with the easing of physical barriers to entry, there’s greater opportunity to tap individuals from a broader range of backgrounds and experiences to work on the lines.

Take palletizing robots, for example.

“They’ve been a game changer,” Norris said. “Prior to that, people had to stack manually, and some of the boxes could get pretty heavy. When you have people at different heights, weights and body types, it could be really difficult for some people to do the work. Now, it doesn’t matter the size or shape of the individual; the robot takes that out of the equation.”

Eric Riggle, president of Rademaker USA, said recent innovations have taken the weight out of much of their equipment, allowing for people with a broader range of physical ability, size and strength to do the job.

“In some cases, lighter-weight equipment can be managed and handled by one person instead of two burly operators,” Riggle said. “So, a wider variety of personnel can use and operate it.”

Recent innovations to human-machine interfaces (HMIs) are also helping broaden the scope of who can operate certain equipment. Those that feature bilingual, trilingual or even pictorial controls can help manufacturers eliminate language barriers and recruit workers from different ethnic populations.

“We’re constantly working toward greater universality with operating interfaces so even if there is a language barrier, a worker can still do the job,” said Riggle, who is also trying to put to bed the notion that automation kills jobs.

“Robotics doesn’t mean we don’t need people; it means we need different people,” he said. “The things you want to automate tend to be the things you don’t want to be doing anyway. These jobs don’t lead to satisfying careers. You need to get rid of repetitive tasks.”

Instead, automation should be seen as a chance for more training and education to elevate the skills of the existing workforce and recruit new workers who might not have considered manufacturing previously.

“There should be a reeducation of the workforce to meet the needs of the automated bakery,” Riggle said. “Just because you don’t need people who are bending and pinching 50,000 croissants an hour doesn’t mean there still isn’t a need for people to maintain, operate, and run that automation that produces those 50,000 croissants an hour. And those people are lacking in the workforce.”

Jorge Izquierdo, VP of market development for the PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, said automation can lead to greater ownership and responsibility among workers, which is key for retention.

“Automation is making manufacturing less and less about physical things and more about critical thinking and decision making,” he said. “Critical thinking is one thing that every CPG [brand] is looking for.”

Similarly, Norris said automation is increasing the need for more technical skill among workers, which could open the door for greater diversity in the workplace.

“These jobs require people to use their brain a little bit,” he explained. “It’s not just waiting on bread to come down the line and picking it up and setting it in a case. You need a little more knowledge and skill.”

This story has been adapted from the 2022 Innovations Annual issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.

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