Ted Rozier speaks at Festo’s new Regional Service Middle in Ohio as the corporate celebrates its centennial. Supply: Festo Didactic
Immediately is nationwide Manufacturing Day, which kicks off Manufacturing Month. As well as, Festo is marking 100 years as a worldwide innovator.
The Manufacturing Institute organizes Manufacturing Day actions throughout the U.S. to showcase fashionable factories and manufacturing applied sciences. It additionally hosts STEM (science, know-how, engineering, and arithmetic) occasions and job festivals to handle ongoing shortages of expert labor.
Festo Didactic is the vocational and technical coaching unit of Esslingen am Neckar, Germany-based automation vendor Festo SE. It has 40 years of expertise with bodily programs, consulting companies, and on-line studying. Festo Didactic has U.S. places of work in Eatontown, N.J.
The Robotic Report spoke with Ted Rozier, director of digital, superior, know-how, and robotics at Festo Didactic, concerning the firm’s milestone and this yr’s Manufacturing Day.
Festo marks anniversary, Manufacturing Month
Congratulations on Festo’s centennial! What does that imply to you?
Ted Rozier with college students at IMTS Smartforce Scholar Summit. Supply: Festo Didactic
Rozier: After I joined Festo, I used to be on the lookout for a unique alternative. What caught my eye was the Festo Bionic community — the robotic butterflies and kangaroo. I used to be considering as an engineer, “It actually could be cool to take a look at creation after which enable that to encourage engineering capabilities.” The humorous factor is, after I received the job, I haven’t labored on any of these issues, as a substitute specializing in digitization and workforce improvement.
Nevertheless it does communicate to the breadth and depth of ingenuity that comes from Festo. It hasn’t been round for 100 years for no motive. With the ability to be so energetic in so many alternative areas actually speaks to innovation.
What are you wanting ahead to this Manufacturing Day and Manufacturing Month?
Rozier: NJMEP [the public-private New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program] is internet hosting yearly occasions together with a Manufacturing Management Convention. I’ll signify Festo on a panel on synthetic intelligence and manufacturing and the influence on the industrial facet and training.
AI: Risk or alternative?
Lots of people view advancing AI as an existential menace. How do you see it?
Rozier: Proper now, everybody needs to make AI tangible. They need to open up the field, get their arms inside, and say, “Let’s cease speaking about it, and inform me how you can use it.”
Everyone knows what ChatGPT is, and it’s a great tool. However I believe the No. 1 wrestle is to ensure we don’t go ignorant utilizing it. It’s “rubbish in/rubbish out.” You continue to want to make use of your thoughts to tweak the outcomes to get them the place they should be.
On the opposite facet, there’s AI for manufacturing. We’ve got to remember as we’re designing algorithms, do they resolve a specific downside?
Our perspective on the tutorial facet of the enterprise is are you able to train college students about what historic knowledge is, what real-time knowledge is, and might you classify that knowledge to eradicate what I don’t care about and assist me with predictive upkeep? If I can get a machine to speak to me, and we will belief the output, that may enable technicians and operators — the 2 hottest job roles on the market proper now — to make higher selections and enhance effectivity.
Talking of careers, the place do workforce improvement efforts must focus to get individuals into fashionable manufacturing?
Rozier: I don’t care if we’re speaking about excessive colleges, vocational colleges, group schools, or universities. With regards to manufacturing, there’s programming PLCs [programmable logic controllers], working with robots, and HMI [human-machine interface] that’s stackable to the PLC.
After which there’s one other piece, the place there’s an MES [manufacturing execution system] that captures info. So do you perceive connectivity, IP addressing, and battle of IP addresses? What I simply outlined are some ability units that talk to mechatronics.
On the software program facet, it’s Python and a number of other software program platforms that work alongside Python programming. Some corporations have knowledge scientists. With rising applied sciences, everybody has a task to embrace a bit of AI at totally different levels, whether or not it’s on the knowledge assortment, the analytics, or {the electrical} and mechanical design. The usual roles in manufacturing will broaden horizontally.
Editor’s be aware: RoboBusiness 2025, which might be on Oct. 15 and 16 in Santa Clara, Calif., will characteristic tracks on bodily AI, enabling applied sciences, humanoids, design and improvement, enterprise, and discipline robotics. It’ll additionally embody a number of networking alternatives. Register now to attend.
Smooth abilities nonetheless matter
Rozier: There are extra abilities that we’ve actually been pushing together with {the electrical}, mechanical, and software program.
What are these?
Rozier: We’re making an attempt to assist people get jobs in manufacturing, and you’ve got technical abilities and “delicate” abilities. It’s so essential that the delicate abilities — adaptability and the power to speak — are being taught correctly.
Typically college students or incumbent employees do issues in silos, and what occurs is that no one ever injects a brand new concept. Issues are solely executed a method, however individuals must work effectively with others. It’s essential for instructional establishments and companies to make it possible for college students can articulate themselves.
It’s additionally essential that college students get their arms on on the identical gear that’s presently utilized in business. Typically issues are put in entrance of them conceptually, after which there’s a steep studying curve once they get a job placement.
Establishments ought to work tougher to get college students to go to manufacturing amenities to allow them to see what’s happening in actual time.
How does Festo’s new Regional Service Middle in Mason, Ohio, slot in?
Rozier: It provides a glimpse of the manufacturing unit of the long run. Whenever you have a look at a regular manufacturing unit or warehouse, you’re going to have numerous manpower.
We’ve got numerous new know-how that’s being tightly built-in in that facility to not solely present a implausible expertise for the workers in working with the vanguard of know-how, however to even be extra environment friendly in getting parts to our prospects.
Festo Didactic provides a cyber-physical lab for coaching and teamwork. Supply: Festo Didactic
How does Festo Didactic see itself within the wider manufacturing and automation ecosystem?
Rozier: We’re a worldwide group. One method to gauge Festo Didactic’s exercise is certifications. Together with our companion NC3, we’re getting near handing out 1 million certifications.
That quantity is spectacular, however an employer has to have the ability to ask, “When you had been in your coaching or apprenticeship program, what have you ever discovered?” Certificates and credentials assist candidates reply in a standardized, measurable method.
Years in the past, when funding was given to colleges, there weren’t numerous checks and balances ensuring graduates may carry out with present applied sciences. With certifications, the human assets managers or hiring managers can really feel an entire lot higher.
Festo has put numerous laborious work into constructing out a curriculum that aligns with certifications, ensuring that the coaching, repetition, and high quality are there.
Are you able to give some examples?
Rozier: At Enterprise State Neighborhood School in Alabama, the job placement charge is almost 100%, and native employers need to recruit our college students earlier than they even graduate. As much as 40% of collaborating highschool college students earn their associates earlier than they get their diplomas with an Enterprise mechatronics program supported by Festo Didactic.
Portland Neighborhood School has a implausible program with a educating cleanroom. The method of gowning up for it won’t be nice should you’re claustrophobic, nevertheless it will get college students ready early for superior manufacturing.
We’re additionally ensuring we’re incorporating STEM even on the center faculty degree.
We’re presently specializing in semiconductors and are taking a look at totally different verticals, together with electrical automobiles, battery manufacturing, agriculture, and life science. You’ll be able to’t quantify the quantity of labor that could possibly be executed with AI, robotics, and cobots.
The frequent thread in all these sectors is the automation, digital, knowledge piece. For those who can put together the workforce to innovate and construct that out in order that it’s stackable, it is going to assist everybody thrive.
