Page 71 - Food&Drink magazine April-May 2023

11 ■ MARCH – APRIL 2023 MACHINERY MATTERS
Skills, smart factories: Key
challenges for manufacturers
More than 40 per cent of Australian manufacturers struggle to get ahead of their competition due to a lack of technology and skilled workforce, a study by automation specialist Rockwell Automation found.
When asked what the five biggest leadership obstacles were in the next 12 months, the top response was 'Identifying and implementing new technologies', followed by 'Effectively managing people and resources'. Third was ‘Assessing business need and technology/talent fit (including digital transformation)’.
Rockwell Automation’s global
2023 State of Manufacturing Report surveyed more than 1350 manufacturers in 13 of the top manufacturing countries in the world. In Australia, it interviewed 75 (51:49 per cent male/female split) leaders in the manufacturing industry to understand what the key areas are that need to be addressed. Around 85 per cent of them were decision makers.
While 73 per cent said smart manufacturing was very important, only 25 per cent said they were extremely familiar with the technologies. In the US and France, the figure was almost double that.
“This may explain why 71 per cent of Australia’s C-suite leaders identify technology paralysis as one of the largest barriers to growth. An excess of technology options is making selection and adoption much more challenging, especially when familiarity with the solutions is quite low,” the report said.
When it comes to investing in robotic process automation, almost half of the respondents
TOP: Technology industry obstacles and outlook.
RIGHT: Technology’s impact on the workforce.
(48 per cent) said they had already invested, while 46 per cent said they had the intention to do so. This puts us on par with the US, where 49 per cent said they had already invested.
Process Automation showed widespread adoption and promising growth. 64 per cent of companies surveyed have already invested in the
technology with 43 per cent planning to invest more. Rockwell Automation said this compared well with the US and UK, both of which report 68 per cent investment rates.
Globally, the survey found 33 per cent thought process automation had the biggest ROI.
The report also revealed that 86 per cent of C-suite
responders would invest in cloud technology because of the disruption of the last 12 months. That was a 62 per cent jump from last year (24 per cent). The report said a cloud-based operation may help mitigate the effects of variable staffing levels, monitoring the supply chain, and accommodating hybrid work. ■
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