Data-savvy workers, automation safety, LSR dosing system: Machinery Minutes, Feb. 24, 2025

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, we focus on our deep dive on the future of your workforce. The need for tech skills to take advantage of increasingly complex equipment is creating new job opportunities, and companies that hope to land these data-savvy workers will need to offer the right mix of pay and perks. 

The Association for Advancing Automation (known as A3) has published updated ISO 10218 standards, the global flagship standard for industrial robot safety, with extensive revisions for a fast-changing field.

You'll also learn about the Elmet Top 3100 dosing system for LSR, the successor to the Top 3000.

Transcript

Welcome to Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week I share with you three things you need to know in about three minutes. You can read the complete stories on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.

No. 1 – The workforce in U.S. manufacturing plants is changing, with a greater emphasis on hiring workers with high-tech skills.

Manufacturing jobs with titles such as automation expert, robotics technician,  and data scientist are on the rise, while titles popular in the last century like “Bakelite molder” aren’t found, reports PMM Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna in a recent story on our website.

Computers and digital technology have come to the manufacturing floor, so, workers today need digital skills in addition to old-fashioned mechanical skills.

“Both skill sets have to be employed to be successful,” said Terry Iverson, the founder and CEO of Champion Now!, a nonprofit that promotes manufacturing careers to young people.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems collect data from multiple sources around modern plants to help drive continuous improvement, said Bobby May, IT director at SAY Plastics, a Pennsylvania thermoformer.

Data is stored on local servers and in the cloud, remote workers are using VPNs (virtual private networks) to access information on a company’s server, and workers are communicating using technologies like Microsoft 365. All this digitalization presents cybersecurity challenges. The trend toward digitalization is creating new job opportunities and a demand for new skills.

Read more about it online in the story headlined “Data-driven manufacturing jobs are on the rise.”

And by the way, companies wanting to land Industry 4.0 specialists should be prepared to pay a premium in terms of salary and benefits. Learn more by reading the story “High-tech skills come at high price.”

No. 2 – After nearly eight years of work, the Association for Advancing Automation (known as A3) has published a revised ISO 10218, the global flagship standard for industrial robot safety. 

The refined safety requirements come in response to evolving automation technologies and workplace demands, said Jeff Burnstein, A3 president.

The new standards feature extensive updates, the first since 2011, and focus on making functional safety requirements explicit, enhancing clarity and usability and making compliance more straightforward. 

To learn more about the new safety standards, read the story headlined “A3 publishes updated ISO 10218 standards.”

No. 3 –Elmet North America Inc. has introduced its Top 3100 dosing system for liquid silicone rubber.

The dosing system is the successor of the company’s Top 3000, which has been available for about two decades. The new system features the company’s new M-Type pump, which provides for more controlled and higher output of all ranges  and viscosities of LSR.

Learn more by reading “Elmet LSR dosing system is precise, cost-effective.”

Those are my Top 3 items you need to know for this week. We have a new list every Monday.