FANUC Corporation, headquartered in Japan and with global operations that includes a number of US based facilities via its subsidiary FANUC America, announced this week the production of its 500,000 robot—a milestone they well tout. But with this noteworthy milestone in automation manufacturing, FANUC is also addressing challenges arising from the growing use of robots and what that means for future employment and the economy.
“Automation and robotics are key drivers of manufacturing competitiveness,” said Mike Cicco, president & CEO of FANUC America based in Michigan in a recent press release. “More companies are using automation to overcome inefficiencies, lower costs, increase productivity, and gain market share. Having sold a half million robots is a key milestone for FANUC, and we’re looking forward to expanding our capabilities to keep pace with the growing demand for automation.”
FANUC specializes in robotics, CNC and factory automation since its founding in 1972. In the years and decades that followed, Industrial robots underwent significant development and innovation which over time impacted the industrial manufacturing workforce. The automotive industry was most notably affected, placing stress on its’ workers to learn new skills or to enter the workforce better prepared. Today, the accelerating growth of robots across a range of industries has created another workforce challenge of meeting the demand for skilled workers to work with these new technologies. This is one key reason why workers should not fear automation.
To deal with this, FANUC America works with educators, offering a Certified Education (CERT) program that has a STEM-based curriculum centered on robotics and automation training. This is part of their overall activities to align industry and national certifications, so students are prepared for high-tech careers in manufacturing.
One of the underlying goals of FANUC and educators is to also deal with a lingering adverse perception of manufacturing as a career. Potential workers have not yet fully realized that the growing and broad use of robotics in manufacturing has transformed it, creating technology intensive work environments that includes new and higher pay structures. FANUC is working to change that perception in order to draw into manufacturing the more highly skilled worker.
FANUC’s own growth is reflective of the new hiring trends in manufacturing. In April, they announced plans to build a new factory scheduled to open in August 2018 that will increase its robot capacity from 6,000 to 11,000 units per month. FANUC no doubt will need skilled works to meet this growth—affirming their commitment to working with educators so they can draw upon a more highly skilled workforce and employment pool.
“The backbone of FANUC’s success is our talented workforce – all automation professionals, including an expanding product development team based in Japan and the U.S.,” Cicco added. “In addition to highly qualified employees, we offer the most reliable automation products in the marketplace.”
