AI and automation lead discussions at Butler Manufacturing Day
BUTLER TWP — Automation and artificial intelligence isn’t the death of manufacturing, but instead the start of new beginnings, according to local manufacturers.
High school students from across Butler County heard this and more firsthand on Thursday, April 18, when the Manufacturer & Business Association and the Butler County Manufacturing Consortium, partnered to host the second annual Butler Manufacturing Day at Butler County Community College’s Founders Hall.
“We are trying to expose students at a young age to really good career opportunities that could be right in their backyards,” said Jezree Friend, MBA assistant vice president. “Today it's a lot more advanced and technical than it used to be. There are some negative thoughts on dirty shops, but the reality is there are engineers, robotics and other high-end skills.”
Saxonburg-based Coherent has been attempting to incorporate robotics more into its manufacturing processes, according to Gregg Davis, principal engineer at Coherent.
“We are sort of in the beginning stages of that,” Davis said. “There are other ways beyond robots. We are automating things through software and artificial intelligence.”
One of the tasks this technology is attempting to tackle for Coherent is the detection of defects in its products, such as in its lenses, which can be found in all iPhones around the world, and about 75% of all Android cellphones.
“You used to have an inspector sit there and look at each one,” Davis said. “The problem was, you would have one inspector think its good and another wouldn't. We want to free people up to do more fun things. The robots don't take away jobs, they tend to create jobs.”
According to Rob Mrozek, production and quality coordinator at Coherent, robotics and newer software has enabled the company to grow faster, which, in turn, will require more workers to help fulfill the needs of its customers.
Paul Weifenbaugh, assistant director of the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board, agreed, said instead of people losing jobs to automation and artificial intelligence, workers will experience a shift in what their job entails.
“Employers are looking for more of a technical skill set because they need people to run and set up these machines,” Weifenbaugh said. “Then they need technicians to fix the machines when they need to.”
About 20 manufacturers from around Butler County were in attendance at the event, including Oberg, Cleveland Cliffs, Penn United and Bayer.
According to Derek McMahan, associate director of supply chain at Bayer, the company has been implementing more robotics and software into its processes.
“An aging demographic means we have a higher demand of our products,” McMahan said. “We have to find ways to train and upscale our work staff, which includes ways to automate with that work staff.”
The first two hours of the event involved high school students walking from table to table, interacting with employers and asking questions.
One of those students was Butler High School senior Drew Madden, who said he came to the event because he thought it was a good opportunity to see all the different types of jobs out there.
“There are so many different aspects of manufacturing,” Madden said. “I was looking more toward something like Cleveland Cliffs. I like electrical engineering and how they make their electrical steel.”
The final hour of the event included what Weifenbaugh called the “student advisory panel,” which visited four manufacturers during the past school year.
Students got the chance to talk about their experiences on the tours, which included visits to facilities including Bayer, Oberg and Penn United.
“In manufacturing you can start at the lowest position and climb the ladders,” Weifenbaugh said. “They train you, there are apprenticeship opportunities. Some companies will pay for your schooling, if its needed.”
Friend said manufacturers need workers across the industry at the moment, and they have adapted by bringing in more people of younger generations, offering apprenticeships and in-house training.
“Manufacturing is not going away, it's growing,” Friend said. “Some of the places I have spoken to said they could grow by 10%, but they just don't have the workforce. So, I think, the biggest benefit of manufacturing is you're going to have a job and for a long time.”
