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🚀 Automation and Skilled Workforce Go Hand in Hand
Siemens' becoming a founding member of the "Robots for America" coalition once again highlighted the fact that automation and a skilled workforce develop together. Siemens supports this principle with its commitment to train 200,000 electricians and manufacturing specialists in the US by 2030.
The same principle applies at the other end of the production line. When a European or Asian manufacturer opens a new automated factory in the US, they will purchase the latest equipment, control systems, and digital twins. However, getting this equipment into production on time depends on two key positions: the plant manager and the operations leader. Here are four key decisions to consider when making these critical appointments:
1. ⏰ Timing: Hiring the Right Person at the Right Time
There is often a tendency to hire the plant manager when the building is almost complete. However, this decision comes after the most critical choices have been made, such as facility layout, automation partner, shift patterns, staffing model, and initial hourly hiring.
The correct approach is to involve the site manager in the process while these decisions are still being made. A site manager who helps commission the lines will understand why the designs were made that way and will take ownership of the commissioning goals. They will also have time to build relationships with the local workforce development board, local community college, and utilities. Since senior candidates may have notice periods and unvested incentives, the hiring process should begin long before it is needed.
2. 🤝 People Skills or Engineering Skills?
It is common to tend to hire the most skilled engineer possible in a highly automated facility. Having someone with technical depth is essential, as they must be able to stand up to system integrators, interpret OEE data, and make sound decisions about maintenance and uptime.
However, automation does not eliminate the human resources problem; it merely changes it. You will operate your facility with fewer workers, but these workers will need to be much more skilled. According to estimates cited in the "Robots for America" announcement by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, there are currently approximately 500,000 open manufacturing jobs in the US, and this number could rise to 2.1 million by 2030.
A plant manager who cannot hire, train, and retain control engineers, technicians, and maintenance personnel will see their expensive equipment underperform.
The ideal candidate should combine both skill sets. Look for someone who has previously managed the startup or a major expansion of an automated operation and can demonstrate how they developed and sustained a technical workforce in a tight labor market. Interview questions should test both skills using specific real-world scenarios rather than abstract answers.
3. 🇺🇸 Local or Expat Hire?
Overseas manufacturers face a dilemma here. Hiring a trusted engineer from headquarters provides continuity of process and product knowledge and familiarity with the parent company's way of doing business. This knowledge is valuable during technology transfer.
An American plant manager, on the other hand, will provide something an expat would have to learn on the job: knowledge of US employment law and practices, OSHA standards, local supplier networks, state incentive agreements, and local workforce management expectations.
While there is no clear answer, the decision should be informed. Two valid models exist:
- American plant manager and expat technical lead: The plant manager manages the site and people, while the headquarters executive is responsible for technology transfer for a specific period.
- Expat plant manager with a strong American deputy: This can work for a short startup period, but only if there is a clear transition plan and timeline for handing over control to an American manager.
The most dangerous approach is the unintended one: sending an engineer "temporarily" without a successor, a local deputy, or a specific end date.
4. 📈 Reporting Lines: Mechanisms for Rapid Decision-Making
Reporting lines determine how quickly your facility can react. If every capital expenditure, hiring decision, or schedule change requires approval from headquarters several time zones away, your American plant manager will lose credibility with their team and customers.
Before hiring, the parent company should define three key elements:
- Decision-making authority: How much spending and hiring authority the plant manager has, and what needs to be escalated to headquarters.
- Dual reporting: Whether the plant manager reports to a US unit president, a global operations manager, or both, and how conflicting directives will be resolved.
- Meeting frequency: A regular schedule for operational and financial reviews ensures a consistent oversight approach rather than intermittent interventions.
Good candidates will ask about these issues. Transparent answers are crucial if you want to attract the right person, and they will also prevent unnecessary conflicts between a foreign parent company and its US operation.
🌟 Leadership Hiring is Part of Your Automation Investment
Identifying equipment, evaluating system integrators, and calculating ROI takes months. Leadership hiring should be approached with similar care, with a clear job description, a defined timeline, and an agreed-upon reporting structure before a job offer is made.
Automation and a skilled workforce grow together, and that workforce starts with the person hired to manage the facility.
