Crafting Tomorrow: Skills and Strategies for Today’s Manufacturers
Show Notes Dive into the future of manufacturing and distribution with the second episode of the TechX Podcast, where host Seth Waters is joined by Merritt DeGraw, the visionary Chief Technology Officer at Fortuna. Together, they unravel the complexities of integrating cutting-edge technologies into traditional industries, and into the strategies companies can employ to embrace automation without being overwhelmed by its complexities. Through Merritt's extensive experience in sectors ranging from public space and internet to medical devices, this episode shines a light on the pivotal role of automation, machine learning, and computer vision. Discover the essential skills that today's workforce needs to develop to stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape, and how these technologies are not just altering the way we work, but also the very nature of work itself. Topics Discussed The impact of technology across different business sectors Discussion on emerging technologies and their implementation in the manufacturing and distribution sectors Skill development in the manufacturing sector Importance of automation, machine learning, and computer vision in modern manufacturing The role of education in navigating the adoption of new technologies Leadership and cultural shifts in the face of rapid technological advancements Quotes "Workers have to be skilled up to be able to facilitate... they're becoming more of a governance versus a doer." - Merritt DeGraw "Educate yourself...Understand what's out there." - Merritt DeGraw on embracing automation "Not everybody is going to fit in the new world... find people with the aptitude that really want to understand, want to move that needle forward." - Merritt DeGraw "Keep an open mind... things are going to move fast and you've got to be comfortable with that move." - Merritt DeGraw on leadership in the era of automation "If you don't innovate, then you're going to be left behind." - Merritt DeGraw on the importance of embracing change Transcript Advertisement: This episode is brought to you by Fortuna. Seth Waters: Well, welcome back to the TechX podcast. My name is Seth Waters. I'm the Chief Marketing Officer at Fortuna, and I'm here again today with Merritt DeGraw. And you met Merritt last time we were together. He is the Chief Technology Officer at Fortuna as well as Planned Capacity and a bunch of other places. Before we jump in, I'd love for you just to highlight again some of the places you've been in the past few years. Merritt DeGraw: Yeah. No, again, I worked in public space with Cubic, I've worked at Internet space, SAAS-based stuff with a few companies and medical device company tech, NuVasive Inc., Akamai Technologies, a small little startup, SAAS, that did air medical, air emergency medical response and tracking for health helicopters and medical billing so that I've dealt with a multitude of different industries and different compliance components also. Seth Waters: Okay. So you've been around and had lots of experiences that have shaped you. Merritt DeGraw: Yes. Seth Waters: But let's continue our conversation from last time, focusing on the manufacturing and distribution industry. Today, I want to talk really pushing on skill development and workplace culture leadership when it comes to technology in manufacturing and distribution. So, let's dive in. Let's talk about skill development. What skills are currently in high demand in the technology area when it comes to manufacturing and how can workers develop them? Merritt DeGraw: You know, it's one of the big ones or I should say. I think we alluded to it in the previous podcast, but automation is a big factor in all sort of space. We're talking from a robot programmer, a robot to go do something right. Seth Waters: Yeah. Merritt DeGraw: Versus using AI to kind of tie in and do some of those elements also, right? So machine learning, computer vision, right? Those are all elements that you're starting to see where, you know, again, I wouldn't say replacing workers, but workers have to be skilled up to be able to facilitate, right? A welder doing a well job needs to understand how to program a cobot to be able to do that same weld, right? Right. So that way you could, you know, kind of expand the capabilities of that person, right? So they're becoming more of a governance versus a doer. Right, again, it's nothing, nothing wrong. I think there's still welders out there. And I'm not saying it's going away, but I think for you to be able to handle some of the throughput, you're not going to be able to find enough welders, which is one of the big challenges is, you know, a lot of the blue collar jobs are not, you know, there's not a lot of people going into them as much as they are. So, there's a shortage in those areas nowadays. So again, really driving the ability to multiply the multipliers, if you want to call it their capabilities through using cobots and robots to be able to do some of that work. Seth Waters: That's interesting. We've been having conversations recently with different distribution leaders that are that are having conversations with big companies and owners of manufacturing companies, and they're asking these questions about automation. How do we jump in? How do we start to use this in our systems? And the things that we're getting is a lot of people are feeling kind of overwhelmed right now of falling behind, right? And they don't want to fall behind, but they don't really know where to start when it comes to this industry - to manufacturing and distribution. Where can leaders start? Merritt DeGraw: You know, again, one, educate yourself is the big factor, right? Understand what's out there. Understand because there's a multitude of different people out there that are pitching solutions for these areas. So really understand what is, you know, start to understand the market, understand how things are progressing in the market and make sure that you're, you know, maybe if you have a trusted advisor internally or external trusted advisor to be able to help you through the minutia, because there's a lot of it out there, right? But I think for the most part is really understanding the market, understanding it, get that trusted advisor, whether it be internal or external. Again, we've seen it both ways where they have an internal advisor and we kind of, you know have a solution that bolts on and or it's “Hey look we need really help on the strategy side of this conversation,” right? Because the internal folks are still thinking they haven't expanded the horizon yet so they're not thinking outside the box. They're thinking this is how we've done it, or this is how I've seen it done, or this is how my vendors tell me how to do it. But ultimately, understanding how it fits in your organization. Because ultimately, how many failures have we seen with ERPs, MRPs in the conversations we're having with these executives where there is a failure problem, primarily because you don't understand the problem or that problem may not be something you need to solve in this organization, but it's over there. So ultimately, it's really understanding how the technology can fit in your organization and adapt accordingly. Seth Waters: Adapt accordingly - I know this is something that you're very passionate about in your role at Fortuna, and this is something we do for companies. I encourage you, if you're in a company or you're looking for a solution, we offer in that advisory capacity to come alongside and assess where you are and assess next steps. Feel free to reach out to us. We, Merritt, would love to partner with your company. Merritt, moving forward in this conversation, and as we look at the rise of automation in manufacturing and distribution, and it is on the rise, right? These systems are being implemented. They're really changing a lot in how people are interacting with technology. How should leaders begin to upskill their employees? Merritt DeGraw: Pairing them with somebody, again, an expert right in the area, somebody who understands the market, say, “Okay, here's the areas that you should focus on based off of your environment,” right? So really, targeted training towards certain aspects. Again, trying to tell the employee to learn the world again. It's going to be, it's a- that's a pretty large lift. Ultimately, not everybody is going to fit in the new world. I hate to say it, right? And this is one of the conversations I had back when I was early in my career is it's okay. You know, you got to understand that, you know, some people don't- they want to sit on a helpdesk 24/7 and take calls, 24/7. But you get to point. That's their desk. What they've kind of alluded to, and that's kind of where they've kind of gravitated towards because they don't like the change right, in that of that aspect. But then there's others you've got to find people with the aptitude that really want to understand, want to move that needle forward, because those are going to be your drivers to help you get to that next level and be able to, again, train your internal experts to be successful, right? And because I've ran into challenges where, you know, again, I had people they were given to me, you know, but ultimately you want to find the people with the aptitude to be able to make the change and then put the effort in to get them trained, to get them kind of moving in that right direction, right? Seth Waters: Good, that's really good. Merritt DeGraw: With governance, by the way, no, you can't go with that kind of oversight to say, “Yep, you've got it, continue on, you've got it, continue on.” Seth Waters: That's good. So, you know, leaders in the manufacturing and distribution space are facing new challenges with this new rise in technology of automation. You know, one of the questions that I woul
