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Reshoring to reshore diverse, complex production. Complete automation requires massive capital investment, works best for highvolume standardized production and still requires skilled technicians for maintenance and troubleshooting. For many manufacturers considering reshoring, full automation isn’ t economically feasible. And, even if feasible, the timelines required to make that level of investment relative to the desire to rapidly increase output doesn’ t match – we simply cannot just bet on five years from now( or longer), but need to be taking significant action now.
The more practical, and immediate, opportunity lies in workforce augmentation- deploying technology that makes existing workers more capable and accelerates the upskilling of new workers.
This distinction matters. Instead of waiting five to ten years for workers to develop expertise through experience, manufacturers can use technology to compress that learning curve dramatically. Systems that provide real-time guidance, flag potential problems before they escalate and help less experienced workers make better decisions can bridge the gap between what novice workers know and what experienced workers understand instinctively.
Consider how this plays out on the factory floor. A veteran worker might instinctively recognize when a machine sounds wrong or when a process is drifting out of specification. A newer worker lacks this intuition. But technology can bridge that gap by monitoring conditions continuously, alerting supervisors to anomalies and providing context that helps workers understand not just what to do, but why it matters.
This approach doesn’ t eliminate the need for skilled workers. It accelerates how quickly we can develop them, making reshored operations economically viable much faster.
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