Blog Post: MANUFACTURING IN CRISIS - BOTSIQ TO THE RESCUE!

I know what you are probably thinking.....another whiner complaining about manufacturing being offshored to China or India. While that is an issue, the crisis I am talking about is quite the opposite. The lack of skilled workers to fill jobs is the single biggest issue for the precision machine shops that belong to the National Tooling and Machining Association to which I belong. It is so much of an problem that it is the Chairman's theme for his tenure: Filling the Pipeline.

But wait you say...I thought manufacturing was in its death throes, squeezed out of existence in this country by low wage competition from offshore. Certainly there are segments of manufacturing that have been terribly affected by Asia, but many are quite strong. My company makes parts for aerospace and defense OEMs and business is thriving. While some of my counterparts are in more vulnerable industries, we are all still challenged to find enough employees to compete.

So what's going on? Well some of it is a self-fulfilling prophecy effect.....the public fear over outsourcing and the assumption that manufacturing is going away in this country has kept many young people from pursuing a manufacturing career. Also, there is a perception of manufacturing as dirty back-breaking work, not fit for anyone who can escape it by going to college. The reality is quite different, in order to compete with the low wage areas of the world, the manufacturing that thrives today is high-tech, clean and as challenging as any career path. Of course we cannot compete with $1 per day labor rates..... unless we computerize, automate and otherwise use technology to offset the wage issue. And that is exactly what we are doing. Today's machine shops are clean, lean and heavily computerized. There are plenty of high paying and technically challenging jobs keeping America's manufacturing backbone strong and straight. These jobs require education up to and including college. If we don't 'fill the pipeline', or more accurately, 're-fill' it, manufacturing in this country will cease to exist, because we will not have the capacity to produce. We are aiding in our own demise!

There is not a force in the world that can stop the globalization of manufacturing and other industries, capitalism always wins. Yes... we need to let the market set currency exchange rates, yes... we need to have similar environmental protection and human protection laws, but even without the cheating the world will equalize and jobs will move. As painful as it is in the present, the world will be better off for it in the long run. I would argue that there is more job security in the manufacturing sectors that have survived the siege thus far, they know how to compete. As time goes on, offshore wages rise and the dollar depreciates, leveling the playing field. Although there are still several billion Asians and Indians living below our US standards, in time the competition will be not about wages, but about who is the best at what they do. Take Japan for example. In the 80's when I entered manufacturing, they were kicking our collective butts in many industries. Japan started out as with low cost wage advantage, but they rapidly perfected their manufacturing systems and they beat us with quality and efficiency. Toyota is not the new largest auto company in the world because of cheap labor, they are the best at making cars. Our companies have gotten a lot better, though smaller, and the consumer has benefited. Mexico was the next Japan, but they never got past competing just on wages, and they are getting beat by the next Mexicos. My point is job security comes from being very good at something, and we cannot be good at manufacturing without skilled and motivated employees. I submit to you that you or your kids may be more secure in a high tech manufacturing job than in a professional position. It is actually easier to outsource a professional service than a manufacturing one these days. Some companies are bringing offshore manufacturing back to the US for logistics, quality and cost reasons, while some people are going offshore for their surgical treatment. Go figure!

"Uhhh, so what's all this go to do with battling robots? I wanted to read about cool robots not a diatribe on free trade!" you are thinking. Well, glad you asked and sorry for the digression. BotsIQ is our way of getting young people excited about technology, manufacturing and engineering. Kids are always interested in tearing things up, the more power used the better! The original Battlebots program on TV had teams building robots to battle each other in an arena, complete with hazards such as falling hammers and shooting flames. BotsIQ was developed by the founders of Battlebots to get young people into the thrill of technology, by engaging them in the excitement of competition. Our trade association, the NTMA, supports the program and several chapters around the country have strong, active programs. Arizona is one of them. We have had two state championships, and a 'pre-season' warmup. At our last championship, we had 28 robots battling for the title and the $2500 prize to help the team get to the Nationals in Miami. Bots are limited to 15 pounds max, which is a challenge. Junior High and High School teams build robots all year with the help of dedicated teachers. Our next event will be a pre-season in early December, so now is the time to start building a bot. There is lots of help available and it is not overwhelmingly difficult. A good bot can be built for $500-$1000 and financial assistance is available. I will blog more soon, if you are interested in forming a team, call me at 623-878-6800.

Mark Weathers