Safety, Tech Skills And Worker Satisfaction Will Define The Future Of Work

In the summer of 2022, two maintenance workers found themselves waist-deep in liquid chocolate after falling into a tank at a candy factory in Pennsylvania. Stuck for over an hour, the two workers couldn’t climb out and had to be cut from the tank by emergency responders.

Thankfully, the workers weren’t injured. But the incident — which cost the company more than $14,000 in fines — could have been much worse. Workplace incidents, particularly in high-risk sectors like public safety, power utilities, mining and construction, have historically resulted in tragic outcomes.

This doesn’t have to be the case. With new digital tools driven by Industry 4.0 initiatives, risks can be mitigated and incidents are less likely to occur by giving organizations the awareness needed to increase workplace safety.

But it’s not just safety that can be assured by digital-era technologies. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, robotics and the industrial metaverse are all expected to have a huge impact on the future of work, enhancing everything from staffing and training to employee satisfaction. All told, more than a billion jobs are set to be radically transformed by technology by 2030.

Smarter workplaces = safer workers

Workplace injuries and illness have a significant impact on the economy, costing an estimated €476 billion per year in the European Union, with over 2.6 million cases reported in the US in 2021. More importantly, workplace accidents can be devastating to workers as well as their families, co-workers and employers. Everyone should go home safely at the end of the day.

Digitalization can help ensure that happens, dramatically improving safety through innovative technologies and solutions such as on-site anomaly detection and digital twins that allow organizations to safely reveal and examine areas of risk. Utility companies, for example, are testing drones to replace the use of helicopters when inspecting power lines in remote locations – a dangerous and expensive undertaking. Railway operators can leverage digital automatic coupling to automatically couple and uncouple rolling stock which speeds up operations, boosts capacity and improves safety. When done manually, it is a dangerous job for workers requiring them to climb wagons and handle couplers that can weigh up to 20kg/40+lbs – no matter the weather conditions and time of day or night. At mining sites around the world, Komatsu is using fully autonomous haulage systems, where several pieces of equipment are “driven” and monitored by a single controller who can be thousands of kilometers away in an office — keeping them away from the pit and dangerous blasting and crushing operations.

The digital transformation of the workplace can go beyond improving worker safety to deliver new levels of productivity. For example, Germany’s national railway, Deutsche Bahn, is building a standalone 5G network to control fully automated trains in real-time using an intelligent traffic management system. This approach not only improves safety for passengers, but also increases capacity and ensures always on-time operations.

Attracting and keeping the best talent

Around the world, job vacancies are high and skilled workers are in great demand. The U.S. saw nearly 11 million job vacancies in June 2022, while Japan had 2.5 million vacancies in December 2022. In Canada, 64% of companies felt that the worker shortage has had an impact on their business growth, with similar attitudes seen among enterprises all over the world.

To address these shortages, organizations must enhance their approach to recruitment, retention and operational efficiency. That starts by embracing new technologies that can enhance automation and augment their workforces to deliver a better (and safer) employee experience.

Digitalization and automation can help eliminate monotonous, repetitive and hazardous tasks. This creates time for workers to focus on more skilled and meaningful work — which in turn helps them feel more valued by their employers and less likely to leave for another company. As companies look to replace retiring workers, workplaces augmented with digital tools are also more likely to attract Gen Z “digital natives” who are looking for roles that will allow them to use the latest in cutting-edge technology.

New digital tools such as robotics, automation, immersive virtual training and collaboration are also reducing the physical labor requirements for many jobs. As a result, companies can tap into a greater pool of talent — including remote workers as well as workers with disabilities who may not have been able to access work in certain industries previously — this creates more inclusive work environments than ever before.

Digitalization is transforming the training process

A review of the candy factory accident found inadequate training to be the root cause. It’s a common problem, with many organizations challenged by the time and resources involved to properly onboard, train and prepare their employees with true-to-life scenarios. Digitalization and the industrial metaverse are critical to this, with tools such as virtual, augmented and extended realities allowing workers to gain “hands-on” training experience and receive real-time feedback in an immersive digital environment that eliminates risk to personnel, equipment or products.

This can be especially important in mission-critical industries such as public safety and utilities. Virtual reality training can help first responders practice emergency situations so they are better prepared when disaster strikes. Data analytics can also be used to review past public safety incidents, revealing patterns and trends that might help implement safer, more efficient response strategies. In the utility market, cybersecurity and at-height training scenarios can be safely and thoroughly simulated for a better prepared workforce.

Success through employee satisfaction

Employees who feel fulfilled, valued and respected are happier in their work life, more productive on the job and deliver superior customer experiences. So it’s not a surprise that more and more workers are rethinking the relationship with their jobs, looking for roles that offer real meaning and purpose. The digital-native Gen Z workforce is especially attuned to social responsibility. Employers need to keep this in mind and create workplaces that offer flexibility and collaboration.

Digital tools make things easier for workers in their day-to-day and help companies dematerialize certain operations. By deploying productivity tools and digitalized processes that are traditionally paper- or equipment-based, organizations can, for example, improve workflow management, enable real-time change order communication, and simplify approval loops.

Beyond just boosting productivity, real-time digital collaboration and communication tools are the key to empowering workers to be more autonomous and creative. They also help create inclusive workplaces while making operations more sustainable and environmentally responsible.

The foundation for the future

The future of work will see enterprises and organizations make significant gains in worker safety, better attract and retain talented workers, and increase employee satisfaction. With the aid of pervasive intelligence, rich data, enhanced awareness and increased automation, organizations that lay the foundations today will not just reap the benefits of improved productivity and efficiency, they are also setting the direction towards a safer, more prosperous tomorrow.