By Alicia Bowers Millinger
In the industrial environment, operator mistakes are costly and growing. Your customers are facing a difficult challenge to prevent operator mistakes as they’re impacted by a drastically changing workforce. Obviously, more errors occur with a less experienced workforce, and two workforce trends are playing this out.
First, younger workers are changing jobs more frequently than older generation workers. According to Gallup research, millennial workers – those born between 1980-1996 – are more than three times as likely as other generations to have changed jobs within the last year. Half of millennial workers don’t see a future with their current employer, and this generation has the lowest engagement in the workplace. With higher employee turnover and lower engagement, customers have a less-experienced workforce and an environment ripe for costly errors.
Second, high rates of retirement create a double whammy. In the U.S. alone, 10,000 people retire every day, a number that has doubled since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Customers’ experienced workers – those who are the “machine whisperers” and inherently know processes after decades in their jobs – are leaving, along with their knowledge and best practices.
These workforce changes mean constant training and higher risk. How can customers meet organizational goals and stay in compliance with regulations when their employees don’t know their jobs? How can you, as their trusted partner, help them prevent the same costly mistakes from happening over and over again?
The good news is that you can prevent many mistakes by using today’s modern HMI/SCADA technology. With fourth generation HMI/SCADA, you can guide operators through the right steps and verify their actions. Real-time data, captured across systems, provides the triggers for execution of electronic standard operating procedures with instructions sent to mobile workers at the right time and place.
Modern HMI/SCADA for a new generation of workers
HMI/SCADA has enabled the workforce for decades, but the modernized HMI/SCADA system can do even more. Integrators can use software to both capture critical best practices before customers’ most-experienced workers retire (Figure 1) and then guide new workers through the right steps to do their jobs properly (Figure 2). This is a method that works.
(Figure 1: Integrators can use software to capture critical best practices before experienced workers retire.)
(Figure 2: With modern HMI/SCADA, you can guide operators through the right steps and verify their actions.)
Younger operators, who grew up with electronics, can interact easily with dynamic task instructions through intuitive screens, including inputting data and notes (Figure 3). Additionally, GPS technology is powerful in the industrial environment, providing the right information to the right operator at the right place. This is a natural extension of electronic devices in the operators’ personal lives and helps them be successful at work.
Modern HMI/SCADA also takes customers beyond alarm acknowledgement to driving the right actions (Figure 4). With a guided and consistent real-time event response, you can reduce troubleshooting time and emergency phone calls. This technology provides an intuitive user interface with decision support for operators, technicians and managers, spanning the full operational team.
(Figure 3: Younger operators easily interact with dynamic task instructions through intuitive screens, including inputting data and notes.)
Additionally, tracking and reporting on work processes allows you to hone customer operations for continuous improvement. You can identify and eliminate nuisance events, help compare operator performance and evaluate opportunities across people, equipment and systems.
(Figure 4: Modern HMI/SCADA takes customers beyond alarm acknowledgement to driving the right actions.)
Minimizing mistakes
With modern HMI/SCADA technology, you can help customers meet the challenges of the modern workforce. Today’s operators can have the information they need, in their hand or in front of them, anywhere, anytime – letting them know what they need to do and how to do it. That means you’re delivering consistent operations, fewer mistakes and better business outcomes to your customers.
Alicia Bowers Millinger is senior product marketing manager – automation software for GE Digital, headquartered in San Ramon,California.