Manufacturing Firms Need More Highly-Skilled Workers

MANUFACTURING FIRMS NEED MORE HIGHLY-SKILLED WORKERS

Small manufacturing firms investing in advanced manufacturing technology will require significantly more highly-skilled employees than their traditional technology counterparts.

That's according to research by Tracy D. Rishel, associate professor of production and operations management at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA. Dr. Rishel co-authored a paper on the topic, "The Impact of Technology on Small Manufacturing Firms," which appears in the January-March 1997 issue of the Journal of Small Business Management, a professional journal. She completed the research with O. Maxie Burns, associate professor of information systems and management at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.

Their study reports on the level of advanced manufacturing technology within 140 small manufacturing firms, employing between ten and 250 employees, located in Pennsylvania and Georgia engaged in metal fabrication and precision machining.

"We found that advanced tech firms needed 1.7 skilled workers for every skilled worker in a traditional firm," says Rishel. "Competition for skilled workers likely will intensify. Technical schools and colleges must respond by preparing workers capable of using computer numerical controlled equipment and computer aided design and manufacturing equipment."

Firms with 250 employees or less comprise 96 percent of all manufacturers in the United States, according to 1991 Census Bureau figures.

Among their findings:

Approximately 66 percent of the firms used computer numerical controlled equipment (CNC). In 1986, another study found only 48 percent of firms using CNC technology.

Traditional technology firms employ almost twice as many unskilled workers as do manufacturers using advanced technology.

More than two-thirds of all products made by the firms using advanced technologies were moderate- or high-precision products. By contrast, 56 percent of the output of traditional technology firms were low- or non-precision products.

Small firms using advanced computerized manufacturing technology are more likely to employ the latest management techniques such as total quality management (TQM), just- in-time manufacturing (JIT) and simultaneous engineering.

Sales do not appear to increase immediately with the adoption of advanced technologies.

"Managers must accept that the adoption of advanced technology is a long-term investment that requires commitment and patience," says Rishel.

Editors: You can reach Rishel at 717-372-4448 (office). If you would like to see a copy of her paper, please contact Steve Infanti of Dick Jones Communications at 814-867-1963. We help Susquehanna University with some of its public affairs work.