Shortages of qualified workers is not a new phenomenon (the current worker shortage has been a predicted for decades.) But the pandemic and the exodus of boomers from the labor market (taking with them experience and skills not easily replaced) has created the perfect storm in the worlds of hiring and retention. At the same time, the expectations of subsequent generations of workers are markedly different from what was acceptable in the past. This situation poses both challenges and opportunities for employers.

Companies that are dealing with turnover and an aging workforce are finding the pool of skilled workers very shallow and are turning to new technology that will drive operational efficiency and improve worker experiences.

In the manufacturing environment, which often has complex products and workspaces, the Industrial Internet of Things (iiot) Digital Transformation (DX) tools for processes and people have opened opportunities that provide solutions to attract and retain employees and improve capacity and productivity.

On Demand Digital Training Experiences

When the pandemic interrupted the usual methods for servicing customers, CMD Corporation investigated the growing field of offerings in augmented-reality and digital connectedness.
“As we uncovered new ways to communicate and connect with customers to deliver the service expertise they required, it became apparent that there were many opportunities to develop an entire platform of offerings that will improve on traditional methods of training and service,” says Matt Bolin, CMD Customer Service Manager.

The firm researched various AR apps and software providers and is building a library of AR training experiences designed to help companies rapidly train, retain and onboard new hires.

CMD On Demand Digital Training Experiences will:

• Greatly enhance, or in some instances eliminate, manual training
• Save costs associated with physical training travel
• Onboard new hires faster by efficiently transferring tribal knowledge
• Develop quick, easy, digital workflows
• Upskill and build confidence faster
• Allow for interaction, testing and confirmation of skills mastery
• Provide video and AR experiences for visual learning that can be rewatched
• Provide easy storage and access for training that is available anytime, anywhere

CMD will partner with Rockwell Automation, using their software engineering skill set and Vuforia Expert Capture application, for the pilot series of On Demand Digital Training Experiences. Expert Capture is uniquely designed to work with native instructional video to provide AR guided instruction which can be edited, with additional content such as .pdfs, drawings and on-screen guides. The product also offers interactive testing to confirm mastery of a task, and powerful back-office data and analytics to track training sessions, competency levels and more.

MAKING A DEBUT AT INTERNATIONAL SHOWS

To gather market data and gauge the reaction and needs of customers, CMD will debut On Demand Digital Training Experiences at two upcoming international trade shows, where more information and demonstrations will be made available.

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