It’s not just an ordinary end of a year that we celebrated, we witnessed the end of a decade. A decade in which technological innovation has shaped our experience, and has redefined the manufacturing industry. As we’re making our way through the next one, let’s see what trends are expected to grow, and which challenges the industry will be faced with.

Growing trends: connecting people to technology, and each other

Firstly, it will come as no surprise that wearables are expected to become much more common in the workplace, but will not just gather data or provide helpful information, they will also serve to create the IIoP: the Industrial Internet of People. Connecting people with each other has many advantages, and will allow for more remote working, easier training, and overall improved communication.

Speaking of training, AR is already proving to be an invaluable tool by providing information in a clear and practical way. The hardware we currently use might be limited to tablets or smartphones, but that’s expected to change in the near future with things like Google Glass 2 or HoloLens 2. So expect more efficient ways of accessing information, and analyzing your environment.

Another emerging trend is the continuous visibility of data on the work floor, to increase motivation in the workers. Big screens which show in a clear and colorful way different important metrics that are being tracked is a simple tool to make sure employees go the extra mile. Who doesn’t find it satisfying to watch the numbers go up?

Challenges: skilled hires and cybersecurity

As we rely more and more on digitization and continue to make everything around us ‘smarter’, we also have to find ways to keep our data secure and our tools online. More reliance also means more vulnerability when something happens, so cybersecurity becomes a top priority. In 2020, we’re sure to see some changes in data protection systems, and perhaps even regulation.

In order to improve cybersecurity, you need experts, which are not easy to find. Likewise, skilled workers for specific jobs are hard to find as it is, and it will only become more difficult as the necessary skills change, and become more complex. Employees will need to add skills to their repertoire to follow the innovations in the product itself as well as its manufacturing methods, and it’s not easy to attract young people to the manufacturing industry. Continuous training, and investing in young talent, is a focus point for the manufacturing businesses of the future.

For this post, we were inspired by this article on IndustryWeek. What are you expecting for 2020, or even the next decade? Will we see more developments in the fields we already know, or will there be groundbreaking changes that will shake up the world as we know it? Get in touch to let us know, and don’t forget to subscribe to stay in the loop next year!