Adapting to an Aging Manufacturing Workforce

Across the globe, many countries are experiencing a significant demographic shift. The increasing proportion of older individuals in the population, often referred to as population aging, poses workforce challenges to businesses. According to the World Health Organization, by 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 65 years or over.

This problem is already being faced in many countries. In Japan, a staggering 28% of the population is already 65 years or older. Similarly, numerous European countries are in a situation today where one in five people in their population are aged 65 years or over including: Italy, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Latvia and Serbia.

Challenges: Labor Shortages, Knowledge Retention and Productivity Losses

As the workforce ages, companies face increasing labor shortages, and potential knowledge and productivity losses, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In this context, some key questions arise:

How can companies increase (or maintain) both productivity and profitability?
What can companies do to create workplaces that attract and retain both older, experienced workers and younger generations?
What can companies do to retain knowledge that is vital to their continued success?

Some companies are embracing technology to improve efficiency, enhance productivity, while simultaneously improving the work-life balance of employees. Let’s review a specific case study at one of the world’s leading tire and rubber companies.

Case Study: Bridgestone Japan - Manufacturing a Tire is a Complex Process

Mr. Tomoaki Takahasi from Bridgestone Japan’s Tire Logistics and Improvement Department, gave a presentation during AspenTech’s OPTIMIZE 24 user conference detailing how his company has made progress towards improving business processes and employee work-life balance by using the AspenTech Plant Scheduler-Extended Optimization^™ (PS-EO) solution.

Mr. Takahasi said that while many people think a tire is simply a round black object made of rubber, it is significantly much more complex than it appears. A tire is a combination of hundreds of different materials and consists of five main components: tread, sidewall, carcass, belt and bead. The tread and sidewall are primarily made of rubber, while the carcass is made of organic fibers, and the belt and bead are primarily made of steel.

Manufacturing a tire involves a two-step process. The “Building” process is the first and most complex step where all five main components are made and assembled to form a single tire called a “green tire”. The “Vulcanizing” process is the second step that involves applying heat and pressure to a tire to accelerate the chemical reaction and transform it into a finished product.

A Complicated Puzzle: Production Planning and Scheduling of Tires

The complexities of the tire manufacturing process result in an even more challenging goal for an extended group of manufacturing and logistics stakeholders. They must work together to develop the most realistic and efficient production plans and schedules in a timely manner.

The previous process at Bridgestone Japan took a significant amount of time, thereby impacting stakeholders’ work-life balance. The root causes included:

The massive amount of data that needed to be gathered by stakeholders. Developing realistic production plans and schedules requires the most recent and updated data to be considered. For example:
- What tires are needed to be produced based on the latest demand forecasts and customer orders? What is the expected available capacity for the different equipment/machines used in the production process? What quantities of raw materials inventories do we have available today? When are there days planned for downtime and maintenance activities on the various equipment/machines? Etc.

The need for stakeholders to manually gather, track and manage this massive amount of data made the planning and scheduling process cumbersome and time consuming.

The need to systematically factor in all the input data and, most importantly, to not violate any key constraints. Planners and schedulers have the very challenging task of creating realistic and efficient production plans and schedules manually. These plans and schedules cannot violate 40+ key constraints including:
- Factory equipment/machine related constraints: For example, valid combinations of Building and Vulcanizing equipment/machines that can be used to produce a specific finished tire stock keeping unit (SKU).
- Time related constraints: For example, planned downtime periods for maintenance activities on the various equipment and machines.
- Union labor agreement constraints: For example, the maximum allowable number of times to change SKUs for Vulcanizing equipment/machine by work shift.
The ability to meticulously ensure that all input data and constraints were factored into production plans and schedules was best done by experienced personnel. Since the process of creating plans and schedules was manual, it also required a lot of time.
The significant amount of time involved in daily meetings. Factory and logistics managers had to meet daily to share information and coordinate in relation to what was to be produced, what could not be produced and what alternative plans and schedules needed to be made in case of equipment issues. Time spent in meetings was necessary for coordination but took away valuable time from other essential tasks.

The Solution and Benefits

To address the root causes contributing to the work-life imbalance of manufacturing and logistics stakeholders, Bridgestone Japan implemented AspenTech Plant Scheduler-Extended Optimization^™ (PS-EO) with the help of Time Commerce (An AspenTech implementation services partner). The solution has enabled them to automate the planning and scheduling process, freeing up stakeholders’ time and creating a better work environment. Furthermore, the solution’s optimization capabilities automatically determine the most efficient schedules. The solution has enabled many valuable step changes in the overall process and quality of the plans and schedules:

All data gathering activities have been automated. This has eliminated the time needed by the extended stakeholders to gather the massive amount of data.
Transitioned to automated planning and scheduling. The process is much more rapid than it was previously, freeing up time for planners and schedulers.
Mathematically optimized plans and schedules. The solution generates the most efficient plans and schedules, which ensures that manufacturing equipment, manufacturing personnel and time are used optimally.
Holistic consideration of all constraints. The solution considers all of their 40+ constraints holistically, when it automatically creates production plans and schedules.
End-to-end visibility. The solution plans and schedules production across the entire production process, from the “Building” of the tire all the way through the “Vulcanizing” process. This provides a complete view of the manufacturing process and enables more effective resource management, a reduction in bottlenecks, and contributes to inventory optimization of all the materials used to make tires.

Mr. Takahasi stated that the AspenTech solution has delivered benefits to Bridgestone Japan on many fronts, and most importantly from an improvement to their workers’ work-life balance:

“There has been an improvement in labor productivity, with a reduction in overtime work by 60%. Workers’ work-life balance has been improved, and this has led to an increase in worker satisfaction.”

The project’s success was recognized with the highest award within Bridgestone Japan’s Logistics Division, citing benefits of improved process resulting in increased labor productivity and satisfaction, improved accuracy of planning and inventory optimization.

Looking Ahead: Overcoming the Challenges of an Aging Workforce

Bridgestone Japan’s experience provides a valuable case study for how organizations can use technology to overcome the challenges related to an aging workforce. It demonstrates the potential of embracing technology to improve efficiency and enhance productivity, while simultaneously improving the work-life balance of employees. It is a proven approach that can contribute to attracting and retaining both older, experienced workers and younger generations.