IMaDE: How BAMA is Building the Industry 4.0 Workforce

By: Anna Claire Toxey

according to beyond the Numbers, a publication of the united States bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1979, manufacturing represented 22% of non farm employment in the united States. by 2019 it had fallen to only 9%, as the united States economy shifted to service providing industries. Over the past several years the industry has had a resurgence. between a pril and September of 2022, manufacturing employment grew at a 4% annual rate. a labor shortage of nearly 800,000 jobs in this sector continued throughout most of 2022 according to Labor Department information. In a posted internet article on CNNbusiness dated October 10, 2022 and entitled “Made in america is back, leaving uS factories scrambling to find workers” by Chris Isidor and Christine romans, Jay Timmons, the CeO of the National a ssociation of Manufacturers is quoted as saying “For every 100 job openings in the sector we only have 60 people who are looking.” a s we look to bridge the labor shortage for manufacturing, academia will play a pivotal role.

The university of alabama (ua) College of engineering is leading the way for innovation in workforce development through its recently established program, the alabama Initiative on Manufacturing and Development (IMaDe). The mission of alabama IMaDe® is to address the future of industrial problems through education, research and service with a systems integration and industry-mindset approach. The initiative will produce broadly educated students with a wide range of career opportunities centered on the future of manufacturing and will cultivate an american workforce to lead the global manufacturing sector through the fourth industrial revolution and beyond.

Key research areas and activities of the initiative include:

» Developing a high-tech manufacturing workforce

» Generating new manufacturing technologies

» Training the next generation of engineers and managers

» Incubating novel manufacturing concepts and startups

» revolutionizing additive manufacturing and repair a s part of the initiative, a recently constructed educational facility, located on ua’s campus, enables combined classroom and hands-on, project-based learning in manufacturing systems — taught on real-world industrial robotic manipulators and software — as well as programming, operating and implementing automation systems such as programmable logic controllers. This state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary research and education center supports the developing manufacturing systems engineering program at ua , provides a location for technical educational research and promotes on-campus workforce development training in cooperation with industrial partners.

In conjunction with establishing the alabama IMaDe® research facility, ua launched a new bachelor’s degree in manufacturing systems engineering at the start of the fall 2022 academic year. The degree program, which is offered via both in-person and online formats, is centered upon preparing students for careers in manufacturing systems and processes with practical applications ranging from manufacturing processes to cyber-physical systems. Graduates of the program will be equipped to make substantial contributions in areas including design, productivity and quality control across a wide range of industrial entities.

An Enhanced Focus on Industry 4.0 and Advanced Manufacturing

In order to fulfill the mission of serving as a premier hub for multidisciplinary research and education in intelligent and advanced manufacturing systems and processes, strategic emphasis has been placed on research related to Industry 4.0. alabama IMaDe® is fostering a new innovationcentric culture and infrastructure that leverages and supports the region’s vital manufacturing sector. Programs under this initiative will cultivate novel application-driven intellectual property and manufacturing-centric startups while establishing unique communication and networking channels between industry, academia and innovators. alabama IMaDe® enhances the academic experience for students through real-world case studies, opportunities for internships, cooperative education and employment at the frontier of the emerging manufacturing sector through and beyond Industry 4.0.