Automation encourages diversity in air cargo employment

Automation in the air cargo industry can not only drive efficiency for forwarders but also reduce labor costs and help diversify the workforce as roles evolve amid the ongoing digital transformation. [caption id="attachment_57142578" align="alignright" width="300"] DP World’s freight forwarding service includes global air freight capabilities. (Courtesy/DP World)[/caption] At airports, the robotics and automation market is projected to grow to $2.6 billion by 2030 from $565 million in 2020, according to Allied Market Research . With manual processes requiring less oversight from human employees, the roles of workers are evolving, Morten Johansen , executive vice president for the Americas at Canada-based freight forwarder DP World , told Air Cargo Next . “Traditionally, the industry is a male-dominated industry,” he said. “You don’t see too many women. When you move toward automation and remote control of operations, it suddenly opens up a different dynamic in the industry.” At its seaports, DP World is utilizing automatic cranes that can be remotely controlled and operated , eliminating the need for an in-person operator, Johansen said. “We are electrifying a lot of our equipment today,” he said. “And by electrifying our equipment, we can also start to automate or semi-automate equipment going forward. So, it has a very important role … for us.” While the drive to increase diversity in the workplace in the industry needs to be broader, automation can support diversity, Monica Villegas , senior vice president of human resources for the Americas at DHL Global Forwarding , told Air Cargo Next . [caption id="attachment_97105" align="alignleft" width="300"] (Courtesy/DHL)[/caption] “At a more strategic level, the talent and skills needed to manage the infrastructure required for automation — including the analytical, problem-solving, fast-learning and communication skills that are likely to be in more demand to realize the potential of automation — mean that companies need to cast the recruitment net wider,” Villegas said. “This approach not only brings in individuals with diverse abilities and skills but also those with unique perspectives, ways of thinking and experiences. Fast learning and effective communication skills are critical as they enable individuals to quickly adapt to new technologies and efficiently collaborate across various teams.” Expanding skillsets These benefits may seem obvious, but automation is also impacting the skill sets required from employees, Johansen said. Employees are able to upskill through digital training, according to the DP World website. Still, many are worried that automation will replace humans. One robot replaced about 3.3 workers nationally and lowered wages by about 0.4%, according to a 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study. “The more optimistic view is that technology increases the opportunity for workers who are not in direct competition with it,” according to research by Coupa , a financial planning platform for logistics businesses. “Even if technology depresses employment for certain types of labor, it can create new needs and new opportunities through the ‘creative destruction’ of the complementary effect.” Likewise, UPS is seeing automation shift its employee dynamics. In 2022, 53% of packages that went through UPS warehouses were a part of an automated hub, Michelle Polk , director of communications at UPS, told Air Cargo Next . This number grew by 5% in 2023, she said. [caption id="attachment_89141" align="alignright" width="400"] A UPS MD-11F at Kansas City Airport. Photo/UPS[/caption] Rather than focusing on highly manual parts of a job, employees can become subject matter experts in their roles and specific areas, Polk said. “We don’t want to create these sort of silo thought processes where maybe only an industrial engineer can think through [an] improvement process,” Polk said. “It really should be the people there that are doing the work and can see and recommend and bring value in that conversation.” The focus should be on the bigger picture of increasing knowledge and efficiency, she said. With the technological advances today, “you’ve got some real development and whatever obstacles [there] were, they no longer exist,” Polk said. “That allows a deeper, broader, wider conversation. So, maybe people with unique backgrounds, maybe people with some learning disabilities [can be more involved] because you’re allowing the youth to now have access. “It really creates some excitement about how you can diversify the workforce in a lot of ways that maybe you just couldn’t [before] from a safety perspective ... or even language barriers that were insurmountable in years past,” she said.

Automation encourages diversity in air cargo employment

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