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🚨In the News

MIT just launched their Initiative for New Manufacturing with some heavy hitters - Amgen, GE Vernova, Siemens, etc. with a focus on creating "good jobs."

Too often these initiatives sound like they're designed to replace people. This one seems to get that the magic happens when you combine leading-edge tech with human talent.

Whether this translates to practical solutions that small and mid-market manufacturers can actually use will be interesting to see. Hopefully not just another academic exercise that only Fortune 500 companies can afford to implement.

Let's see if they can bridge the gap between MIT's lab and the plant floor in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

🏭 Manufacturing Minute

We’re not facing a retirement crisis in manufacturing.

We’re wasting the greatest mentoring opportunity of our generation.

Just had a conversation with a 67-year-old maintenance tech at one of our customer sites.

This guy could troubleshoot a complex hydraulic system blindfolded, but his company is panicking about his retirement next year. They're frantically trying to hire younger talent who, let's be honest, will take 10+ years to build that same knowledge.

Meanwhile, this guy just wants to work 2-3 days a week and maybe mentor a bit.

He doesn't want to fully retire (his words: "what the hell would I do with myself?"), but nobody's asked him about flexible options.

And this disconnect is happening EVERYWHERE in manufacturing.

But instead of treating the "silver tsunami" like a catastrophe, what if we saw it as the perfect storm of opportunity?

Here’s a few tactical ideas that can help:

The "Technical Advisor" Track

Instead of forcing senior workers into traditional full-time roles, create 20-30 hour positions focused purely on their expertise. That hydraulic troubleshooter becomes your "Hydraulics Systems Specialist" - available for complex problems, training sessions, and equipment evaluations. Pay them consultant rates for specialized knowledge.

"Knowledge Transfer Partnerships"

Pair each retiring expert with 2-3 junior employees for 6-month rotations. Structure it like an apprenticeship program with clear milestones. The veteran gets purpose and respect, the juniors get accelerated learning, and you capture institutional knowledge before it walks out the door.

Stop asking veterans to "write documentation"

That's not how their expertise works. Instead:

• Video Documentation Sessions: Have them narrate while solving real problems. "Here's why I'm checking this bearing first..." captures the thinking process, not just procedures.

• Failure Mode Libraries: When something breaks, have your expert explain what went wrong, why it happened, and the three ways to prevent it. Build a searchable database of their diagnostic process.

• "Ghost Stories" Sessions: Monthly meetings where veterans share their worst failures and near-misses. This tribal knowledge is pure gold for preventing future disasters.

A few more ideas:

Project-Based Consulting: Keep retirees on retainer for major installations, process improvements, or when training new hires on complex systems. They get variety and autonomy, you get expertise when you need it most.

Remote Diagnostics: Many troubleshooting decisions can be made through video calls and photos. Your 67-year-old expert doesn't need to crawl under machines - they can guide younger techs through complex problems from anywhere.

Training Circuit: Create a rotating schedule where veterans spend time at different facilities, sharing knowledge across your entire operation. Keeps them engaged, spreads expertise, and gives sites access to specialists they couldn't afford full-time.

While veterans teach technical skills, have younger workers teach them digital tools, new software, and modern approaches. Create genuine two-way learning relationships that respect both experience and innovation.

That 30-year veteran doesn't want to climb ladders anymore, but can still program like a wizard? Put them on software modernization.

The master electrician ready to leave the floor? Partner them with your newest hires as a dedicated mentor and trainer.

That quality expert who knows every failure mode by sight? Get them recording knowledge and training videos.

This generation is looking for purpose, respect, and flexibility. And we desperately need their knowledge.

Our industry keeps chasing some mythical future workforce while letting decades of expertise walk out the door.

Anyone else have some creative approaches to keeping "silver" talent engaged?

(Pic of my 81 year-old Dad who can still solve manufacturing problems that would stump most consultants)

P.S., Whether you're trying to make sense of Industry 4.0, struggling with legacy systems, or just need a sounding board from someone who's navigated similar waters, let's talk. Book Your 30-Minute Strategy Call →

P.P.S., if you are a nerd (like me), the next installment of my Manufacturing-themed D&D comic is out! See it here: