Tanya Wade
Across the US, industries are navigating a historic demographic shift often referred to as the “Silver Tsunami”. It is estimated that by 2030, approximately 2.1 million jobs could go unfilled across the manufacturing sector because of a lack of skilled applicants. This transition is creating a massive knowledge transfer gap, where institutional expertise is leaving faster than it can be passed on or replaced.
The Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC), in conjunction with its partner Analog Digital Systems, is addressing this nationwide issue with their new workforce training program, THREAD-X (Textile Handling Real-time Expertise and Data Exchange). THREAD-X is an AI Cloud and AR Training Platform designed to help companies bridge industry skill gaps and accelerate training time by digitizing expert knowledge, which allows them to pass on critical skills in a fraction of the time. It combines a structured Learning Management System (LMS) with Augmented Reality (AR) simulations for hands-on guidance and offers live, remote expert support for equipment troubleshooting.
And while MSC initially designed THREAD-X on Lonati 616 knitting machines, it is built on a platform that can be utilized with any type of equipment or industry processes to train faster, reduce errors, troubleshoot equipment issues and keep essential skills within the company.
