The government said IoT will allow local firms to maximize added value in the industry
The Japanese government urged domestic manufacturers to use internet of things (IoT) and other technologies to alleviate serious workforce shortages, Japanese press reported.
“Actively making use of IoT and other digital tools holds the key” to solving the labor shortage problem and tackling another major challenge of creating and maximizing added value in the industry, the 2017 manufacturing white paper said.
In a move to deal with the manpower shortages, Japanese manufacturers are currently trying to utilize veteran workers by extending the retirement age, among other measures, according to the report.
The white paper also suggested that experienced workers’ skills needed to be integrated with IoT and other digital technologies.
Citing survey results, the report said many makers find it hard to maintain and strengthen problem-solving capabilities at each workplace due to difficulties in hiring new personnel. The severe workforce procurement situation for manufacturers “is feared to hinder their efforts to bring their production back to Japan,” the white paper added.
MegaFon inks IoT agreement with Russian Railways
In other IoT news, Russian mobile operator MegaFon has signed an agreement with Russian Railways to provide passengers on high speed and long distance trains with mobile coverage and wireless internet access across the entire rail network.
Under the agreement, MegaFon and Russian Railways also agreed to carry out a number of initiatives in the IoT space. MegaFon will deploy smart technologies to collect and transmit information about elements of infrastructure without human input.
“MegaFon has the technology and experience to support Russian Railways’ IT development strategy. For example, we can offer solutions for studying and optimizing passenger traffic, monitoring wear and proactive analytics using big data analysis,” Anna Serebryanikova, COO at MegaFon said.
The operator has close to 76 million mobile subscribers in Russia.
