At HESCO, we’ve been working alongside manufacturers for over 80 years, helping them navigate a constantly evolving industrial landscape. We’ve seen firsthand how facilities adapt to emerging technologies, shifting workforce dynamics, and increasing pressure to produce more with less.
What hasn’t changed is this: the best operations don’t just run, they evolve. And today, one of the smartest evolutions we’re seeing is strategic automation. Not sweeping multi-million-dollar overhauls, but smart, incremental changes that improve production, ease strain, and make work safer.
This isn’t about following trends. It’s about solving real problems with practical, long-term solutions tailored to your team and your equipment. And when it comes to solving labor shortages, one of today’s biggest workforce challenges, automation is no longer just a good idea. In many cases, it’s a necessity.
Why Automation Matters Now
You’re not alone if you’ve had trouble filling open positions lately. U.S. manufacturers have been grappling with a growing labor shortage for years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. According to a 2024 study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2033, due to an aging workforce, lack of skilled applicants, and shifting generational preferences in the job market.
Younger generations are entering the workforce with different expectations, favoring roles that are tech-enabled, safe, and flexible. Meanwhile, older employees with decades of experience are retiring, taking deep institutional knowledge with them. That leaves a widening gap in headcount and skills.
At the same time, industrial operations can’t afford to slow down. You still have deadlines, customer expectations, and production goals. But fewer hands are available to meet those demands. The result? Teams are stretched thin. Maintenance backlogs grow. Throughput suffers. And safety risks increase as overworked employees take on more than they should.
That’s where automation comes in. The right automation solution doesn’t replace your people, it gives them the support they need to thrive. It fills the gaps in labor while creating new roles and upskilling opportunities for your existing team. Here are five roles where automation can deliver immediate impact, boosting productivity while freeing up your team to do higher-value work.
1. Palletizing
Palletizing is one of those tasks that seems simple until you try to keep pace with it for eight hours straight. In facilities that move high volumes of boxes, bags, or pails, it’s often one of the most physically punishing jobs on the floor.
Workers are expected to keep up with a fast-moving line, lifting dozens (sometimes hundreds) of pounds per minute, often in hot, noisy, or refrigerated environments. It's no surprise that turnover in these roles tends to be high, especially when staffing is already tight.
In food and beverage packaging, stacked cases need to be fast and precise to avoid damaged goods or unstable loads. When done manually, the physical toll can lead to repetitive strain injuries, slowed output, and increased reliance on temporary labor, none of which help your bottom line.
Automating palletizing doesn't just reduce those risks. It introduces a level of consistency that’s hard to match. Cobots are particularly effective in this area. Unlike traditional robots, they don’t require large cages or special guarding. They can be mounted on mobile bases, easily reprogrammed for different product sizes, and set up alongside existing conveyors with minimal disruption. And because they’re designed to operate safely around people, they make a great first step into automation without the need to isolate the work area.
An example of a palletization application for a cobot
The cost of not automating palletizing is often hidden in overtime, downtime, or rework. Missed shipments, preventable injuries, and constant turnover aren’t just frustrating, they’re expensive. When a cobot can keep up with demand, reduce strain on your team, and run through breaks or even second shifts, the ROI becomes pretty clear.
2. Sanding
Manual sanding demands a lot and gives very little in return. It’s dusty, repetitive, and physically taxing, especially when workers are sanding overhead or at awkward angles. Over time, it takes a toll on wrists, shoulders, and lungs. And even with protective gear and best practices, it’s a job that many workers understandably prefer to avoid.
This is especially true in metal fabrication and woodworking, where surface finishing must meet strict quality standards. Consistency matters, but it’s hard to achieve by hand, especially after hours of fatigue set in. One missed edge can trigger a rework loop that slows your whole line.
Robotic sanding solutions, particularly when paired with force-sensing tools, solve these challenges precisely. They apply consistent pressure and follow repeatable paths, eliminating variation and reducing scrap. Cobots are often the easiest way in, requiring minimal programming and adaptable fixturing that allows for part changes with just a few clicks.
There’s a real cost to keeping sanding manual: slower cycles, uneven finishes, and a higher risk of injury or burnout. Automating this process improves output and gives your team safer, more fulfilling roles, like quality assurance or managing the cobot itself.
3. Welding
Welding is one of the most respected (and increasingly rare) skills in manufacturing. Facilities across the country are facing a real shortage of qualified welders, and those that remain are often stretched thin across multiple jobs, projects, or shifts. It’s one of the clearest cases where automation isn’t about replacement; it’s about survival.
We’ve seen this play out in industries like automotive and heavy equipment, where consistent weld quality and production speed are critical. When human welders are doing long, repetitive runs on simple joints, it’s not just inefficient, it’s wasted potential. These are exactly the kinds of tasks cobots and robotic weld cells are built to handle.
A cobot welding application
Automated welding systems can deliver uniform beads, reduce spatter, and maintain tight tolerances across large batches. They’re especially valuable in jobs that involve awkward angles or high repetition, where human fatigue can compromise quality. Best of all, They free up your team to focus on complex assemblies, prototyping, or training newer staff, where human expertise shines.
The longer you wait to automate basic welding tasks, the more you risk losing throughput, product quality, or your top talent to burnout or competitors. Welding cobots are already making a difference in shops that were once struggling to keep up—and they can do the same for yours.
4. CNC Machine Tending
The phrase we hear most from CNC operators? “I spend more time loading parts than cutting them.” And it’s true. In many facilities, your most expensive machines are often waiting on a human to open a door, place a blank, and press cycle start. It’s not just unproductive, it’s a waste of skilled labor.
We’ve worked with manufacturers who spent years trying to hire more machinists, only to realize that their current team could be twice as productive if they didn’t have to babysit machines. That’s where cobots shine. A CNC tending cobot can handle the part handling, door opening, and even light part inspection, allowing your operator to monitor multiple machines or focus on higher-level tasks.
One of the biggest perks? It’s non-invasive. Most cobot deployments don’t require modifying your CNC or voiding warranties. They’re trained to interact with your equipment just like a human would but with more consistency and zero downtime.
Continuing with manual tending means living with avoidable idle time, inconsistent throughput, and frustrated operators. Automation changes that, giving your team the tools to do more without burning out or falling behind.
5. Quality Inspection
Quality control is the final gate before a part hits the customer, and it’s where inconsistency can have the most damaging consequences. Manual inspection, while important, is inherently variable. No matter how sharp your inspectors are, fatigue and repetition make errors inevitable.
This is especially true in high-throughput environments where hundreds or thousands of parts flow through per day. Human eyes can only focus for so long before details blur. That’s why more manufacturers are turning to vision-based inspection systems, sometimes standalone, sometimes integrated with cobots.
Cobots can be trained to hold and rotate parts in front of cameras, scan labels or barcodes, and even sort parts by result. This eliminates the need for operators to manually flip, rotate, and examine each piece. The process becomes faster, more consistent, and easier to document for traceability or compliance.
The risk of sticking with a manual-only approach is twofold: missed defects that hurt customer trust and wasted labor on repetitive inspection tasks. Automating part of the inspection process doesn’t eliminate QA roles. It frees your team to do what they do best: analyze trends, improve processes, and stop defects before they start.
Choosing the Right Path: Robots, Cobots, or Full Automation?
The good news? You don’t have to go all-in on a massive automation project to see benefits. Today’s automation options range from high-speed robot cells to compact cobots that fit seamlessly into existing workflows.
- Industrial robots offer unmatched speed and precision in high-volume applications but often require fenced-off cells and more advanced integration.
- Fully automated lines work well when you're producing a single product at high volumes, and consistency is the top priority.
- Cobots shine in smaller or mid-sized facilities. They’re flexible, safe, and built for high-mix, low-volume production.
Need help deciding what’s right for your floor? We’ve covered the key differences in Cobots vs Robots and explored the top benefits of collaborative automation in this article. You can also see a real-world success story in our cobot integration case study with Willington Nameplate.
Expanding Opportunity and Output
The biggest benefit of automation? It transforms jobs, elevating workers from repetitive tasks to more meaningful, skilled roles. It’s about giving your workforce a fighting chance in a competitive, fast-moving market, offloading the dull, dirty, or dangerous tasks that lead to injuries and turnover, and replacing them with meaningful work that keeps people engaged and growing.
In every facility we’ve worked with, automation has opened new doors. Operators become programmers. Assemblers become process owners. Inspectors become problem-solvers. And new hires walk into a workplace that’s modern, safe, and full of potential.
Not sure where to start? Contact us at HESCO today. Whether it’s one cobot or a long-term strategy, we’ll help you take the first step.
