The Hidden Bottleneck in Automation: Maintenance Talent

Hey Reader,

When Ford CEO Jim Farley recently said he’s struggling to find qualified mechanics, he wasn’t just talking about cars. Every industry built on physical production is facing the same reality: the machines are getting smarter, but the workforce isn’t keeping pace.

In fresh food manufacturing, where automation is rapidly reshaping operations, the critical constraint isn’t capital or equipment. It’s people. Specifically, it’s the maintenance personnel who can keep increasingly complex systems running at peak performance.

From Wrenches to Workstations: Maintenance Has Evolved

It’s no longer enough to know how to fix a gear or replace a belt. Today’s plant equipment integrates mechanical systems with sensors, cameras, servo motors, PLCs, and increasingly, AI-powered diagnostics. A single slicing line might now:

• Adjust cut thickness dynamically based on product shape
• Target net weight to avoid giveaway and rework
• Run predictive diagnostics to alert operators before failure

And yet, the people responsible for keeping this equipment operational often lack training or even access to training in these advanced technologies.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

The cost of meat, seafood, and prepared foods is rising, and retailers are tightening quality expectations. This puts margin pressure directly on operations. Small equipment failures, tuning issues, or changeover delays now carry higher cost consequences:

• Giveaway from poor slicing accuracy results in product loss in every tray
• Unplanned downtime on packaging lines means labor overtime and missed orders
• Inconsistent performance leads to quality complaints and retailer fines

The future isn’t just automated. It’s precise. And the success of automation depends on maintenance teams being able to operate, fine-tune, and repair hybrid systems that span mechanical, electrical, and software domains.

How to Build a Maintenance Team for Tomorrow’s Plant

Most companies know they need to "invest in people." But what does that actually mean in this context? Here are five tangible steps to build a future-ready maintenance bench:

1. Define Maintenance as a Strategic Function

Move beyond reactive repair. Create and track maintenance-specific KPIs such as uptime, PM completion rate, and mean time to repair (MTTR). Align your maintenance team’s success metrics with production and yield goals, not just fix-it tickets.

2. Map Skill Gaps to Equipment Complexity

Start by inventorying critical equipment and the competencies required to maintain them. Your new thermoformer may need someone fluent in both mechanical pneumatics and Allen-Bradley ladder logic. If no one on staff fits that bill, you have a gap.

3. Invest in Cross-Training and Certifications

Don’t wait for a technician to quit or a machine to break. Create an internal program or partner with local tech colleges to build up mechanical, electrical, and software cross-skills. Even short-format certifications in sensors, PLC programming, or robotics can move the needle.

4. Standardize Preventive Maintenance (PM)

Many plants claim to have a PM program, but if it’s not digitized, scheduled, and tied to outcomes, it’s not a real program. Use your CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) to automate reminders, track compliance, and log failure history. Preventive maintenance done right reduces emergency calls and builds technician confidence.

5. Rebrand the Role

Young workers don’t aspire to be “maintenance guys,” but they might be drawn to titles like “Automation Specialist” or “Advanced Equipment Technician.” Position these roles as high-tech, high-skill, and mission-critical. Back that up with meaningful career paths and competitive pay.

What Counts as Critical Equipment? Start Here

Before you can build the right maintenance capability, you need to define where it matters most. Not every machine needs a high-skill technician on standby, but some absolutely do. Use these questions to identify your critical equipment:

• Is it a bottleneck? If this equipment goes down, does the line stop entirely?
• Is there redundancy? Can another machine pick up the slack or is this a single point of failure?
• Does failure cause rework or scrap? An improperly tuned slicer may lead to giveaway or underweight packages
• Does it impact appearance or spec? Appearance is quality. Malfunctions in forming or packaging equipment can damage presentation and lead to rejected shipments
• Is recovery time long or expensive? Some machines require outside service or lengthy teardown, increasing both time and cost

Once you define what’s critical, prioritize those assets for enhanced preventive maintenance, in-house skill building, and faster access to replacement parts.

The Bottom Line: Automation ROI Depends on Maintenance IQ

It’s easy to get excited about automation. Multi-head weighers, vision-guided robotics, and self-learning slicers sound great. But none of it delivers value if it’s offline, underutilized, or misconfigured. The people maintaining your equipment are just as important as the people running it.

If you’re investing in smarter machines, invest equally in smarter maintenance. Otherwise, the real bottleneck won’t be the equipment. It will be the talent gap.

Takeaway for This Week:

Audit your critical equipment and match it to your current maintenance team’s capabilities. Where there are gaps, start building a cross-training roadmap. Your automation investments depend on it.

FreshOps in the Field

If you enjoyed our recent issue on The Necessity & Fallacy of Planning, check out my latest appearance on the MeatingPod podcast by MeatingPlace.

In Episode 237: “How to Play the Long CapEx Game,” we expand on that topic and talk about how long-range capital planning must move beyond the immediate problem solving. The conversation covers a different framework to evaluate CapEx purchases, the critical groups to involve in CapEx conversations, and why you should have a consistent rhythm to discuss your future based assumptions.

​Listen now​

It is a practical listen for protein leaders who want to drive lasting improvements in complex environments.

Found this valuable? Share the knowledge

Hopefully you're finding some value in being a FreshOps subscriber. Don't keep it a secret, please share it with others.

​Click here to subscribe to FreshOps​

Unless you are using these tips to make yourself look better, in which case, I understand but would still share it with at least one person.

—
​Judson Armentrout​
FreshOps | Practical Insights for Fresh Food Operations

​buildingblock.solutions​

P.S. IFFA Recap is available!

This year’s IFFA show in Frankfurt was packed with future-shaping insights from automation designed to address labor gaps to packaging trends that haven’t even reached the U.S. market yet.

I put together a focused recap specifically for protein producers and retailers. It’s designed to help you anticipate what’s coming and begin realigning your strategy now, before the next wave hits.

Three ways to access it:

• Single Chapter – $245
• Full Report – $995
• Full Report + Consultation – $1,495

Learn more and purchase here: https://buildingblock.solutions/iffa-recap-report​

P.P.S. Want to know 5 Cost Saving Upgrades from IFFA?

Not sure if the Recap report is for you? This FREE 2 page guide shares some of our insights that could provide immediate value to your operation.
​Get the free pdf guide here​
​