By Antoine Bisson, co-founder and CEO of Poka
Key takeaways:
Shift the focus from “more automation” to “more empowerment.” Smart manufacturing delivers the most value when frontline workers can easily access, understand, and act on digital insights. Technology should amplify humans, not replace them.
Connected worker tools close the skills and “last-mile” gaps. By capturing tribal knowledge and delivering it as quick, in-the-flow training/work instructions, manufacturers can speed onboarding, reduce errors, and improve response consistency on the shop floor.
Agility and governance go together. As autonomy and complexity rise, manufacturers need strong risk controls built into connected systems, turning governance into a driver of resilience and fast, scalable change across lines, shifts, and sites.
The era of smart manufacturing, once characterized by sensors, figures, and robots, is entering a new phase, one led by an empowered workforce. The industry’s focus must shift from automation, to enabling frontline workers to thrive in increasingly digital, smarter environments.
The Deloitte 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey reveals that 85% of manufacturers believe smart manufacturing will transform factories into more productive and seamless environments. Yet as investment in advanced technologies accelerates, challenges around workforce agility and resilience are also intensifying. The question manufacturers now face is how to keep frontline teams empowered as automation surges.
Antoine Bisson, CEO of Poka, explores how connected worker solutions will not replace human labor but act as a catalyst, turning smart manufacturing initiatives into engines of growth by enhancing skills, engagement, and performance.
He argues that while the technology trends highlighted in Deloitte’s 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey are important, they tell only part of the story behind truly intelligent operations. From closing the frontline skills gap to keeping human operations at the core, four key takeaways from through the lens of the connected worker.
1. Closing the frontline skills gap once and for all
The Deloitte survey reported that 48% of manufacturers find filling production roles increasingly challenging and 46% struggle with planning and scheduling talent. It’s clear workforce demographics are shifting, and manufacturers need to spring into action to optimize potential and talent, all while adjusting to new complex technology systems and workflows.
If smarter manufacturing is boosted by connected workers, staffing challenges can be eliminated, and legacy knowledge can not only be retained but also more easily absorbed by less experienced workers.
Shadowing, or classroom-type learning, is no longer sustainable or effective for workers.
Connected worker tools turn workplaces into reactive environments by storing tribal knowledge and turning those insights into accessible, bite-sized knowledge in the form of training videos or work instructions for every team member across every role.
By embracing connecting worker tools, workforce development can now go from a hindrance to becoming a key driving factor for manufacturers. They allow onboarding and training to be a seamless, consistent process which lowers error rates, and, more importantly, creates a more confident and able workforce.
2. Navigating the last mile
Digital investments are increasingly infrastructure-focused with 41% of manufacturers planning to prioritize factory automation hardware, 34% on sensor technologies, and 28% on vision systems. These tools form the foundation of modern industrial environments. But they create a critical challenge: the last mile.
In IT, the “last mile” refers to the final leg of connectivity between a service and its end user. In smart manufacturing terms, it’s the bridging gap between data generation and frontline production. And that means using AI as a trusted assistant on the shop floor, not just another black box.
Machines today have more crucial capabilities than ever. Machinery can report live performance metrics and predictive analytics as well as fault forecasting. But what if these insights don’t reach the surveyor, or the response is delayed or inconsistent? Here connected worker solutions play an indispensable role to empower supervisors and drive seamless operations, improving insight access and collaboration, and connectivity through reports, dashboards, and enterprise systems.
Here AI and Gen AI hold even more potential in this loop. As more data is captured in structured formats, large language models can help surface patterns, suggest fixes or even create training content automatically. But their true power lies in their ability to support, not supplant, human workers. That’s why the interface matters.
3. Human operations still rule the roost
While digital transformations take over, sustaining competitive edge requires smarter manufacturing priorities. As Deloitte says, 92% of manufacturers view smart manufacturing as critical to their competitiveness in the next five years.
This shift is transforming manufacturing into a new direction of smart manufacturing, and beyond solely automation and technological integration.
But what is often missed as part of “smart” manufacturing is the human element. When workers are unable to effectively interact with digital systems, the value of those tech investments is significantly diminished.
Those who do align technology implementation with people and processes see positive impact. It’s no surprise the report finds that manufacturers who have successfully implemented smart manufacturing solutions saw 10% to 20% improvement in production output, a 7% to 20% improvement in employee productivity, and 10% to 15% in unlocked capacity.
Overall, the question is not about the newest machinery capabilities, but the connectivity from person, to machine, to process; you cannot have one without the other. Smart manufacturing is about people-enabled technology that closes the loop between insight and intervention. For instance, an operator identifying a quality issue can now scan a QR code for a product/equipment biography, and a short-form instruction video will appear, guiding them to log the fault and notify maintenance efficiently, all while allowing supervisors to work uninterrupted as frontline skill themselves up independently.
4. Agility at the core, even when governance and risk come into play
In an increasingly autonomous environment, governance and risk become pressing requirements. The Deloitte study shared that 65% of manufacturers believe operational risk mitigation is a key pressing priority along with cybersecurity, workforce adoption, and data management.
As systems scale, so does complexity. No matter the quantity of factory plant operations, without robust systems for governance the chance of inaccuracy or simply non-compliant or unsafe practices expands significantly. Again, the essential tool to enable good governance and risk mitigation is with updated, modernized, and integrated connected worker solutions. Here, operating practices can be clearly defined and enforced via digital tools, and ongoing procedures including training can be enhanced. For example, completion of training modules can be tracked, version-controlled revisions can be revised, and digital-sign off verifications can be made possible.
Whether it is supply chain instability, geopolitical shifts, or workforce turnover, manufacturing companies must have the capability to adapt swiftly. With a connected worker platform, practices become universally streamlined and any changes can be rolled across lines, shifts and even global sites.
As a result, governance is no longer seen as a constraint but a powerful catalyst for agility and resilience.
Manufacturing success spurred by connected teams
As we move through this new era, smart manufacturing will remain important, but the key imperative for manufacturers is no longer just to automate, but to empower their human workers in these smarter environments. Technology should act as a catalyst, amplifying human capability, not attempting to replace it.
And connected worker tools hold the key to unlock these smarter manufacturing initiatives.
Antoine Bisson is the co-founder and CEO of Poka, where he has led the company’s transformation into an AI-native organization. Since co-founding Poka in 2014, he has been the driving force behind the company’s product vision — helping manufacturers worldwide enhance performance by connecting people, knowledge, and processes through technology.
