American manufacturing continues to expand, yet the industry faces a growing shortage of skilled maintenance workers. A recent survey conducted by MaintainX of 211 maintenance and operations leaders across the United States highlights the depth of the problem and offers insight into how companies are responding.
Understaffing is widespread
More than 70% of the maintenance teams surveyed reported being understaffed at least some of the time in the past year, and 37% said they are chronically understaffed—meaning they are often or almost always shorthanded. The primary staffing challenge, identified by 55% of respondents, is finding qualified candidates. This figure is 22 percentage points higher than the next most common issue, which is a limited budget or headcount approval.
Why qualified candidates are scarce
Respondents say there simply aren’t enough workers with the technical expertise needed to maintain increasingly complex automation, robotics, and industrial infrastructure. Approximately one‑third of teams (33%) are losing staff to retirements, higher‑than‑normal turnover, or both. New hires are not closing the gap quickly enough; 72% of open roles take 60 days or more to fill, and 42% of new staff require more than three months to reach full productivity.
Financial impact of chronic understaffing
The survey identifies three clear financial consequences for chronically understaffed teams: delayed work leading to increased risk, downtime, and higher contractor or overtime spend. These costs create a feedback loop that makes it harder to invest in the systems that could alleviate labor pressure.
Knowledge capture and digitization as a remedy
Teams that have already lost workers to retirement or turnover are more likely to prioritize formal knowledge‑capture processes. Sixty‑eight percent of these teams list knowledge capture as a top priority, compared with 54% of other teams. They also place a higher emphasis on process standardization (74% vs. 60%) and improved training and onboarding (50% vs. 45%).
Technology adoption is hampered by staffing gaps
More than 65% of chronically understaffed teams say digitization is a top priority, yet they often lack the capacity to implement new systems. Those teams are 46% more likely to report that labor shortages are slowing technology adoption. The most resilient teams—those avoiding direct financial consequences—ramp new hires to full productivity within 90 days (70% of such teams) versus 57% for teams experiencing multiple financial impacts.
Cross‑training and investment in software pay off
Teams that are rarely or never shorthanded are more likely to cross‑train staff (48% vs. 33%) and invest simultaneously in software, knowledge digitization, and AI—three times more often than understaffed teams. These investments make maintenance knowledge easier to find, standardize work, and support data‑driven decisions.
Practical steps for maintenance leaders
To mitigate the labor shortage, leaders should ask: Where can knowledge be captured and digitized? How can onboarding be accelerated? Which processes can be standardized? By building repeatable systems, teams can create capacity, reduce reliance on headcount, and protect uptime even when hiring slows.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 54,200 annual openings for industrial maintenance workers through 2034, underscoring the long‑term nature of the talent gap. While there is no quick fix, the survey shows that strategic investment in knowledge management, cross‑training, and technology can help manufacturers maintain productivity and protect their bottom line.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
