Growing Electrician Shortage Increases Need for Automation

The skilled labor shortage is experienced across many industries, but electrical contractors are particularly hard hit. 37% of electrical contracting companies experience 'production restrictions' due to a lack of labor – far more than the 24% for the general industry according to Statistics Denmark (data from May 2024). Electricians are also among the occupational groups in Denmark that companies have the hardest time recruiting. Just over a third of all advertised electrician positions end up with unsuccessful recruitment, according to the Danish Agency for Labor Market and Recruitment.

"This increased demand puts additional pressure on the current electricians in the industry to work more with the risk of getting worn out faster," says Lars B. Sørensen, area manager at the union, Dansk El-Forbund.

The hope among the companies participating in the project has been that they could find ways to free electricians from the heaviest, most monotonous, and repetitive tasks – thereby addressing the labor shortage. This goal has been successfully achieved, according to Mikkel Viager, one of the robot engineers from HowToRobot, who observed and analyzed more than 50 electrical installation and maintenance tasks as part of the project.

"We uncovered a wide range of existing, often semi-automatic, aids and solutions that can reduce the time electricians spend on many of their tasks. It was far more significant than we had dared to hope," he says.

During the project, 13 specific electrical tasks across renovation, maintenance, and new construction were identified as suitable for automation and optimization with new or existing technology. In particular, the study found great potential in automating processes such as cable pulling behind ceilings and walls, hole drilling for electrical installations, measuring and marking, and channel cutting for wiring.

"The analysis shows enormous potential. Automation can help ensure that a company can say yes to orders that they would otherwise have to decline due to staff shortages," says Maria Schougaard Berntsen. “This debunks the myth that robots are taking jobs from people.”

Automation Reduces Heavy and Tedious Tasks

One thing is to automate to optimize work time, but in the bigger picture, there are other considerations motivating electrical contracting companies.

"What appeals to me most about automation is that we can spare our employees and reduce wear and tear. Some of those entering the labor market now will be working until they are over 72 years old. If they are to stay in the industry, we need to take good care of them," says Jesper Timming, Managing Director of the Danish electrical contractor Linde-El – one of the companies studied in the project.

Particularly heavy tasks in difficult working positions, such as working on ladders with hands above shoulder height, can be wearing – especially on the shoulders. One of the project's goals was, therefore, to map out how automation can help reduce the number of wearing tasks and thus improve the working environment. Across the tasks analyzed, the study found an ‘improved working environment’ to be the overall most significant positive effect of automation.

Cable Pulling, Measurement, Grooving: Much, but Not All, Can Be Automated

During the project, several electrician tasks suitable for automation emerged, beyond cable pulling.

One of these was the measurement and marking of placements for sockets, conduits, etc. Various solutions already exist today that can reduce the time spent on these tasks and minimize measurement errors. An automation solution using a 3D scanner would make it possible to scan a room and then plot installations directly from a technical drawing onto walls, floors, and ceilings for marking. Additionally, mobile robots exist that can print the drawing directly on the floor.

Another task identified during the project was drilling holes in ceilings and walls for sockets, cable routing, and installation. Drilling is both a dusty and noisy process that often involves poor working positions for electricians. During the project, a range of off-the-shelf tools were found that can ease the work – from simple drills for making square holes for embedded sockets to more advanced mobile drilling robots.