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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) helps ensure U.S. workers operate in safe and healthful working conditions by funding related efforts by external researchers; developing and testing engineering controls, personal protective equipment, and other technologies; and providing educational information, guidance, and training, as well as other services. NIOSH must prioritize its investments in workplace safety and health to make the best use of available funding and must also demonstrate the value of that funding. However, there are a number of challenges in understanding the benefits associated with this or any agency's research activities. In an earlier study, RAND researchers developed an approach for estimating these benefits and demonstrated the approach using three case studies. NIOSH then asked RAND to further build upon that work by developing a process for selecting case studies for evaluation, applying that selection process to a list of ten potential case studies, and selecting three case studies from this list for detailed analysis. In this report, the authors define and document a process for selecting case studies of the economic benefits of research and services at NIOSH and evaluate benefits associated with three selected cases. Together, this body of research helps build a foundation for evaluating the broader societal benefits provided by NIOSH, both by providing quantitative estimates of the benefits associated with specific NIOSH activities and by providing NIOSH with methods and examples for consistently evaluating the societal impact of its own work.
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In many factories today, robots are already working alongside human workers and have been doing so for some time. Analysts anticipate that this trend is likely to grow as industrial robots become increasingly sophisticated and advanced. At the same time, there likely will be a shortage of human workers who hold the necessary technical and nontechnical skills to work with, program, and repair their machine counterparts. Given this reality, it is critical that new workers and those who are in the process of retraining have access to effective and affordable training programs. But do we have enough quality programs to serve this need? And what factors constitute a "quality program"? The RAND Corporation was asked to assess the state and future of education and training in advanced manufacturing (AM) using robotics, with a special focus on the U.S. Midwest region and the state of Pennsylvania — areas that currently are and historically have been hubs of manufacturing and provide important test cases for answering questions about the availability and content of AM training programs. The research team examines the economic context in which education, training, and workforce development programs currently operate and potentially will operate in the near future; reviews available programs and evaluates their curricular content and instructional practices and technologies; and reviews promising educational practices in these areas. The team also offers recommendations for stakeholders to consider as they work to meet the needs of the future AM workforce.
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