Phantom Auto Tech Helping Unlikely Workers Fill Logistics Labor Shortage
Phantom Auto remotely operated forklift operating for NFI, one of the largest logistics companies in … [+] North America
Phantom Auto
A non-binary person with autism with mobility issues, a married father of three forced to move his family hundreds of miles to more affordable housing and a disabled Israeli military veteran. What they all have in common is they are working as many as thousands of miles away from the warehouse and materials movement equipment they operate remotely using technology developed by Silicon Valley company Phantom Auto.
For the overall logistics industry, faced with an acute labor shortage, such technology is key in attracting employees for jobs with long hours, require physical exertion, long commutes and may involve working in inhospitable weather conditions.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of November, 2022 there were 1.27 million open manufacturing and warehouse positions with only 759,000 new hires.
Brant Ring, CEO ITC Conglobal
Brant Ring, CEO of international logistics company ITS Conglobal laid out to Forbes.com the challenge of attracting people to take on jobs such as operating yard trucks, noting, “we are limited to the people that are already predisposed and inclined to do this kind of work and people that are inclined to do this kind of work have more attractive alternatives.”
Phantom Auto co-founders, (left to right) ) Ohad Dvir, Shai Magzimof, and Elliot Katz
Phantom Auto
One of those “more attractive alternatives” is shaping up to be Phantom Auto’s remote operation technology.
“Phantom’s vehicle-agnostic remote operation software enables highly-trained operators to remotely monitor, remotely assist, and remotely operate fleets of unmanned vehicles from thousands of miles away,” explained Elliot Katz, Phantom Auto co-founder and chief business officer. “By decoupling labor from location, we are creating a larger labor pool, which includes net new workers who hadn’t previously been able to do logistics work.”
Harmony Pollack remotely operating a forklift located in California from 2,400 miles away in … [+] Michigan
Phantom Auto
One of those workers is Harmony Pollack. Identifying as non-binary who suffers from vertigo and is on the autism spectrum, Pollack was not able to continue in their position as a cook at a restaurant in a Detroit suburb because standing for long periods of time became a challenge. The situation left them unemployed for about three years.
The restaurant where Pollack worked is operated by the West Bloomfield, Mich.-based organization The Friendship Circle which supports people with special needs. The head of the organization had been in touch with Katz and approached Pollack about a job.
Pollack is now gainfully employed, and grateful. “I am remotely driving forklifts,” she proudly told Forbes.com. “My forklift is currently located in the state of California. I’m in Ypsilanti, Michigan which is not in the state of California. I can apparently drive a vehicle for eight hours a day without a problem.”
John Schmidt (left) and Arnon Amit (right) remotely operating forklifts in a remote operation center
Phantom Auto
Israeli military veteran Arnon Amit was injured during his service and now uses a wheelchair. He told Forbes.com employment after his injury 14 years ago had been fairly sporadic. But now he operates forklifts located in the U.S. and conducts research to improve the system for a wide variety of disabled people from Phantom’s office in Tel Aviv.
“It gave me work that is that is meaningful for one, and then is is gainful and I mean, changing my life,” said Amit. “It’s definitely changed the way the way I operate and day to day it’s getting me stable work.”
Alex Blazquez remotely operating a forklift located in Texas from 1,600 miles away in Montana
Phantom Auto
Alex Blazquez is a prime example of how being able to work remotely actually prevented someone already employed in the sector from leaving.
After working for IKEA in the San Francisco Bay area for 11 years in various warehouse roles including driving a forklift he was laid off in 2021. That’s when he began working as a remote operator for Phantom.
When the married father of three lost the lease on the condo his family was renting at a cut rate, Blazquez quickly found he couldn’t find a new home in the expensive area he could afford on his current salary and he didn’t want move, giving up his well-paying job. He got to have it all.
Blazquez and his wife had bought a house near Helena, Montana they had hoped to turn into an investment, perhaps running it as a vacation rental property. Instead, the family moved into the house in the much lower-cost area. Phantom set up equipment in his bedroom where he operates 25-30 forklifts a day in a number of states.
“Every every couple minutes you want to take a step back and say wow, this is crazy. Crazy technology for how crazy technology has gotten to the point where I can operate a forklift 1000 miles away,” said Blazquez from his bedroom/workplace.
Blazquez, Pollack and Amit are among the 50 or so people operating forklifts or yard trucks remotely using the Phantom system for the company’s various international clients. Most work in Phantom operations centers while some work from home.
Katz says demand is high for remote equipment operators noting, “We are actively hiring operators to keep up with the pace of deployment, and aim to have hundreds of operators this year.”
Operators go through Phantom’s remote operator training which includes both classroom and hands-on instruction. They must also attain OSHA certification and pass a final exam.
The training “is designed so that any Phantom trainee, regardless of prior operational experience, can develop the skills needed to safely and efficiently remotely operate,” said Katz.
At ITC Conglobal the Phantom technology is used not only to operate yard trucks, but also to conduct distance learning for training operators—a capability that became especially important to create safe distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Ring.
Indeed, Ring stresses using remote operators does not result in any job losses for on-site drivers because of the labor shortage or declines in efficiency. In fact, he says, it results in hiring more people.
“That an in-cab operator makes 10 moves an hour and in the instance where a remote operator makes eight moves an hour, it doesn’t matter,” said Ring. “Because if I can’t find somebody to sit in the cab and make the 10 moves an hour they’re making zero movies per hour, right. In the end, we will hire more people, we will retain more people, our workforce will be more diverse, and we will be a more resilient company.”
The company is so confident in the Phantom tech Ring said the company has placed the largest fleet order of trucks that enable this technology to be used arriving in 2023 arriving in the first half of this year. They’re all allocated to ITC Conglobal customers.
As the larger workforce became accustomed to working remotely that option has actually become a requirement for many job seekers.
According to a survey of job seekers by McKinsey & Co. “flexible working arrangement, e.g. working remotely” was the third most important motivator when looking for new employment.
A worker survey by McKinsey & Co. found flexibility of working arrangement and ability to work … [+] remotely was high on the list of motivations for seeking new employment.
McKinsey & Co.
That means the ability to work remotely not only can attract new employees, but retain current workers. Katz points out it also means providing employ opportunities for those like Pollack and Amit who might otherwise not be able to handle an on-site position.
“For example, approximately 75% of adults with autism are unemployed and about eight in 10 people with a disability were not in the labor force in 2021,” said Katz. “Our technology enables these highly qualified workers that want and need to work to do essential jobs that must be filled to keep our supply chain intact.”
As one of those people with autism who is now finally employed after a prior fruitless and frustrating job search, Harmony Pollack is both grateful and wistful about the opportunity Phantom provided to play a small role in allaying the logistics industry labor shortage and make a good living despite the challenges, remarking, “So being inside a vehicle is problematic and yet I still drive vehicles for a living which is it’s amazing, ridiculous, but it works.”
