In this episode of iHeartRadio’s ‘The Restless Ones’ podcast, host Jon Strickland interviews Phantom Auto Co-founders Elliot Katz & Shai Magzimof to discuss how the company's remote operations technology is helping to solve the decades-long labor shortage in the logistics sector.
“There’s been a labor shortage in this sector for decades that's become much more acute in the past couple of years,” said Katz, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at Phantom. He goes on to describe how Phantom’s customers have previously been restricted to hiring forklift drivers that live in close proximity to the warehouse. Using Phantom’s remote-enabled forklifts, warehouse operators can now hire vehicle operators to work from almost anywhere.
Even with Remote Operations, safety in the workplace remains of paramount importance. CEO Shai Magzimof elaborates on Phantom’s approach to safety compared to that of an autonomous vehicle, "One of the reasons we are working with forklifts in warehouses is we don’t have that same problem like autonomous vehicles ...their safety systems are just not there yet." Forklifts operate at a much slower speed, "so you're allowed to work together with the safety system to achieve the task."
Magzimof and Katz also discussed the changing face of work and how they believe Remote Operations can make a positive societal impact — enabling people who might otherwise be ineligible for physically demanding warehouse jobs to now apply for forklift operator roles.
Listen to the entire episode on iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts.
About Phantom Auto
Phantom Auto specializes in remote operation of all logistics vehicles. Phantom’s human-centric interoperable solutions enable people to remotely supervise, assist, and drive vehicle fleets from up to thousands of miles away – including forklifts, robots, trucks, and more. By decoupling labor from location, the company increases labor access and retention, safety, productivity, and resilience across the supply chain. With Phantom, supply chain operators can tap into drivers from anywhere — connecting people who want to work with jobs that need to be filled. The company’s proprietary software delivers secure, low-latency communication over volatile wireless networks for reliable sensor streaming and safe vehicle control. For more information about Phantom, visit www.phantomauto.com.