The conversation around robots and their use in manufacturing has long been controversial. Many fear that the introduction of robots into the workplace will displace human jobs. In some respects, yes, robots will replace some jobs, but it’s not that simple. Yes, robots will replace some lower-level jobs. These jobs are the more menial and tedious jobs. These are jobs such as quality control on a factory line. Some
illness, and complacency. Robots and machines do not. But the question is what happens to those employees after their jobs are made obsolete? This is where the employee benefits. Now, those same employees who were being underutilized in the past can move into better quality jobs, including jobs that require problem solving or jobs that require more job fulfillment. These are higher quality jobs. Many of these jobs
People have off-days and are subject to fatigue, illness, and complacency. Robots and machines do not.
of us can recall the opening scene of “Laverne and Shirley” in Shotz Brewery. While their antics are funny and over the top, in today’s manufacturing world, the demands for quality are quite high. The need to ensure those bottles are properly filled and meet customer expectations is more important than ever. With the use of robotics and machine vision, we can now inspect every bottle as it passes at break-neck speed. From ensuring the liquid is filled to the proper level and color accuracy to checking labeling applications and cap being seated correctly, all aspects of the product’s quality are checked and made to meet specific tolerances. People have off-days and are subject to fatigue,
are in concert with robotics. These are called collaborative robots or cobots for short. As I said earlier, there is quite a bit of fear about the implementation of cobots in the workplace. Yes, some jobs will be made obsolete. But what many will experience is a shift in their job roles. There will be a need for robot designers, programmers, and maintenance workers. Others will need to be upskilled; basically, they will need to get an upgrade in their skillset. This means better pay, better benefits, and greater job satisfaction. There are also things that humans are inherently good at, where their robot counterparts are not, such as problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity.
we get technical
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