News


The Jim Pinto Column: The changing landscape of work

July 2011 News

Crowdsourcing – digital meritocracy

Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, large group of people or community (a ‘crowd’), through an open call. The concept of crowdsourcing depends essentially on the fact that because it is an open call, it gathers those who are most fit to perform tasks, solve complex problems and contribute with the most relevant and fresh ideas.

As the amount of digital work increases and the amount of physical work decreases, our notions of employment and ‘work’ change profoundly. Digital work does not require roads and factories; it requires computers and an Internet connection – equipment that people have access to almost anywhere. The needs for offices, supervisors and rigid employment arrangements disappear.

As technology improves, companies will be able to access the perfect person for a given job – the one who will do the job the best, enjoy it the most or do it the fastest. All these factors combine in a way that will change the landscape of work.

Current hiring processes typically involve online research about candidates on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Articles, portfolios, presentations and papers by potential job candidates are increasingly found online. Internet companies like oDesk and Elance rate workers based on past work rather than on what college they attended.

Individuals become their own companies, responsible for marketing themselves, negotiating their rates and deciding which work to pursue. There will be less wage ‘stickiness’ (this is what I am used to being paid) and people with unique skills will be paid what those skills are worth in the open market. Everyone who is capable of doing good work will have access to as many jobs as are available. And they can pick and choose.

This new ‘digital meritocracy’ is evolving quickly. The rise of digitally distributed work will reverse the trend of urbanisation (where the jobs were) over the next few decades. There will be a global decrease in unemployment. This extrapolation is counter-intuitive – but consider this: Google, Amazon and other high-tech companies are actually pushing for new jobs with more human involvement. These kinds of jobs did not exist before.

The operator paradox

Operator interfaces, annunciators and alarm systems in large automation and processing plants have evolved from legacy systems. ‘Enhanced’ with a plethora of new features and functions available just by clicking software settings, effective management is often overlooked.

Most process plants keep trying to train operators to cope with the challenges of continually increasing safety and efficiency requirements. In the United States and developed countries, the shortage of experienced operators is compounded by the retirement of an ageing workforce. In Second and Third World countries, which is where growth is occurring today, skilled operators are simply not available.

So, when the term ‘operator interface’ is used, who is the operator? And where does one find enough good operators to operate the system? And how long does it take to train them?

Traditionally, operators build knowledge and experience through handling normal production as well as abnormal emergencies and events. They learn how to cope with abnormal situations and emergencies through similar past experiences.

What is needed now is for the system to ‘learn’ continuously from operator experiences, normal and abnormal, and that this learning should remain in the system minimising its dependence on experienced human operators.

The operator paradox is this: Improved effectiveness comes not just from training operators to use increasingly more complex systems, but also from developing systems that adapt effectively to maximise throughput with minimal operator involvement. If operators cannot be trained to use the system, the system must adapt to the needs of available operators.

These are the future landscapes of work.

Jim Pinto is an industry analyst and commentator, writer, technology futurist and angel investor. His popular e-mail newsletter, JimPinto.com eNews, is widely read (with direct circulation of about 7000 and web-readership of two to three times that number). His areas of interest are technology futures, marketing and business strategies for a fast-changing environment, and industrial automation with a slant towards technology trends.

www.jimpinto.com





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

New Würth Elektronik location in South Africa
News
A new Würth Elektronik branch has opened in Brackenfell, Western Cape. The location operates under the name Wurth Electronics South Africa and will serve local customers, as well as being responsible for markets in Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia.

Read more...
John Thompson and BECS partner to deliver biomass energy solutions
News
John Thompson, a division of ACTOM and South Africa’s leading provider of industrial energy solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Berkeley Energy Corporate Solutions, a specialist developer and supplier of biomass energy projects. Together, the companies aim to accelerate the deployment of reliable, renewable steam solutions to industrial customers across Africa.

Read more...
Academy pumps out the next generation of experts
News
KSB Pumps and Valves has invested in a specialised training centre designed to equip internal and branch staff and certified partners with in-depth knowledge of KSB products and systems.

Read more...
Celebrating the power of diversity in the engineering sector
News
The engineering sector has historically been a male-dominated field, and to a large extent it still is. However, this is changing, and the shift is gaining significant momentum as more women begin to take up leadership roles, spearheading innovation and driving inclusive growth.

Read more...
Fifteen years of promoting innovation and supporting engineering excellence
RS South Africa News
RS South Africa is celebrating 15 years of promoting innovation and supporting engineering excellence through DesignSpark, its pioneering online engineering platform.

Read more...
From the Editor's desk: What happened to the metaverse?
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control) News
One of the most interesting technical crashes in recent years is the metaverse. As recently as 2022, it was white hot, with massive hype led by Meta. Even Bill Gates was saying that in two to three years ...

Read more...
Omniflex celebrates 60th anniversary
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists News
Remote monitoring specialist Omniflex is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Read more...
Nidec adopts Siemens Teamcenter for electric motor development
Siemens South Africa News
Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced that Nidec Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer and distributor of electric motors, has adopted Teamcenter X software from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to achieve innovative motor development and supply to set new industry standards, including automotive.

Read more...
Yaskawa Southern Africa and Sol-Tech advance industrial robotics training
Yaskawa Southern Africa News
Yaskawa Southern Africa has announced a strategic collaboration with Sol-Tech, a private vocational training institution based in Pretoria, to strengthen technical education in industrial robotics and support the development of future-focused talent for South Africa’s evolving manufacturing sector.

Read more...
Building skills and sharing knowledge for growth in Africa
SEW-EURODRIVE News
As a leading provider of drive and automation solutions across the continent, SEW-EURODRIVE recognises that local insight and on-the-ground capability are critical to delivering effective sustainable results. The company continues to invest in people development and technical training within its network of African subsidiaries and partners, supporting the long-term growth of its customers and the broader industrial ecosystem.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved