Automation poses opportunity not threat to labour
November 2013
IT in Manufacturing
“If business automation is causing job losses and redundancy of staff, you’re doing it wrong.” So says Alexander Mehlhorn, CEO of software development company Framework One. He was responding to recent reports of automation in particularly the manufacturing sector that have led to mass lay-offs.
“The objective of business process automation is always to remove bottlenecks to growth and increase productivity. Whether you’re in sales or manufacturing, once you increase your output you will need to employ additional resources to service the growing demand effectively, creating new job opportunities.”
There are also significant benefits to existing workers. “An automation solution will ease the strain on certain manual processes, but it makes the need for proper oversight all the more important. A supervisor will need to upskill in order to manage the floor and ensure effective resource allocation.”
According to Mehlhorn, who specialises in developing enterprise-level business process automation solutions using cloud-based platforms, this is where the opportunity for less skilled workers lies. “A packer, for example, may focus on only one activity, packing boxes all day. But with the insight that automation provides to a supervisor, he can allocate certain workers, where there may be an abundance of resources, to a different function. This not only boosts productivity but also enables workers to broaden their skills base.”
Where automation does result in job losses, there are usually some legacy issues that were not adequately addressed, or missed altogether. “Many companies confuse activity with accomplishment. Business process automation will streamline internal processes and often highlight where too many people are fulfilling a single function. However, the objective should not be to lay these people off, but to reallocate them to business processes that require additional resources as the need arises. Any redundancy therefore is simply highlighted by the automation process, not caused by it.”
For more information contact Framework One, +27 (0)21 813 9947, [email protected], www.frameworkone.com
Further reading:
Transforming battery manufacturing processes
IT in Manufacturing
Siemens and Hirano Tecseed, a Japanese machine builder, are partnering to transform battery manufacturing processes.
Read more...
From Trojan takeovers to ransomware roulette
IT in Manufacturing
Cisco’s Cyber Threat Trends Report offers a comprehensive and overview of the evolving cybersecurity landscape, leveraging its vast global reach through the analysis of DNS traffic.
Read more...
The road to decarbonisation in mining
IT in Manufacturing
The mining industry is a key player in global carbon emissions, and ABB’s eMine is at the forefront of efforts to drive the sector’s decarbonisation.
Read more...
Siemens democratises AI-driven PCB design for small and medium electronics teams
Siemens South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software is making its AI-enhanced electronic systems design technology more accessible to small and mid-sized businesses with PADS Pro Essentials software and Xpedition Standard software.
Read more...
Siemens’ PAVE360 to support new Arm Zena Compute Subsystems
IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software is expanding its longstanding relationship with Arm and adding support for the newly launched Arm Zena Compute Subsystems in its PAVE360 software, designed for software-defined vehicles
Read more...
Empowering OEMs in industrial automation
Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Organisations are increasingly focusing on empowering OEMs within the industrial automation sector
Read more...
Fortifying the state in a time of cyber siege
IT in Manufacturing
In an era where borders are no longer physical, South Africa is being drawn into a new kind of conflict, one fought not with tanks and missiles, but with lines of code and silent intrusions. The digital battlefield is here, and cyber space has become the next frontier of conflict.
Read more...
Levelling up workplace safety - how gamification is changing the rules of training
IT in Manufacturing
Despite the best intentions, traditional safety training often falls short, with curricula either being too generic, too passive, or ultimately unmemorable. Enter gamification, a shift in training that is redefining how businesses train for safety and live by those principles.
Read more...
Reinventing data centre design: critical changes to meet surging
Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
AI technologies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible which, in turn, is presenting data centres with a whole new set of challenges. Fortunately, several options are emerging which include optimising design and infrastructure for efficiency, cooling and management systems
Read more...
Watts next - can IT save the planet
IT in Manufacturing
The digital age’s insatiable demand for computing power has collided with an urgent and pressing need for sustainability. As data centres and AI workloads consume unprecedented energy, IT providers are pivotal in redefining how technology intersects with environmental stewardship.
Read more...
printer friendly version