Will robots replace humans?
There are many scare-stories about how the adoption of robots in manufacturing facilities will eliminate the need for people on the factory floor. However, far from operators becoming a distant memory, robotics often creates the opportunity for people to take on more value-adding roles, leaving dull and dangerous tasks to the robots.
Automating tasks not jobs
There is widespread anxiety that robots will take away jobs from people, however the reality couldn’t be more different. While it’s clear that the factory of the future will have more unmanned areas, we will still need operators to interact with the line, just using their skills in other ways. From reprogramming to maintenance and optimisations, there are a whole host of ways in which the inherently human skills of operators will be required to ensure the lines keep on running.
According to McKinsey Global Institute, tasks are more likely to be automated away rather than entire jobs. Robots offer manufacturers the opportunity to remove dull, repetitive tasks from operators, allowing them to take on more value-adding roles or even move into roles that didn’t previously exist.
Potentially hazardous roles, such as weighing out ingredients, will also become automated, removing health and safety issues and protecting operators. For example, we’ll no longer need people to weigh out powders so they won’t be exposed to the dangers of dust inhalation and the occupational asthma that goes with it. Similarly, robots can pick up heavy items, so musculoskeletal disorders should be avoided.
In our experience deploying robotics and automation solutions, manufacturers become more efficient when these systems, employees become more productive in their new roles and this leads to accelerated company growth, offering new opportunities across the board.
The importance of reskilling
In order for people to move into these more value-adding roles, and to overcome the labour shortages that have become so acute, it’s vital that we start early. Education and apprenticeships must begin teaching people the skills they’ll need for the manufacturing of tomorrow. And for those already in the workforce, employers must start reskilling to allow employees to take on the problem-solving, programming or maintenance roles that are now available to them.
We work closely with the University of Lincoln to address this problem and ensure that young people across the country have access to the best opportunities, whether it’s through our apprenticeships or our work to support social mobility, ensuring young people thrive no matter where they were born while supporting our manufacturing industry. We also offer work experience to spark the interest in engineering early and help to encourage the next generation into our fascinating industry.
