February 2021 Volume 3

AUTOMATION

Robotics and the Economy By Chris Kuehl

There are a few professions that are immune to the advance of robotics and technology, but economics is one of them. No self respecting robot would want to be wrong as often as the economist is when it comes to forecasting and predicting. It is a risky proposition to look ahead and determine what the world will look like in a few months, much less years. The unexpected waits around every corner as we all learned in 2020. Nevertheless, we need to continue to make the attempt to anticipate and prepare for what is coming. There are few changes that have a more profound impact on manufacturing than the advance of technology. Robots are ubiquitous in even the smallest operations, and competitiveness depends on mastering these technological innovations. These technologies have revolutionized operations, and they have also dramatically altered the economy everywhere in the world. There are six major areas of economic influence to explore as we assess the impact of technology, robotics and automation in general. This list includes 1) change in labor; 2) global trade competitiveness; 3) consumer response; 4) regulatory reach; 5) supply chain demands; The most obvious and pressing at this point is the impact on labor. The entire role of the manufacturer has been altered when it comes to job creation. For decades, the path to a middle-class life was through the factory for millions and millions of workers. All that one had to do was get a job of some kind at the manufacturing facility in town and everything unfolded from there. The new hire would get their training on the job and whether they advanced was up to them and their willingness to learn new skills. The workers had a good job that paid decently and they could plan from there – start a family, and 6) management. Change in Labor

buy a house and know they had a place for the next several decades. The factory sector was the entry point for millions, but today that entry point is in the service sector and this does not provide that reliable path to a middle-class life as we have seen in the past year. The service sector job offers little opportunity for advancement, and longevity is rare. The manufacturer does not have the time and resources to train and for a variety of reasons. Those who do not understand modern manufacturing assert that the solution to the labor shortage is to simply take on the task of training people themselves. Just hire somebody who wants a job and show them how to do a job – how tough is that? Perhaps we should train doctors and lawyers the same way? Just hire the guy that used to wait tables, put a scalpel in his hands, and hope for the best. Manufacturing needs a pipeline of trained people just like these other professions. The work today is much more sophisticated and complex because it now involves technology. The worker today is required to be part engineer, part mechanic, part computer programmer, and part designer (among other things). A great deal of investment has been made in creating pipelines for medicine, law, accounting, engineering and many other professions, but that pipeline remains weak and insufficient as far as manufacturing is concerned and that is a major problem. The robotic revolution has created an intense demand for a sophisticated, educated and well-trained worker, but the system to provide that workers is inadequate in nearly every respect. Relying on the employer to do this level of training assumes the company can pay a non-productive worker for months and often years. It assumes that existing workers have the time and inclination to add training to their duties and that they can remain productive while taking on

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2021 47