Tag: manufactur

What politicians aren’t saying about declining manufacturing jobs

What politicians aren't saying about declining manufacturing jobs

David and Barbara Ludwig pose for a portrait at their home Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Reading, Pa. The Ludwigs lost their manufacturing jobs and have been struggling financially ever since. For decades, American manufacturing provided entrée to the middle class, especially for workers without college degrees. No more. Globalization, automation and recession destroyed nearly 6 million manufacturing jobs between 2000-2009, casting many displaced workers out of the middle class and, consequently, widening the income gap between rich and poor. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

With manufacturing employment steadily dropping and the trucking field predicted to be next, what is the state […]

Automation and Jobs for People

Automation and Jobs for People
Since the introduction of the first machines for weaving cloth and other automated processes during the Industrial Revolution, manufacturers have relied more on machines and less on humans for labor. Automation increased during the latter half of the 20th century, as computers were combined with machines to produce highly sophisticated robotic systems and other automated processes. Improvements in communication and information technology moved automation from strictly manufacturing processes to processes that involved more intellectual work. The result has been increased productivity and lower human resource costs for manufacturers and the elimination of some categories […]

Outsourced to robots

Outsourced to robots

The SoftBank humanoid robot known as Pepper, dressed as a waiter, gestures during a conference in Tokyo. (Reuters photo) Digital technology is making it far easier to get things done in everyday life, from banking to ordering food, buying clothes, books and music. A few taps on a smartphone and your transaction is complete.

Communication in general has been revolutionised by access to cheap and reliable broadband service. Not that long ago, if you wanted to talk to a friend or family member in another country, it would cost you a dollar a minute or more. Today you can simply […]

Audi, Daimler, Volvo re-think automation

Audi, Daimler, Volvo re-think automation

A worker at Audi’s plant in Neckarsulm, Germany, organizes parts used on the A8. Audi says that today’s robots cannot deal with the complexity facing their human colleagues, who assemble six model lines and 21 vehicle derivatives at the factory using roughly 56,000 parts from 1,200 suppliers. From the moment they were created, the pair known as "Heidi" and "Erin" were destined to be with each other their whole lives — or at least as long as their Audi A7 wasn’t involved in a crash. In Neckarsulm, Audi’s most flexible plant, driver-side airbags are named after girls, while the […]

Making disruption work for humans

Making disruption work for humans

Split, shatter, break apart. That is the original Latin meaning of the word disruption. Even today, the word provokes fear.

When my colleagues and I conceptualised this series, Fast Forward: Disruption and the Singapore Economy, of which you are now reading the final instalment, we considered technology-driven job loss to be a big threat. Just before this series was launched, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan spoke of a time, perhaps just 15 years away, when private cars would go the way of horse carriages as driverless vehicles become the norm; and with that change, the prospect that thousands of transport […]

The Transformation of the Workplace Through Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Automation: Employment and Labor Law Issues, Solutions, and the Legislative and Regulatory Response

The Transformation of the Workplace Through Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Automation: Employment and Labor Law Issues, Solutions, and the Legislative and Regulatory Response

The twin forces of technology and globalization are reinventing and redefining the workplace and the way work is performed. The workplace automation of the last century is rapidly being augmented and replaced by intelligent self-learning systems driven by cloud computing, breakthroughs in sensor technology, and creation of new algorithms that harness the power of “Big Data.” Technologies are emerging that enhance human capabilities and allow workers to provide a wider range of services remotely and with greater efficiency. This new workplace is constantly changing, increasingly uninhibited by geographical boundaries and inspired by the arrival of robots and new technologies […]

Unions should be a cornerstone of economic policy

Unions should be a cornerstone of economic policy

If Charles Dickens were time warped into this U.S. election cycle, he would be astonished — not by the vitriol, restrained by 19th century standards, but by candidates extolling the virtues of manufacturing jobs.

When the Industrial Revolution dawned in Dickens’ time, such jobs were not up there with apple pie and motherhood; they were seen as mindless and monotonous, sucking up what was then the bottom of the labor pool — women and children — and putting them in horrific, dangerous conditions.

So, how did these jobs become the ideals of a halcyon past?Simple: they started paying a lot better. […]

Millions of ASEAN jobs vulnerable to automation, says International Labour Organization

HR and accounting among the sectors at risk as business process outsourcing gets overtaken by technology

Disruptive technology will put millions of jobs at risk of automation over the next 20 years, a new report from the International Labour Organization predicts.

ASEAN in transformation: How technology is changing jobs and enterprises , suggests that business process outsourcing (BPO), which currently provides employment around one million people in the Philippines alone, is one of five industries set to see big changes because of automation. Electronics, automotive and auto parts, textiles and retail face similar disruption.BPO involves contracting out specific business […]

Are you ready for the jobs of the future?

Are you ready for the jobs of the future?

The flow of reports about the impact of automation, mostly dire , continues. The latest is from StartupAUS , Australia’s national startup advocacy group.

This report follows the now familiar line captured in the phrase “exponential technologies”: exponential improvements in computer power and advances in technology such as artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, cloud computing and the internet of things will have a profound impact on future employment, with almost 5 million current jobs (that is 40% of the workforce) in Australia becoming obsolete by 2030.

This follows in the footsteps of a detailed CEDA report in 2015, which conducted the […]

Free trade, automation among challenges for manufacturers

Free trade, automation among challenges for manufacturers

Fox Weaver FILE photo David Oaks fabricates a yoke for a drive shaft for Proton Power Inc. in 2014. Company president Dr. Sam Weaver said Proton Power is adding both automation and employees. Every manufacturer has its own challenges, but there are some that many share.

Free trade, automation and cyber security are a few.

"In our case, I would say a potential looming issue is this debate over free trade," said Dr. Sam Weaver, president and co-founder of Proton Power Inc., a company in Lenoir City and Rockwood that uses biomass to make inexpensive hydrogen and converts it to energy […]