Machinery
films like Star Wars, but they are still valuable human companions. Consider the application of robotics in industry. Here, automated processes delivered by complex, programmable machines have often become the foundation upon which vast economic, productive and competitive advantages can be built. In packaging manufacturing processes, robots are used to optimise and improve previously laborious manual processes such as picking and packing, warehousing and defect identification. Robots are effective because they simultaneously improve speed and reduce error. For instance, let’s say you need to slightly alter specifications. Using robotic process automation, this can be achieved efficiently and accurately with the touch of a few buttons, consistently and repeatably, on a 24/7 basis (robots, of course, do not need to sleep). The benefits are clear, and operations will only be upscaled from here.
Human-robot harmony
As is often the way with changes that challenge the status quo, the rise of automated technologies, particularly their application within key industries, has been met with a degree of scepticism. On the one hand, a quick Google outlines the extensive benefits that come with the implementation of robotics, AI, machine learning and other automated technologies already mentioned. On the other hand, however, there are rising narratives of ‘automation for automation’s sake’, and a fear of jobs being replaced by robots at scale.
One organisation trying to dispel the concerns of the latter is EUnited, part of the European Robotics Industry. It launched a ‘Good work charter’ in January this year – a report that has identified ten focus areas where action is most needed in order to ensure automation has the most positive impact possible in helping to shape the future of work. The idea is that not all automation is beneficial. Considering how and where these technologies are deployed and used is equally important to maximise their benefits. They have their limitations, they can be costly, and, ultimately, not all problems can be solved through the deployment of robotics technologies. In the announcement of the charter on 28 January this year, Nobel Prize laureate, Christopher Pissarides, co-chair at the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW), said, “The transition to an increasingly automated and data-driven economy requires changes in work arrangements that need to be adjusted by employers, their workers and government. “Industry can help by ensuring that their workers are equipped with the skills and knowledge to thrive in the new economy.”
Packaging & Converting Intelligence /
www.pci-mag.com
The report focuses not only on headline statistics, figures and economic prosperity. It advocates the need for balance in the deployment of automated technologies, and the creation of systems that work for all stakeholders – employers, employees, government authorities, schools, international organisations, think tanks, investors and more.
Cleaning robots operating in Singapore, which boasts the most robots per employee in the world.
“Robots are effective because they simultaneously improve speed and reduce error.”
It calls upon the need for collective action in answering key questions. Namely, how we can ensure workers acquire the skills needed on the labour market so that robotics may operate in the industrial environment harmoniously with humans. This is the key, and often controversial, issue. The rise of automation is not a case of human versus robots, where one will prevail and the other will be left out in the cold. All parties remain committed to dispelling fears of mass unemployment caused by automation, and in the majority of cases, automation has had a significantly positive impact on jobs. The key challenge is to manage this transition, where jobs will continue to change, and some are lost while others are created. Also commenting on the launch of the charter, EUnited Robotics chairman Wilfried Eberhardt said, “The increasing use of service robots outside factories [will] rapidly change the way we work. It is essential to understand that humans will always play a central role in the workplace.”
Sustainability and automation The sustainability debate is just as interesting as that surrounding the changing workplace, particularly considering some of the existing stigma related to the packaging industry.
12 IMARC 918 IMARC 9
In millions, the number of robotic units worldwide in 2019.
Per 10,000 employees, the number of industrial robots Singapore has, the highest in the world.
Uskarp/
Shutterstock.com
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