STRI KE THE RIGHT BALA NCE BETWEEN HUMAN AND MACHI NE By Richard Seel, managing director, Supply
Cha in & Logistics (UK & US), delaware and Brian Riddell, head of Human Capital Management at delaware
For many manufacturers, the proc ess of building efficient, sustainable operational proce sses is becoming increasingly difficult. Customers are getting more demanding. The pressure is on fir ms to achieve faster lead times, while also delivering quicker, more efficient customer service. Integrated proce sses and
connectivity to fully-automated machin es are key to delivering supply chain and operational efficiencies that will help meet these challenges. But to stay competitive, manufacturers
implement the IT systems t must also ensure they
need to support these automated processes.
The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) is driving enhanced connectivity acr oss the supply chain, and robotics and the latest transactional information syste ms are helping
manufacture rs operate more efficiently and gain a broader insight into their supply chain. At a granular level, AI can
help manufacture rs predict how demand may change based on weather forecasts or historical
Brian Riddell, head of Human Capital Management at delaware
data patterns. They can then use that dat a within automated proces ses that position and rearrange stock for picking proce sses based on projected demand.
Technology increa ses accuracy by avoiding human operator errors. It boo sts productivity too. Automating warehouse proce sses speeds up the picking, scanning and moving of goods. It hel ps ensure satisfied custome rs through the fast, efficient delivery of undamaged goods. Such improvemen ts deliver cost savin gs and drive growth.
All this should not and must not mean that there is no place for humans in the
manufacturing industry of the future though. If you take people out of the mix the societal balance ge ts disturbed. In a fully-automated world, while machin es could produce the
,
to buy them – so there will goods, people wo uld be out
for human employees. Yet, the advance of automation is
of work a nd unable always be a need
hey
to C Level directo rs including chief financial office rs (CFOs) and hea ds of production, but perha ps most pertinently, chief human resources officers (CHROs).
The most difficult discussion point and issue is around what the future of work w ill look like and how organisatio ns can best capture the skil ls needed for that future workplace. Today, the fo cus for most automation, in the warehouse at least, is around picking larger bulk ite ms such as pallets and boxes. Piece-picking single ite ms is difficult for automated syste ms and still typically
requires a great deal of human intervention. Manual picke rs and packe rs will still be needed to carry out this kind of intricate task for some time.
Richard Seel, managing director, Supply Chain & Logistics (UK & US), delaware
But as automation within manufacturing increases, the type of person nee ded to support that automation chang es also. We are already seeing a growing need for resour ces that
understand these more complex syste ms and are able to operate them, as opposed to operatives, simply following a defined
unoptimised set of instructions. The rate of change is, however, accelerating all the time, with syste ms becoming more intelligent and capable of
informed decision-making. There
will still be a need for human workers to provide direction, management and control . Manufacture rs are often having to bring in new people to fulfil a rapidly changing brief. Nobody really knows the nature of the work new recrui ts are going to be asked to do in the future, but one thing is all but certain though: the requireme nt for more skilled workers is likely to increase. There will be a growing need for employe es who can understand
sophisticated automated syste ms and apply creative thinking to make the syste ms drive productivity and improve customer services.
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THREE FUNCTIONS IN ONE UNIT The Adel SystemDC UPS - CBI Series combines the
functions of a Power Supply, a Back UpModule and a Battery Charger in one unit. The CBI uni ts use switching technology withmicrocontrollers and optimise the supply to the DC l oad either wh en the ACmains i s present or when the battery backup is in operation, and do not allow for deep discharge of the batteries. The CBI uni ts switch fromthemai ns to the battery in the event of amains failure without any interruption.
gy ge
There is automat ic protection without fuse against the reserve polarity, short circuit and overload an d overvoltage. They carry out diagnostic che cks on the connected battery through the Life Test, every 110 minutes, enabling the use rs to select appropriate charging curve tomaxim the systemand to guarantee a long- They are equipped with two relays
ge
ise the efficiency of themost
; one to operate to life battery.
That presents further problems to businesses wk though. Employees are likely to wa nt to move on regularly, picking up new skil ls and then focusing on selling what they have learned to the next manufacturer that wan ts to invest in it. Manufacturer’s will fight hard to retain their best and most
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skilled worke rs hold the cards, talented employees but in a
in vain. unrelenting and it clearly presents a challenge wr
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indicate the status of themains or battery backup and another to indicate any of the 8 battery protection functions that the unitmonitors.
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PROCESS & CONTROL
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