Has the Covid-19 crisis and the return to working in the ‘next normal’ increased automation anxiety in manufacturing jobs? Here Keith Tilley, CEO for Intoware explains how new technologies won’t take jobs away, but instead creates them.
The pandemic has required more people than ever to stay at home as unemployment continues to rise and global economies continue to shrink and automation anxiety has been on the rise.
Levels of automation and digital working are heralding the digital transformation, which may leave workers worried about how they will fare once they're back to work.
Automation is hardly a new threat, long before the pandemic disrupted businesses, manufacturers were already changing how they assembled products. But as the crisis continues, it has accelerated this shift by highlighting the benefits of delegating some responsibilities to machines, letting employees focus on important tasks and allowing for social distancing.
So instead of seeing automation as a problem, it’s better to view it as part of the solution, productivity from automation will boost growth, meaning as many new jobs will be created as lost, but how?
To understand how this is possible, we need to consider the role of workflow automation in manufacturing and how when it’s combined with robotic process automation (RPA) it delivers digital transformation.
Streamlining business processes is the major benefit of workflow automation, WorkfloPlus from Intoware guides employees through a process from beginning to end using digital instructions to increase efficiency.
It replaces paper processes or it can be used to design new ones, executing them across systems and people, managing tasks to help digitise workflows using mobiles devices or head-mounted tablets (HMTs) featuring augmented reality.
Keith Tilley, CEO, Intoware
Keith Tilley has been CEO of Intoware since October 2019
In doing so it ensures that a process can be consistently followed, audited and provides the necessary data analytics to ensure compliance – ideal for manufacturers operating in highly regulated industries.
With advanced workflow technologies, it’s now possible to harness robotic process automation (RPA), this means a robot or bot can cover an individual task in your business operations, usually mundane repetitive work with increased accuracy.
WorkfloPlus and RPA, although distinct in their own right they can complement each other. When deployed together they provide business with a platform that enables digital transformation throughout the business.
They do not have to be competing approaches and are in fact even stronger when deployed together. Since WorkfloPlus will increase productivity through connected working, while RPA can assist in boosting those gains.
A major benefit of automation is that employees don’t have to spend time on repetitive tasks and they aren’t frustrated by slow processes, they feel more satisfied and engaged in work as they are freed up for higher-value tasks. So, they are more focused and productive as a result, which is better for business.
We must recognise that automation fears are often overstated. The reality is that some jobs may be lost, but automation will create many new highly-skilled jobs that will not only be more rewarding but will enable manufacturers to be more agile and profitable too.
Back to Homepage
Back to Technology & Innovation