INSIGHTS
Automation Arising
The new world of automation promises much, but opening it is a Pandora's box – full of the unknown. There is no doubt an appreciation to the bevy of jobs robots do more efficiently, be exposed to hazardous and dangerous environment, or simply to replace mundanity.
Contact the Author:
Dickson KOH
Managing Partner, Infrastructures Practice dickson@bayesrecruitment.com.sg
T | (65) 6908 0777
Automation - A Looming Threat?
It is important to understand the material value, unpredictability and volatility involved in automating. Crucially, will our once highly skilled workforce may now come to naught should automation be over-relied upon. With the intention to replace the mundane repetitiveness of jobs, new machines will necessitate that maintaining such highly sophisticated technology required twice as many workers as the company had employed installing the windshields in the first place. In the end, the most automated plants often fail the test of productivity instead. The implications, cost and potential pitfalls are not measurable at first sight. It brings its own set of challenges, including time delays, poor communication, and lost efficiency. And even if anything less is a precursor of what is to come, that is more than ample warning. Technology that displays human characteristics naturally provokes fears of mass job losses. What we have failed to realize so far is that Companies that have begun their use of Automation have, in-so-far, not reduce their number of employees. It is the irrational view that replacement is perceived as an eventuality, not if but when.
With robotic automation, each person is able to oversee larger and more complex areas than they otherwise would, and you simultaneously further empower your Managers and decision makers. Without this ability to manage by exception from largely rules-based systems, many companies would not be able to manage hundreds of thousands of items and millions of customer interactions. Robotic automation, for the matter, is more about transformation, aggregation and enhancement of jobs. The question for key company executives and human resources: How can they retrain an aging workforce to keep up with changing roles? And how can they attract and train Millennials to match job descriptions that will continue to change, with mundanity an unfortunate by-product. Lest we forget the issue of retention too: One quarter of Millennials think they will work for six employers during their career. What was once commonplace is now out of depth.
The World Economic Forum thinktank further indicates that the present market shows extensive evidence of accelerating demand for a variety of wholly new specialist roles related to understanding and leveraging the latest emerging technologies: AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Big Data Specialists, Process Automation Experts, Information Security Analysts, User Experience and Human-Machine Interaction. These needs are becoming increasing prevalent, and the technical complexity of products will require niche skilled engineers and system architects capable of embracing the full range of engineering criteria.
“Within the coming years,
Singapore alone will see a
55% increase in workforce
aged 50 and beyond, translating
to 40% of our country’s workforce:
How must automation proactively
complement this transitioning
landscape?”
Positioning Automation the Right Way
The workforce, policymakers, governments and educational sectors must be agile for change and improvement. These candidates and specialists who will undertake these engineering functions will be educated in a mix of interdisciplinary engineering functions and be able to efficiently leverage complex system-modelling tools. In reality, and even in the next decade and beyond – this crucial human capital commodity is easy to be requested, but a rarity to be sourced and developed. Within the coming years, Singapore alone will see a 55% increase in workforce aged 50 and beyond, translating to 40% of our country’s workforce. For comparison, economic sleeping giants China and India, who accounts for massive population headcounts, will see approximately 40% of the world’s 2020 graduates come from them, alone. This uneven skew of workforce dilutes and affects potential on a global phenomenon, and the urgent need for both reskilling and upskilling is an imperative that must not be ignored.
Automation is, inflexibly consistent and free from human error. That is an important advantage in every business, but especially so in regulated industries such as precision engineering, or even to the corporate financial services sector, where consistency and compliance are expected. In the manufacturing and civil sectors where finished products must be accurate to a tilt, human inconsistencies will perpetuate into greater conundrums. When quality is a crucial element of the overall business proposition, automation is desirable – perhaps indispensable – even though it produces no immediate cost savings. Go too far toward machines, and your company can become ill-prepared to cope with rapid change. Avoid it, and conglomerates will be plagued by issues of opportunities costs without fully realizing the benefits. Perhaps, a phased and staggered approach will make the most sense moving forward. Automation will unlock tremendous benefits, especially for an aging workforce, or in areas where labor is scarce.
Introspectively, those critical, are the ones that automation was brought in to assuage future problems. To ensure that the workforce is on board with automation, managers must introduce automation in steps. Too fast, and the risk of losing critical know-how as Employees are made redundant or feel left-out. A requisite will be the need to identify and retain the employees critical to re-engineering processes down the road. Key technological talents and niche-skilled workers are after all still needed to ensure the effective management of the mechanic automation that has been incorporated into the workflow. Thoughts and perceptions vary – there are many more systematic arguments for and against the Robotic Automation technology that humankind has ironically introduced. One thing is for sure, that Robotic Automation will not replace their Human counterparts – for now.
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