Food and beverages are among the most technically challenged of all major industrial industries. This is slowly changing as automation gains ground in all areas of production, packaging, and logistics. Automation’s advantages have become more apparent than ever thanks to the pandemic and its effects on the labor force.
Automation can be held back by many factors, including price, difficulty in integrating it into an existing operation, and lack of technical knowledge. According to my sources, a fear of job losses is a significant factor.
Robots and automation have been demonized for being a way for corporations to evict workers. This is not a new concept. In 19th century Luddites, automated looms were seen as a threat by home weavers. Surprisingly, this attitude is being adopted by robotics suppliers and management.
One of them explained to me that food plants are often the largest employers in their communities. A system that automated many people would cause them to lose their jobs could create a crisis in the area, which might then turn into active resentment.
This is not a barrier that I believe will prevent automation from happening. It’s an important one that could tip the scales in favor of large-scale automation. Joe and Ed do a great job in secondary packaging, putting together mixed pallet loads. Why spend so much money on a robot palletizer that will make them redundant?
It may seem childish to put it that way. It may sound childish to put it in that way, but multiply this concern by many or hundreds of plants and you will see the full extent of the problem. This is not an insignificant concern. It touches the heart of what society considers rewarding work or tolerable working conditions.
My mid-aughts visit to Massillon’s Heinz ketchup factory in Massillon, Ohio will be a memory I will never forget. One of the lines was being beta tested on a vision system. This system checked a stream of ketchup bottles at a rapid pace and kicked out any that had skewed labels. This work was done manually up until that point.
Let this sink in. One human being was responsible for looking at a continuous stream of ketchup bottles and waiting for the one with a wrinkled label to pull it from the conveyor belt. Even if it had been a rotating job (and I sure hope so), I would and probably 99 percent of those reading this would be utterly delirious after about 15 minutes.
This is a great example of what can be found in every food plant and any other manufacturing plant. Many floor jobs are monotonous and tedious beyond description; others are saved from boredom by their danger (like the coworkers who wield boning knives at each elbow).
Automation can bring about the liberation of workers from repetitive tasks. This is not a matter of “nice.” As competition increases for workers, the environment and the nature of the work will become more important in finding labor.
An approach that is compassionate will help alleviate worker concerns about automation. While every situation is unique, one or both of the following general principles can be applied: 1) Automate the worst jobs, which are the most dangerous, strenuous, or boring, first; 2) Use automation as much as possible to make work more enjoyable.
Automation often makes it possible to accomplish the latter, with less responsibility. What job is more exciting? One that requires you to stand still all day and look for jams at a particular point on a line or one where you can monitor multiple lines simultaneously and respond as necessary.
While automation won’t make any job more enjoyable, it can be a great tool to help you do your job better. Automation can be used to enhance work, not replace workers. Over the long-term, making work more difficult will invariably make it more enjoyable and more positive.
