Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T07:56:54.303Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An approach for negating the view that technology ‘competes’ with humans*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2009

P. L. Primrose  and
R. Leonard
P. L. Primrose
Affiliation:
Total Technology, U.M.I.S.T., P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, (U.K.)
R. Leonard
Affiliation:
Total Technology, U.M.I.S.T., P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, (U.K.)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Engineers have traditionally invested in Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT), such as FMS, Robots, CAD/CAM, CNC and MRP to achieve a reduction in the labour force. Similarly, government incentives for introducing AMT, have also placed an undue emphasis on the ‘need to replace labour with technology’. This policy creates severe industrial relations problems and leads to the view that technology, especially robots, ‘competes’ with human beings for employment. Research at U.M.I.S.T. has shown that AMT is much more viable when the objective of the investment is to increase a company's overall competitive ability, thereby generating increased sales which, in turn, necessitates an INCREASED labour force. The paper discusses various aspects of AMT and in each case it is shown how the acceptability of the investment is improved when the new technology is viewed ‘company-wide’. When this occurs, technology is viewed as being ‘complementary to’ and not ‘instead of’ humans.

Type
Article
Information
Robotica , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , July 1987 , pp. 251 - 255
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Ayres, R.V. and Miller, S.M., Robotics Applications and Social Implications” (Bollinger Publishing Co., 1983).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Engleberger, J.R., Robotics in Practice (American Management Association, 1980).Google Scholar
3.Edwards, M., “Industrial robots: A human factors pers pective” Proceedings of I. Mech. E. 198B, No. 14, 239–242 (1984).Google Scholar
4.Ingersoll Engineers, Industrial Robots (National Engineering Laboratory (1980).Google Scholar
5.Primrose, P.L. and Leonard, R., “Incorporating the ‘intangible’ benefits of robots within a comprehensive financial evaluation” Proceedings of I. Mech. E. UK Robotics Research Conference115–120 (1984).Google Scholar
6.Senker, P., “Some problems in justifying CAD/CAM” Proceedings of 2nd European Conference on Automated Manufacture59–66 (1983).Google Scholar
7.Primrose, P.L., Creamer, C.D. and Leonard, R., “Identifying and quantifying the ‘company-wide’ benefits of CAD within the structure of a comprehensive investment program” Computer-Aided Design (01/02 1985).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Primrose, P.L. and Leonard, R., “Optimising the financial advantages of using CNC machine tools by use of an integrated suite of programs” Proceedings of 1. Mech., E. 198B, No. 10, 147–151 (1984).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Primrose, P.L. and Leonard, R., “Conditions under which FMS is financially viable” Proceedings of FMS-3 Conference121–132 (09 1984).Google Scholar