In many industries, such as manufacturing, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the news surrounding the latest developments, especially word of technologies that are going to ‘change everything’. This might be especially true when you begin to delve into topics such as automation, and suggestions that concepts, such as the quality worker, are becoming obsolete.
Detaching yourself from this, and examining the other side of the coin, can remind you of the importance of quality human contributions to your operations, and might even enlighten you as to the various advantages of putting that approach at the forefront of your business – both in terms of efficiency and even for the sake of your brand.
On the Topic of Automation
The idea of automation, in theory, is that the machines in question perform a job that was once completed by a human worker, thus rendering their involvement obsolete. This is a multi-faceted debate, with some arguing that the loss of jobs affects the livelihood of the worker, and others arguing in favor of the efficiency of the machine, and how the removal of the worker from a potentially dangerous environment improves safety.
It’s difficult, but it’s important to remember that much automation, such as automatic welders, might still require the presence of a human worker for maintenance and supervision.The automation in this instance is for the sake of time and consistent quality, rather than an outright replacement.
The Necessary Qualifications
There are a lot of tools, technologies, and pieces of machinery that anyone in the manufacturing industry will be expected to know, and a lot of these are going to require specific qualifications to operate. This might simply seem like a frustrating hurdle at first that prevents you from letting your wider staff access what you need, but it is both for the sake of safety and the improvement of your workplace.
Ending up with a workforce that consists of qualified employees means that you can have full confidence in their ability to take care of any task that comes their way, and that trust might manifest itself in the quality of their work as a result. Ensuring your employees are suitably compensated for their level of skill might encourage them to see a long-term future at your company.
A Quality Brand
When approaching the topic of automation, you might have put the human workers at the forefront of your values for the sake of your brand and public image, showing that your stance allows for opportunities. This isn’t the only way that you could approach this situation to try to improve your image, but you could take that even further by ensuring that your workers are trained and qualified enough to be able to transform your brand into one that is defined by its quality.
Doing your best to deliver assuredly reliable results is one of the few things you can actively do to positively influence your word-of-mouth marketing, so it might be a route worth considering.
