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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.)
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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

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References

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