Mechanized marvel: Workforce Development & Training

Manufacturers have been steadily advancing automation for decades. These advances have resulted in robots that tend machines and even paint and weld, CNC machine tools that run unattended and integrated work cells that have replaced entire teams of technicians. More than ever, companies seek ways to improve efficiency through
automation.

Automotive manufacturers traditionally have been the primary drivers of automation in manufacturing. Tasks like painting and frame welding once required a person to commit to hundreds or thousands of hours of training before mastery. Supporting production called for hundreds of people to master these skills. Automation, such as robots, has been developed to perform these tasks so accurately and consistently that only a few people now are needed to monitor production during frame fabrication and painting.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas Inc. applies ceramic coatings to combustion parts using a plasma torch. This environment is too harsh and this work is too demanding for people, so robots are necessary. Image courtesy of C. Tate

Transfer lines found at high-volume machine shops like those that build engines can have several machines performing various machining operations where parts and tools move from machine to machine with no machinist present in a cell. There often is just one person who tends a cell by loading parts, changing cutting tools and monitoring machine tool condition. For the most advanced cells, a person is involved only occasionally, and they operate unattended much of the time.

Time to Mastery

Automated processes reduce the time needed to gain proficiency. Machining is a good example. Mastering the machining trade takes substantial mental aptitude and years of training and practice. Even early automation like turret lathes required many hours of training to master. But the CNC machines frequently found today at manufacturing facilities allow technicians with little experience to succeed with minimal training.

Automation also improves part quality. Human intervention is a significant cause of defects in machining processes. The high level of repeatability that can be achieved through automation mitigates the risks that arise when people interact with machines and processes.

Robots used for loading and unloading pallets or moving parts in dangerous areas greatly enhance worker safety. Earlier in my career, I worked for a Japanese automotive manufacturer that adhered to the Toyota Production System. At that time, the TPS philosophy discouraged the use of automation, but we exclusively used robots and other automation in the confined space of a heat treatment cell where parts were hot, wet and slippery. Manual operation of these heat treatment workstations was dangerous, so it was out of the question to expect people to work in them.