MANUAL LABOR IN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Is there a place for manual labor in the modern production system? The answer is yes. Even in
a highly automated production system, humans are still a necessary component of the
manufacturing enterprise. For the foreseeable future, people will be required to manage and
maintain the plant, even in those cases where they do not participate directly in its
manufacturing operations. The discussion of the labor issue is separated into two parts,
corresponding to the previous distinction between facilities and manufacturing support:
(1) manual labor in factory operations and
(2) labor in manufacturing support systems.
1.1 Manual Labor in Factory Operations
There is no denying that the long-term trend in manufacturing is toward greater use of
automated machines to substitute for manual labor. This has been true throughout human
history, and there is every reason to believe the trend will continue. It has been made possible
by applying advances in technology to factory operations. In parallel and sometimes in conflict
with this technologically driven trend are issues of economics that continue to find reasons for
employing manual labor in manufacturing.
Certainly one of the current economic realities in the world is that there are countries whose
average hourly wage rates are so low that most automation projects are difficult to justify strictly
on the basis of cost reduction. These countries include China, India, Mexico, and many
countries in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. With the passage of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the North American continent has become one large
labor pool. Within this pool, Mexico’s labor rate is an order of magnitude less than that in the
United States. U.S. corporate executives who make decisions on factory locations and the
outsourcing of work must reckon with this reality.
In addition to the labor cost issue, there are other reasons, ultimately based on economics,
that make the use of manual labor a feasible alternative to automation. Humans possess certain
attributes that give them an advantage over machines in certain situations and certain kinds of
tasks (Table 1.1). A number of situations can be listed in which manual labor is preferred over
automation:
Task is technologically too difficult to automate. Certain tasks are very difficult
(either technologically or economically) to automate. Reasons for the difficulty
include
(1) problems with physical access to the work location,
(2) adjustments required in the task,
(3) manual dexterity requirements, and
(4) demands on hand–eye coordination.
Manual labor is used to perform the tasks in these cases. Examples include
automobile final assembly lines where many final trim operations are
Is there a place for manual labor in the modern production system? The answer is yes. Even in
a highly automated production system, humans are still a necessary component of the
manufacturing enterprise. For the foreseeable future, people will be required to manage and
maintain the plant, even in those cases where they do not participate directly in its
manufacturing operations. The discussion of the labor issue is separated into two parts,
corresponding to the previous distinction between facilities and manufacturing support:
(1) manual labor in factory operations and
(2) labor in manufacturing support systems.
1.1 Manual Labor in Factory Operations
There is no denying that the long-term trend in manufacturing is toward greater use of
automated machines to substitute for manual labor. This has been true throughout human
history, and there is every reason to believe the trend will continue. It has been made possible
by applying advances in technology to factory operations. In parallel and sometimes in conflict
with this technologically driven trend are issues of economics that continue to find reasons for
employing manual labor in manufacturing.
Certainly one of the current economic realities in the world is that there are countries whose
average hourly wage rates are so low that most automation projects are difficult to justify strictly
on the basis of cost reduction. These countries include China, India, Mexico, and many
countries in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. With the passage of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the North American continent has become one large
labor pool. Within this pool, Mexico’s labor rate is an order of magnitude less than that in the
United States. U.S. corporate executives who make decisions on factory locations and the
outsourcing of work must reckon with this reality.
In addition to the labor cost issue, there are other reasons, ultimately based on economics,
that make the use of manual labor a feasible alternative to automation. Humans possess certain
attributes that give them an advantage over machines in certain situations and certain kinds of
tasks (Table 1.1). A number of situations can be listed in which manual labor is preferred over
automation:
Task is technologically too difficult to automate. Certain tasks are very difficult
(either technologically or economically) to automate. Reasons for the difficulty
include
(1) problems with physical access to the work location,
(2) adjustments required in the task,
(3) manual dexterity requirements, and
(4) demands on hand–eye coordination.
Manual labor is used to perform the tasks in these cases. Examples include
automobile final assembly lines where many final trim operations are
