According to the Washington Post, there were a record 490000 job vacancies in the U.S. warehouse and transportation industry last year, and the number is still growing. However, the current argument is that robots and automation, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRS), are taking jobs away. Should warehouse workers really worry that their jobs will be robbed by robots? Instead, we need to understand the causes of these fears and the benefits of robots to employees.
The myth of black light factory
When robots are introduced into the warehouse, warehouse employees may worry that their work will be replaced by robots to form a so-called "light out factory". The light out factory is a fully automated factory without human workers.
In a recent massrobotics panel discussion, "the future of work: work in the robot age", the panelist IRA Moskowitz, CEO of the arm Institute, said that this fear had been eliminated, while acknowledging that it did exist. He said that in his 30 years in the industry, he had never seen anyone deploy robots to replace people in factories. Instead, robots undertake ordinary or dangerous tasks, while humans are still working and engaged in different tasks.
In the same group, Julie Shah, director of the interactive robotics group of the computer science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of MIT, pointed out that she had discussed introducing robots into their facilities with a factory. The question is "is the goal a 'light out' factory?", One person in the factory replied that this would not happen because a factory without people is a factory without innovation. "Shah added to Moskowitz's statement that robotics does not take away jobs. Instead, they do manual tasks that humans do not need to do and improve human capabilities.
Don't be afraid of technology
Warehouse employees also worry that if robots do not replace them, they will not be able to figure out how to work with robots due to new technology.
Tom Ryden, executive director of massrobotics, provided such a metaphor about robotics and tractors in the panel discussion. He asked the audience to think about tractors many years ago. It has two pedals, just like a car. If you know how to drive a car, it's easy to drive. Today, if you enter a tractor and drive it, you will find a completely different technical dashboard from a car. In order to drive a tractor, you must be trained. The same is true of robotics - workers need to be trained in how to use it.
"We should not be afraid of technology," said Marty Walsh, US Secretary of labor. Instead, the focus should be on ensuring that graduating young people have a way to understand and use robotic solutions so that they do not fear technology.
While some robotic solutions in the warehouse require in-depth training, others do not. The locus solution is an example. With locus robotics, warehouse employees can complete the training in just a few minutes. With other solutions, the training may take a week or more.
Reduce employee walking
For warehouse workers, using autonomous mobile robots (AMRS) has many benefits, including "cool" factors and fast training time, but one of the most important benefits is to make their work less hard. Mike Johnson, President of locus robotics, pointed out that employees in traditional warehouses must walk 12 to 14 miles a day. When a facility introduces an AMR like the locus solution, the robot completes most of the walking while the employees stay in an area.
Warehouse staff like to work with AMR. In fact, a colleague told her vice president of human resources that when she came home at the end of the day, her feet were no longer as painful as they were before they introduced locusbots. Another colleague told her manager that working with locusbots had restored the energy she needed to "be the mother she should be" because she no longer walked miles a day.
Brian Lemerise, CEO of quiet logistics, believes that their warehouse employees regard cooperative robots as their colleagues and they like to work with locusbots. "With locusbots, warehouse employees don't have to pull heavy trolleys, pallet elevators or full boxes of products. Instead, they just walk effectively between robots and perform their tasks," he said.
The locus solution creates happier warehouse employees, which gives you an advantage in recruitment and retention. At the same time, it greatly improves the productivity of workers by two to three times, resulting in higher picking rate and reduced cycle time.
