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Just toured an amazing facility. Robots everywhere! Unloading pieces, loading material, palletizing final goods. Workers simply pop the finished goods on gauges, perform inspection checks and maintain the normal operation of the plant. I've seen this in the larger plants, but not so much in the smaller < 100 headcount operations.
This particular operation grosses over 10 million in sales. Work has been coming back like crazy from China, mainly because companies like these are working incredibly lean, and they possess highly skilled and knowledgeable staff. They have the same number of employees as they did in 1990. Actually, they have four more employees today. The difference today is, you either have high skilled job that pay very well, or unskilled/low skill job that pay peanuts. Very little in between.
I'm exited to see what the future holds. I'm delighted to see America and it's businesses becoming competitive and strong once more. At the same time, in order for this to happen, job opportunities will be tight. There will be a great deal of responsibility placed on the worker to expand their skill sets and knowledge. The jobs of today and going forward will be demanding mentally, as opposed to physically.
I worry when I see young Americans struggling in critical areas like math and science. I worry what will happen with them. What place will they have in the private sector? What will happen to the older workers who can't find a spot in this rapidly evolving environment?
Either way, the private sector will continue to evolve with or without them. Not much can be, or should be done to stop it. I would much rather see our diverse economy continue to grow. America and it's citizens are resilient and strong. They always seem to bounce back no matter what.
Well, the ADP report showed a big increase last month. Let's hope they were more skilled, well paying, not the peanuts. Good to see the jobs requiring STEM skills are returning. They suffered greatly the past five years.
Well, the ADP report showed a big increase last month. Let's hope they were more skilled, well paying, not the peanuts. Good to see the jobs requiring STEM skills are returning. They suffered greatly the past five years.
I'm not sure about STEM jobs, but there are a ton of good paying skilled jobs going unfilled in my opinion. If companies can't find the workers, than they train, which is what many are doing. Much of the work returning from China is creating this demand, along with demand for engineers with the background. The sad thing is, workers have hardly been trained for these occupations in the past decade. Companies assumed this work was long gone and never coming back. Everyone I speak with today is incredibly optimistic on the future.
Plastics is also another area that will see big demand IMO. Companies are looking to replace metal with plastic for many vital components. This work can get pretty specialized. Good area for engineers to consider studying.
I worry when I see young Americans struggling in critical areas like math and science. I worry what will happen with them. What place will they have in the private sector? What will happen to the older workers who can't find a spot in this rapidly evolving environment? .
Soylent green could be a popular answer with those who have social Darwinism views on the world. Me I rather take a page out of the NAFTA book and look try to retrain them. I don't know why retraining ifs an unpopular answer for people on here. Without it, we are cannibalizing the market and going to kill what feeds the golden goose that lays the eggs.
A few years back I had a project in a 400,000 sq ft storage and logistics facility that was handled totally by robots.
Storage was manufactured household product stored on double row racks with bottom of structural steel 68' above finished floor. Top of storage was 62'.
Double row racks are like look like this
only in this warehouse I was in I would estimate those racks to be about 20' to 24' while in the robotic warehouse I was in racks were three times as high!
Everything was robotic and from the control room all you saw was flashing red lights in a warehouse without any lights on saving energy. The only people in the warehouse were waring white sleeve shirts sitting in an air conditioned control room 50' in the air above everything. Robot forklifts would place product and retrieve it when needed without making any mistakes. Very impressive, picking a career of forklift operator in a warehouse might not be the smartest move to make these days. Six people in white shirts replaced 30 forklift operators. Imagine having 24 forklift drivers that would work 24/7/365 without any pay or benefits.
Soylent green could be a popular answer with those who have social Darwinism views on the world. Me I rather take a page out of the NAFTA book and look try to retrain them. I don't know why retraining ifs an unpopular answer for people on here. Without it, we are cannibalizing the market and going to kill what feeds the golden goose that lays the eggs.
Ok... What happens when those folks who should be "retrained" cannot perform basic math? Should the company then teach them things that they should have learned in HS? I've seen people who I legitimately felt were not worth a job. It was hard to feel sorry for them when they were terminated.
At some point, the individual needs to take it upon themselves to pick themselves up. If they were in the wild, they would have already been eaten by something bigger and stronger. They are lucky to live in a society where the government coddles and protects the weakest and most uncompetitive of creatures.
There are plenty of local community colleges that offer popular vocational classes for people to "retrain". They can retrain all they want, for whichever career interest they desire. I hear they are jam packed right now, full of people who would like to do something useful for a living.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicet4
Those clamoring for $15 minimum wage in McDonald's might want to pay attention because you are more easily replaced than you might think.
McDonalds already is heavily automated. The drinks are standardized and filled automatically. The burgers are cooked on both sides in 30 seconds with no flipping. They are already running a thin crew. Could more be done to eliminate the worker? Absolutely.
It would be a rather intensive effort, particularly for such miniscule returns. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment just to sling dollar menu items in one franchise? I doubt any bank would approve a loan for a manufacturer with a similar vision. Think of it this way... A manufacturer might spend 100K to buy a machine that can pump out 100 $5 widgets an hour with a 25% profit margin. Many go bankrupt in the process. A McDonalds franchise doesn't move anywhere near the same volume.
Ok... What happens when those folks who should be "retrained" cannot perform basic math? Should the company then teach them things that they should have learned in HS? I've seen people who I legitimately felt were not worth a job. It was hard to feel sorry for them when they were terminated.
At some point, the individual needs to take it upon themselves to pick themselves up. If they were in the wild, they would have already been eaten by something bigger and stronger. They are lucky to live in a society where the government coddles and protects the weakest and most uncompetitive of creatures.
There are plenty of local community colleges that offer popular vocational classes for people to "retrain". They can retrain all they want, for whichever career interest they desire. I hear they are jam packed right now, full of people who would like to do something useful for a living.
There is a difference between these people that cannot do math vs. those that lost their job because of all the robots. Let's remember, the McJobs have been created "replacing" middle class jobs if you go by just number of jobs. The problem with Social Darwin views is that we lose humanity with them. I may not be a liberal but I don't like to see people turn into say soylent green and be used for a mere means.
Part of the problem right now with the community college option is right now they are expensive. When I went to community college for an associates, it was about $1000 for 4 full-time courses (people were complaining then in 2008), now it is 2014 and it is $1,215. This doesn't include the fees and special course fees. The problem is we have a glut of workers replaced by technology (robots or globalization) with no suitable replacement jobs. Forget the whole issue of more and more millennials being churned out while more and more people are living longer lives.
My next venture will be all robots. I'm scared to death what will be voted in next.
I have no idea. Instead of losing sleep over the drastic changes I'll need to make for 50 employees, it'd be much easier to just worry about what changes I'll need to make for 1 operator.
Almost every blue collar job will be phased out by robots that doesn't require on site quick work like a carpenter or emergency work like a pipe fitter.
There is a difference between these people that cannot do math vs. those that lost their job because of all the robots. Let's remember, the McJobs have been created "replacing" middle class jobs if you go by just number of jobs. The problem with Social Darwin views is that we lose humanity with them. I may not be a liberal but I don't like to see people turn into say soylent green and be used for a mere means.
Part of the problem right now with the community college option is right now they are expensive. When I went to community college for an associates, it was about $1000 for 4 full-time courses (people were complaining then in 2008), now it is 2014 and it is $1,215. This doesn't include the fees and special course fees. The problem is we have a glut of workers replaced by technology (robots or globalization) with no suitable replacement jobs. Forget the whole issue of more and more millennials being churned out while more and more people are living longer lives.
$1,215 is chump change given the large gap in median salary levels by level of education.
21% in 6 years is hardly out of line.
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