Humans Steal Jobs From Robots at Toyota Source: Trudell, Craig. \"\'Gods\' Make
ID: 383093 • Letter: H
Question
Humans Steal Jobs From Robots at Toyota
Source: Trudell, Craig. "'Gods' Make Comeback at Toyota as Humans Steal Jobs From Robots," Businessweek http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-06/humans-replacing-robots-herald-toyota-s-vision-of-future.html, posted 4/7/2014.
Inside Toyota Motor Corp.'s oldest plant, there's a corner where humans have taken over from robots in pounding glowing lumps of metal into crankshafts. "We need to become more solid and get back to basics, to sharpen our manual skills and further develop them," said a company exec. "When I was a novice, experienced masters used to be called gods, and they could make anything." These "gods" are making a comeback at Toyota, the company that long set the pace for manufacturing prowess. Toyota's next step forward iscounter-intuitive in an age of automation: Humans are taking the place of machines in plants across Japan so workers can develop new skills and figure out ways to improve production lines and the car-building process.
"Toyota views their people who work in a plant like this as craftsmen who need to continue to refine their art and skill level," said Jeff Liker, who has written 8 books on Toyota. Learning how to make car parts from scratch gives younger workers insights they otherwise wouldn't get from picking parts from bins and conveyor belts, or pressing buttons on machines. At about 100 manual-intensive workspaces across Toyota's factories in Japan, these lessons can then be applied to reprogram machines to cut down on waste and improve processes. At the forging division of Toyota's Honsha plant, workers twist, turn and hammer metal into crankshafts instead of using the typically automated process. Experiences there have led to innovations in reducing levels of scrap by 10% and shortening the production line length 96%.
Though Toyota doesn't envision the day it will rid itself of
robotslong dash—760
of them take part in virtually all of the production
process at its Motomachi
plantlong dash—it
has introduced multiple lines dedicated to manual labor in each of Toyota's factories in
Japan. Says one manager, "To be the master of the machine, you have to have the knowledge and the skills to teach the machine." Adds a University of Tokyo professor, "Fully automated machines don't evolve on their own. Sticking to a specific mechanization may lead to omission of kaizen and improvement."
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Humans will
A.
work with machines to improve the system.
B.
only be found in Toyota's plants.
C.
be totally replaced by robots.
D.
take over the whole auto assembly process.
2. People are replacing some machines at Toyota so
A.
they can develop their manual skills.
B.
they can improve the production process.
C.
"gods" can make a comeback.
D.
All of the above.
3. Human involvement has
A.
involved older workers only.
B.
shortened the production line length by 69%.
C.
reduced scrap by 10%.
D.
minimal impact.
4. Robots will
A.
be taught to improve by workers who better understand the process.
B.
evolve on their own.
C.
double in the plant in the next few years.
D.
be cut from 760 to 500 in the plant discussed.
Explanation / Answer
Ans.1) Humans will
Option (A) - work with machines to improve the system.
Ans.2) People are replacing some machines at Toyota so
Option (D) - All of the above.
Ans.3) Human involvement has
Option (C) - reduced scrap by 10%.
Ans.4) Robots will
Option (A) - be taught to improve by workers who better understand the process.
Related Questions
drjack9650@gmail.com
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.