SIEMENS

Will tomorrow’s factory workers need to know more than their counterparts today?

Spath: In addition to specialized knowledge, tomorrow’s factory workers will need more than anything else to understand the interconnections in production operations. Decisions can be supported by technology, but employees still need to know what effect their decisions will have, especially in an ever more complex environment. The accumulation of this type of knowledge largely depends on the company involved; on-the-job training will therefore become increasingly important.

What will be the role of human labor in tomorrow’s factories?

Spath: People will continue to perform three important functions in the future. Technically speaking, they will serve as sensors, decision-makers, and key players. It will never be possible to plan everything that is production-related in advance. The management of complex situations will require people with a range of skills. When people are acting as decision-makers, they will need to carefully weigh the options when a conflict of interest arises. They will not only define the rules for normal circumstances but will also make decisions in situations marked by conflict. They will also be needed as key players who can flexibly meet customers’ individual demands – with the help of state-of-the-art technology, of course.

What form will human-machine cooperation take?

Spath:New robot concepts will enable simple interactions between humans and machines. In particular, we’ll be seeing an increase in the use of lightweight robots that carry out simple insertion and positioning tasks. However, I expect humans to retain the final decision-making authority in the future as well.

What kinds of technology will factory employees of the future work with, especially in view of an aging workforce?

Spath:There’s been an incredible learning curve over the past few years in terms of the private use of mobile devices, and we’re now increasingly employing mobile technology in production facilities as well. Even as we discuss the use of tablet PCs, smartphones, and apps in industry, the next generation of these devices is already on its way. The industrial application possibilities for mobile devices that make information available while also allowing users to keep their hands free are far from exhausted – and such a feature is a traditional requirement for industrial production. Many older workers in particular have problems accepting the new technologies, and in some cases there is literally a fear of contact with them. Nevertheless, I’m convinced that this situation will pass, because once the personal benefits of a technology are presented clearly, both young and old will quickly start using it. Think about senior citizens with grandchildren abroad – It can safely be said that most of them are already using technologies such as e-mail, Skype, and social networks by now to stay in touch.

What major challenges will managers face in tomorrow’s factories?

Spath:At the moment, it seems that dealing with the new forms of flexible work will present the greatest challenge. This involves more than just human-machine communication and handling intelligent objects, which I touched on before. The other main factor is that in the future work will be geared more strongly toward actual needs than it is today. Working-time models will change, and we’ll even see flexible and customized lifetime work models. I also believe that a new form of spatial and temporal flexibility will emerge. The important thing here is to extract and fairly distribute the resulting utility for everyone involved. We believe that both employers and employees can benefit in such a future setup.

What impact do you expect all of this to have on the border between work and private life?

Spath:It will have to be redrawn. You can already see this today in the discussion concerning 24-hour availability via e-mail. However, I also see major opportunities here. That’s because decentralized decision-making processes and the availability of information via mobile devices can also give back to employees some of the time they’ve lost in the past and allow them to use it for other aspects of their lives. Moreover, if people’s workplaces aren’t too far from where they live, the information and communication technologies in use today will open up completely new possibilities for flexible work. There may even be patchwork situations in which employees can work for several different companies. The specific requirements of older employees are an example of how such flexibility could work – close proximity between production facilities and the employees’ homes would make it easier for them to structure their work appropriately in relation to their situation as seniors.