The systematic replacement of human labor through technological automation

The current economic development marks a profound turning point in the history of the working world, where the traditional appreciation of human labor is increasingly being replaced by technological automation. While companies continue to assert that their employees are the most valuable possessions in their public guiding principles, theoperational reality a completely different picture. The original idea of promoting intellectual resources such as expertise, judgment and experience as a central capital gives way to the systematic replacement of human activities by networked machine systems. This change not only affects low-skilled workers, but is now also threatening highly specializedManagement and production positions.

The illusion of human capital in modern companies

In many corporate mission statements, the flowery phrase still contains the fact that the workforce is the greatest capital of a company. The original idea behind this term was quite reasonable and aimed to direct the business perspective from pure personnel costs to a meaningful assessment and promotion of intellectual resources. knowJudgment, expertise, experience, mastery of processes, manual skills and other skills are exclusively in people’s minds. A company may still accumulate so many documents or patents, but this intellectual capital can ultimately only bring human labor into the market. Machines may replace physical strength, but thatHuman brains have long been considered exclusive and irreplaceable.

Historical forerunners of mechanical replacement

The experience of supporting or even completely replacing human muscles with mechanical devices is ancient. The Babylonians were probably already operating early forms of windmills. In the 4th century before our era, the Greeks invented the wheel of loft, and a little later the Romans developed the reciprocating pump. As English miners with their hand pumpsIncreasingly no longer mastered water in the deeper shafts, Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine in 1712. Since that time, it has been the great project of the Industrial Revolution to first turn all the farmers into factory workers and then take them back work piece by piece.

The rise of programmable control technology

Over a long period of time, larger and more powerful machines have only replaced older devices, but have always been controlled by humans. The first industrial robots were developed in the 1950s and took their triumphant march in the 1970s. First, they conquered the automotive industry before they prevailed throughout the manufacturing industry. whereverSomething has to be moved, stacked or packed, or where sawn, rolled, milled, punched, welded, ground or painted, is more and more often no longer controlled by people, but the machines control themselves. This is called programmable control technology, in which only a few experts have to tell the systems what to do while the rest of the technologydone by yourself.

The decline of low-skilled workers

This development was above all bad news for people with little or no professional qualifications. Because these workers had previously either done the standardized work by hand or operated simple machines. At the beginning of the 1980s, employees without vocational training accounted for an average of 33 percent of the workforce. in someIndustries of industries, such as the production of refrigerators or television sets, were even up to 66 percent. Today, such products are not even manufactured in this country, which illustrates the far-reaching structural change.

Statistical shifts in qualification requirements

The current development clearly reflects relevant statistics. Almost 12 percent of employees subject to social security contributions in Germany nowadays do not have recognized vocational training. Conversely, the rate of people with an academic degree is constantly increasing. For example, if you look at the metal and electrical industry, in 201515.4 percent of employees already have a university degree. At 23.2 percent, the electrical industry is even the absolute leader in this respect.

The era of networked and capable production

What is currently happening under the concept of the 4th Industrial Revolution is the logical continuation of this historical development. The path leads from the self-controlling machine to the networked and largely autonomous production process. Improved and increasingly adaptable sensors and more sensitive mechanics make it possible for systems not only to be predefinedprocess processes independently. You can also independently collect and evaluate data and information, which makes the machine trainable. It is even able to diagnose deviations from the norms and thus possible errors or disorders and then decide whether it can adjust it accordingly or whether human intervention is required.

Autonomous Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Likewise, machines with upstream and downstream processes are digitally networked, which leads to a completely new process. The result is systems that call up the required materials or pre-products independently in the warehouse. These systems independently recognize when something needs to be reordered. However, they no longer report when they are human, but communicate directly with thesuppliers. Large parts of the logistics chain at the other end of the production, such as warehouses, packaging and delivery, are either automatically provided with information or organized completely by the technology itself.

Data-driven product development and individualization

In the course of this development, production systems will collect so much data that they can provide information that has been prepared, evaluated and clearly visualized. Put simply, machines make suggestions to people, which means they can even direct into product development. In the end, it will be the case that compilation tools on the Internet are not meregimmicks are more, but become integral parts of the manufacturing processes. For example, customers could then put together their tailor-made sofa or automobile from many trim levels and order them directly from the manufacturer. Only in case of doubt would a human advisor contact the customers.

Massive job cuts in production and administration

It is obvious that these changes will not only pulverize a variety of jobs in immediate production. You will hardly make fewer tasks in administration and sales superfluous. Currently, studies on how many workstations the digital networking of production will destroy will appear almost every week. how many actuallywill only be suspected, but it will hardly be less than 25 percent. A job cuts of 33 percent to 50 percent seem to be quite realistic.

The extreme scenario in mass production

In some areas of mass production of standard consumer goods, such as household appliances, household goods or mobile phones, up to 80 percent of the workforce in the personnel office may have to report. This means that you have to apply to one of the remaining people in the administration who left the digital automation of processes there.All these are not good news for the remaining human capital. So not for the employees of today who really know and can do something. Because contrary to all assurances, employees for companies in the digital age do not have such importance as their computer programs.

The global consensus of management on human expulsion

This is not a slogan of technology-loving experts from the California Technology Center, but corresponds to the opinion of the majority of managing directors worldwide. According to a survey by a consulting company from the beginning of 2017 among 800 top managers of major international companies, people are primarily a cost factor for just under 64 percent of managersno asset. 67 percent believe that technology will generate more yield in the future than human capital. 44 percent assume that automation and machine learning methods make people in the working life of the future largely irrelevant. Another 40 percent of the managers reported being under pressure from the shareholders, staff byto replace machines.