Efficient Plant May 2018 - 6

column | editorial

We're 9th
In Robots!
Gary L. Parr
Editorial Director

An excellent example of manufacturers and
educators not waiting for governments to
get their acts together to solve the workforce
problem is the collaboration between Siemens
and other manufacturers and the Oakland
Univ. ISE program. Learn more on p. 16.

6

| EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

I

N HER ARTICLE titled "The United
States is way behind other countries on
robot 'readiness,' report says" (Washington Post, April 24, 2018), Danielle Paquette
delivered some sobering news. The latest
"Automation Readiness Index" (automationreadiness.eiu.com), produced by The
Economist and ABB, Cary, NC (abb.com),
ranks the U.S. 9th out of 25 advanced
economies.
Paquette's use of the term "robots" in
her title, though, was a bit too narrow of a
focus. The Index measures companies on
their preparedness for the age of intelligent automation. That broader definition
actually paints an even uglier picture for
U.S. manufacturing.
The pack leaders are South Korea,
Germany, and Singapore. Why? According to the report, those countries have
"undertaken individual initiatives in
areas such as curriculum reform, lifelong
learning, occupational training, and
workplace flexibility."
Another report finding is that the
challenges and opportunities of intelligent automation require a robust policy
response involving multiple stakeholders. To quote, "Although there is little
agreement on the likely net impact of AI
and robotics on employment, there is a
consensus that governments will need to
take action. Businesses, meanwhile, are
forging ahead with adoption, meaning
there is little time for dalliance. The lack
of engagement between policymakers, industry, educational specialists, and other
stakeholders that must inform this action
is therefore alarming."
You'll notice the idea of education
pops up in both of the previous paragraphs. That's because it's the crux of the
problem. Three other report findings
allude to what needs to be done by all

countries-less so by South Korea, Germany, and Singapore:
 Few countries have begun to address
the impact of automation through educational policy.
 Lifelong learning is becoming a rich
area of experimentation.
 In most countries, vocational training
is not up to the challenges posed by
intelligent automation. In simple terms,
we need to change our educational system
and quickly.
Still, we're not complete failures in
this country. Not by any stretch. In recent
issues of Efficient Plant and at efficientplantmag.com, we have been highlighting
success stories in this area. We do so
again in this issue. On p. 16, Michelle
Segrest shares what is being done in the
Industrial and Systems Engineering Dept.
at Oakland Univ., near Detroit (oakland.
edu/ise). Working with Siemens Corp.
USA, Washington (siemens.com), and
other industrial partners, the educators
at Oakland are turning out students who
have the skills and hands-on experience
that allow them to be immediate difference makers in real-world jobs. The result
is companies in Southeastern Michigan
now have a source of skilled workers that
don't have to be "trained" for a year before
they start to contribute. The program has
been so successful that students are locking down jobs before they graduate.
The industrial/educational collaboration at Oakland Univ. points a laser beam
at one of the statements in the The Economist/ABB report: "Businesses, meanwhile,
are forging ahead with adoption, meaning
there is little time for dalliance." In other
words, businesses have work that needs
to be done and aren't waiting around for
governments to get their acts together. EP
gparr@efficientplantmag.com

MAY 2018
http://tionreadiness.eiu.com http://www.abb.com http://www.efficientplantmag.com http://www.siemens.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant May 2018
