Technology And The Fall Of The Workplace

Technology and machinery have advanced in extraordinary proportions during the last hundred or so years, plus they are now affecting virtually every element of our everyday life; from the modes we use to connect, to the way we shop and even the way we use our free time.



You are usually hard pressed to go far without enduring a means where machine has supplanted man. From movie ticket kiosks to grocery store tills, countless tasks can be performed without the need for a human worker. But who suggests that this is a good thing? Will humankind be affected if we are no longer needed in the workplace? Or is this an outlandish prophecy that is unlikely to ever materialise?



Machines are now so vastly evident within the corporate world mainly because of economics. Generally if the installation and operation of a machine is cheaper than the equivalent human will be to employ, it makes financial sense for a company to choose machine over man.



But when confronted with a machine rather than a real human face, does it have an impact on our daily lives? Human connection is really important, much more than we likely understand. Getting greeted by a till assistant in the grocery store may appear insignificant, but these minor interactions perform a significant part in maintaining a positive frame of mind. This is all the more significant for certain members of society, such as the elderly who might not have loved ones at home. This small connection between them and another person is essential to their well-being. Additionally, the use of modern technology can be a scary task to our elders, and they can find incredible difficulty in the operation of machines like self service tills. When considering this, it is clear that modern-day machinery will never be suitable for every individual, and thus a human employee will always need to be available to assist.



Machines are however, wide-spread and flourishing in other environments. SCADA, (standing for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is a process monitoring system suitable for use within settings like factories and warehouses. SCADA implements a system of sensors to manage equipment and collect data, which it then delivers to a central computer system. It ensures that all equipment functions as smoothly and economically as possible, and eliminates the potential for human mistakes. In lots of ways, systems such as SCADA are an indispensable addition to a lot of working locations. Although it makes the need for certain workers redundant, the system is not marred by difficulties associated with consumer interaction, and could actually make a workplace significantly safer as there isn't any room for human errors.



But what should happen to society if machines carry on evolving and a human workforce is only required to correctly manage the machines? What we often don’t comprehend is that work is a necessary component of a happy and functional life. Work gives humans a purpose. To be able to live each day, humans need to feel they have a purpose. If technology were to take our purpose away, what then would happen to humanity? The media is rife with prophetic illustrations of this type of scenario. The recent family motion picture 'Wall-e' portrayed all of humanity as identically obese, all employing an advanced floating chair as a means of travel and movement.Their everyday life possessed little, if any purpose, and they were content to succumb to the control of technology. As extreme an example this may be, we've got little concept of what the future will bring and the realms of technological possibility.



Recent years have experienced machines evolving at speeds faster than man can ever hope to replicate, and there is little sign of this halting. On many occasions, such development may be good for business, but cause the customer and employees to suffer. However with the use of systems such as SCADA, technological progress is essentially a positive thing.



With all this in view, perhaps all we can do is try to evolve around technology and machines, as their is little hope of delaying their evolvement ourselves. At the end of the day, we still have the real power - there will always be an ‘off’ switch.

This article was written by R. Deans on behalf of Lee-Dickens Ltd. Lee-Dickens Ltd are experts in the design and manufacture of process monitoring and control systems including SCADA. For more information on process monitoring systems and SCADA please visit lee-dickens.biz.