Robots to the rescue?

I’ve visited a lot of window, door and conservatory manufacturing facilities over the years and while they have varied in their square footage and quality and/or quantity of machinery, they do all have one thing in common.

They are all operated by a small army of people. And that army – according to the numerous managing and operations directors I’ve spoken to – is becoming harder and harder to maintain.

That is due to a general decline in the volume of people wanting to work in factories, competition from large warehouses such as Amazon that might offer a more attractive hourly rate, quality of new starters and employee retention.

So, what’s the solution? Forward thinking manufacturing companies are working hard to attract new workers and retain the talent they have by introducing better rates of pay, such as the Real Living Wage.

Some are also signing up to initiatives such as Investors in People, that are designed to empower all staff members from the factory floor to the board room, or create more opportunities through training and development programmes.

These are all now key ways of ensuring that there are enough, properly motivated and skilled people to run a manufacturing business. But what if you were able to reduce the reliance on people in the first place?

This is already happening in window and door factories around the UK, with the introduction of more advanced machines that bring greater efficiencies, improved accuracy and quality of finish.

But could we soon have humanoid robots operating those machines?

It sounds far-fetched – science fiction even – but Tesla has just announced that it will be producing and using humanoid robots from next year in low production purposes from 2025 and is aiming for high production, for other companies, in 2026.

These robots, designed for ‘unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks’ will be mass produced, according to Tesla, and will cost less than £17,900 each.

When you consider the cost of one person on a Real Living Wage is over £23,000, it certainly provides a lot of food for thought…