Why letting a robot do the job could save your life!
Heavy machinery is dangerous when not used properly and recycling machinery is no exception. Recently we shared an article about various recycling machinery stories, including two men who unfortunately died, and a kitten that luckily survived. We also shared part one of the Dangers of Heavy Machinery, with some FREE tips about being safe in the workplace.
The advances of technology are making recycling a whole heap easier, thanks to sorting lasers, advanced chewing teeth and stronger, more reliable mechanisms.
So, why would people continue to put themselves at risk around such dangerous machinery; of course, people need to earn a living. For the business owners, a machine replacing a human is the sort of sci-fi nightmare that old films predicted, especially some older directors who like to maintain a human workforce.
However, with several people dying each year, and the business being liable to a hefty operations-ending lawsuit, is it worth saving the tougher tasks for recycling machinery? In a sense, it could be estimated that future recycling machinery will bridge the human gap, being implemented at the stages where humans are still currently needed, like the sorting line, and to physically programme the machines.
Recycling is a thankless and dirty task anyway, and the machines don’t have a sense of smell or mind getting a bit mucky. Beyond that, there are dangerous things in the waste stream for humans to handle, like knives, syringes, broken glass, much of which can easily pierce the protective clothing of the workers.
Robot labour is cheaper than human labour, in the long run. It may take a few years for the recycling machinery to pay back its cost, but eventually it makes a profit, or a rental or lease agreement could be organised and the savings would be instantly visible. Recycling machinery also means that more is being recycled, and that’s exactly what the recycling facilities want, as long as they have enough waste coming in.
For most recycling facilities, the most labour intensive aspect is the sorting and picking line, which is unpleasant and mucky, and quite often leads to minor injuries. Robots could make this task more efficient and save humans from the risk of danger.
Recently we looked at which jobs are most at risk of being replaced by robots, if this is something you fear, it may be an interesting read! It turns out that very few jobs are safe from the threat of robot intervention. Here’s an extract from this recent article:
If your job involves a high level of creativity, you are likely to be safe. Artists, graphic designers, writers (hooray!) and musicians, you can stop worrying. Nurses, therapists, paramedics, doctors or almost anyone in the care industry is unlikely to be replaced, although robot aids will continue to be developed. Politicians should be safe too, if robots become corrupt they must go in for repair, if politicians become corrupt, they just end up richer.
‘Safe’ may be a risky word choice, as it is inevitable that robots will one day learn how to be creative and also develop social intelligence that will allow them to care.
See our Massive Machinery series here: