“Be a Game Changer, the World has enough players” Abhimanyu Mukherjee (author, screenplay writer)

The game changer is something which many are not comfortable with. After all once we know one game well, why change it? Indeed once easier to win, we feel more comfortable with that. Change is something which fills us with doubt, sometimes fear and certainly, for many, a question as to whether such change will be advantageous to them. However, fortunately the landscape of humanity is not programmed to be this way. There are always game changers and their few disciples which follow them. Pushing the limits and boundaries, it is these game changers who facilitate and change our way of living. Indeed, such change can be for the better or the worse. For the majority of us, we are followers, reluctant to change in different degrees but hesitant when faced with possible dramatic change. Filled with doubt, we are faced with the need for information, proof of concept and the reassurance that the “game changer” himself is a competent and reliable player.

Smart manufacturing projects, like Productivist, are no stranger to this chain reaction but for many who peruse the internet to establish what this revolutionary method has in store for the future, their experience is confused and unfulfilled. Many come away with the feeling that smart manufacturing is nothing but hype while others will feel pessimistic and are convinced that it holds the key to 21st Century’s debacle. That is high employment, an automated, dehumanised workforce and with it a dysfunctional society bereft of human interaction along with a lowering in quality of production.

Fortunately smart manufacturing is certainly far from this. Perhaps we should refer to the National Institute of Standards and technology (NIST) to understand it better and then form a less nebulous idea about this fantastic technology and what it holds for the future. To put it directly in NIST’s words Smart manufacturing: “is fully integrated, collaborative systems which respond in real time to meet changing demands and conditions in the factory, in the supply network and in customer needs”. In other words, using the example of a smart phone where we are connected, and up to date on all aspects of our life thanks to the connectivity of our device, this method ensures that even the slightest deviation of a process is taken into account in real time and processed to meet the new criteria in a fast and efficient manner.

To help visualise a bit more this highly efficient technology, let’s take a closer look at how Productivist’s project (through its use of blockchain technology) would work. Here is an example : a Productivist client places an order for the 3D print manufacture of 350 obsolete car parts. He stipulates that he wants half to be sent to his plant in London and the other half to his base in Minnesota. He sets a deadline of 4 days and submits a full description of the job required. Productivist’s system locates, selects and matches automatically without human intervention the best manufacturers for the job. If the order, the delivery site or the number of spare parts required changes during the order period, the blockchain technology, will ensure that such changes are managed, solved and it will adjust the supply chain requirements to meet the client’s criteria. The result is a faster and more accurate process than traditional supply chain methods which takes time and is open to human error.

So yes, the first preconceived idea is true, such a process is clearly automized but this does not go hand in hand with a rise in unemployment. Proof of this could be the case study of Toyota’s plant in North Carolina. With the usage of smart manufacturing, Toyota has observed increased productivity and in turn increased profits. This has allowed more capital to finance improvements and expansions. The result has spurred more hiring which is still going on according to John Peterson (General Manager for IT plant, Durham North Carolina).

For the logical and sceptical the question that then comes to mind is how on earth can this generate more employment across the board? The answer is very simple. Similar to Toyota’s example, such technology will offer industry an enhanced productivity, generating increased profits and in turn the means to hire. The game changer is then purely that the jobs up for grabs will have gravitated and will require different skillsets because they will need to meet different goals. Such jobs, both direct and indirect manufacturing positions, will be the new workers of tomorrow. If you look at job adverts even today, thanks to the rise of blockchain technology, you will find a rise in demand for those who have expertise in fields such as electronics, engineering and IT (including cyber security). However we are only at the beginnings and complete change will not happen tomorrow. All great ideas take time to propagate and therefore those preoccupied at the thought of a skills gap should not be.

The rest of the preconceived vision of the future I believe goes, without saying, into the rejection bucket. More jobs, more need for communication, so less chance of the dehumanisation of the work place. Indeed, looking to the future, it could be argued that, this is no coincidence because it reflects who we are. Although industry is on the brink of an amazing revolution, there will always be a need to progress and improve technology. At present, this always requires the intervention of mankind. Thankfully, it is this need for Human intervention for change which motivates and shapes mankind’s future. Being at the helm, to power the future is the driving force of our genetic make-up.

To summarize therefore the power of smart manufacturing is far from negative. Studies indeed show a shift in delivery expectations along with the higher quality production thanks to this infallible technology. It takes out the element of waste. It has recently been predicted that those “smarter factories” will boost employment 2–4 times over the current USA manufacturing workforce of 12 million. What could be a further negation of the preconception of a deserted workplace outsourced by technology? We could in fact not be further away from the truth because this technology has a future which will change the face of industry today.

For projects like Productivist’s, therefore, the future is indeed greener, brighter and greater.