Plant Engineering Talks Seegrid Robots and Jobs

Feb. 20, 2013 - PRLog -- Mark T. Hoske recently reported in Plant Engineering magazine that smart applications of automation and robotics save and create jobs.  Hoske noted, “Robots are motion-controlled automation. Automation and robots create jobs. When automation and robotics are discussed and applied without appropriate communications, they make some plant-floor workers worry about continued employment. Truth is (and this isn’t necessarily intuitive when robots are first introduced to a site), automation saves manufacturing and other high-technology jobs. When automation is applied correctly, employees feel more valued and secure.”
Robots create jobs and help move workers to better, higher paying, fulfilling, and safer jobs, according to John Hayes, national accounts manager at Seegrid, manufacturer of driverless robotic industrial trucks.  “Qualified workers are difficult to find. Automation doesn’t take satisfaction away. Automation is empowering, by eliminating labor in some areas, taking some non-value-added activities out of the process,” Hayes said during the ProMat session, “Fact: Robots = Jobs.”
Hayes, from Seegrid, said American Packaging Corp., Columbus, Wisconsin, implemented robotics with no reduction in labor, and increases in productivity, sales, job satisfaction (with an increased employee skill set), work environment safety, and wages. The company added 9% in manufacturing jobs as a result of its robotic investment.
About Seegrid:
Founded in 2003, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Seegrid Corporation (www.seegrid.com) brings robotic vision-guided technology to the material handling industry. With more than thirty years of innovation and research by the leading robotic scientists, engineers, programmers and logistics practitioners worldwide, Seegrid’s exclusive Robotic Industrial Trucks are revolutionizing the movement of materials in manufacturing and distribution environments. Seegrid’s technology transforms industrial vehicles into unmanned, automated pallet trucks and tow tractors that operate without the need for wire, tape, laser or other costly automated guided vehicle (AGV) guidance systems. Seegrid offers solutions that optimize workflow processes by increasing productivity and reducing costs, creating economic and operational advantages.  Fast Company named Seegrid as one of the Top 50 World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2013 and among the Top 10 World’s Most Innovative Robotics Companies in 2013.

Seegrid Corporation
www.seegrid.com
Amanda Merrell
amerrell@seegrid.com
412-379-4500