Paperless and Peopleless

A controversial area over at least the last 20 years on the topic of implementing computer applications has been the replacement of manual jobs with computers. What are the impacts of paperless operations from an employment perspective And to be more specific Do paperless operations imply peopleless manufacturing plants  

The answer is typically both yes and no. Paperless manufacturing plants will not be totally peopleless plants, but most of them will have lower manning levels than traditional plants. The transition toward paperless operations should be seen as part of a larger transition throughout the industrialized 

Roughly speaking, there are two ways of applying the benefits of paperless operations  

Conduct business as usual but replace some of the paper (e.g., records, documents and procedures) that people use during their daily work. This will enable people to work paper-like on computers with little impact on the company s business processes. Less paper should mean fewer people to run the business but only marginally in this case. There may also be less data entry and hence fewer data errors. 

Use the transition toward paperless systems to facilitate operator empowerment. Operators are allowed to take a broader responsibility and to use electronic media as an enabler to supervise performance and quality of their production. This enables in-line control of quality and deviations. Multiskilled, team-based working may also be introduced with the aim that broader job roles will make work more challenging and interesting. Significant lower manning levels are usually expected. All this must be achieved with due consideration of current GMP regulatory requirements. 

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Paperless and Peopleless Plants Trends in the Application of Computer Systems... 

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