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tomation in Transport (Continued :;0111

1st October 1965, Page 123
1st October 1965
Page 123
Page 123, 1st October 1965 — tomation in Transport (Continued :;0111
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Automation, Woodford

s most advanced form it meant the itic carrying out of operations with man intervention. But man had endeavoured to augment the power muscles and a significant feature 3mation in the modern sense was e was now able to augment the of the brain.

ig examples of automation, Mr. 'ord referred to great oil refineries the process was a continuous one. tething went wrong it could not turned off. Accordingly, things ot go wrong, and there was built-in process numerous devices which tense when things were likely to go and of their own volition take ing action .without in any way ring with the process.

because of ignorance the word ation had acquired a somewhat r meaning. It was claimed that it unemployment and there was Ionding resistance to its introducThis, Mr. Woodford maintained, onsense. Automation did not in create unemployment but, as a n technological development, [y created employment. at Britain was still very wasteful e utilization of her manpower ces. There were still many operaperformed manually which could le more efficiently and more quickly ichinery. Countries which would le new markets were those which, offer the best and cheapest proand in this context Mr. Woodford ed transport.

amount of travelling throughout orld was steadily increasing and continue to do so with the growth rid population. But we could not others to travel on the services rovided unless we could offer T fares or better services, or both, itir competitors. There was, there:very incentive to introduce auto

Practical Applications

Woodford then detailed some of

• actical applications of automation reference to transport. The most form of automation was the openservo or pre-programmed system, the operator was the controller impletcd the loop. Such a machine ided directly to the insttuctions of iman operator but embodied some amplification. However, if somewent wrong the operator had to he necessary corrective action. next group could be termed, the -loop servo or error actuated These were similar to the openoccept that they had the ability to corrections of their own actions ,I.mselves. An essential feature of machines was the sensing or predevices which fed information into stem.

Commenting on fluid flow processes and the advantages to be derived from the use of automation, resulting in a great improvement in the quality of the product and the same uniformity, Mr. Woodford said there was a parallel with transport. This arose if the same sustained uniformity of quality could be related to timetables and automatic control systems, so enabling transport managers to offer their customers a better product measured by more frequent and punctual services.

Regarding the application of automation to packaging, Mr. Woodford emphasized that here there was a direct relevance to transport in that the resulting standardized packs could be conveyed in standardized containers with automatic loading and unloading, counting and check-weighing.

This was an area, he maintained, which could be more imaginatively exploited by transport managers than at present by the obvious incentive of preferential rates. Handling and transport charges were a heavy component in the cost of manufactured goods, with a considerable proportion of this cost being time lost through inefficient handling and transporting, Cheaper rates coupled with greater efficiency would be a strong inducement to adopt modular packaging.

An interesting application of space flight control techniques, Mr. Woodford explained, was in the reservation of aeroplane seats. The BOAC system could send or receive information relating to flight reservations 20 weeks in advance from any part of the world.

But although there were infinite possibilities of future development, the system was no longer black magic. There was no occasion for an " automation cult S' and it was extremely important to recognize this fact.

The days when a particular kind of industrial activity could be self-contained and could generate its _own development were over, Mr, Woodford insisted. Techniques developed for 'specific purposes could often be adapted to unexpected applications. There was a great spillover there for the asking resulting from the enormous scientific effort put into space flight. But the potential of automation should not be wasted in alleviating peaks created solely by our fixed habits of living.

Doubts were expressed in subsequent questions as to the likelihood of manufacturers adopting modular packaging. But Mr. Woodford insisted that despite the multiplicity of sizes of packages there was a considerable proportion which comprised a reasonable range of sizes for which a modular system could be devised. With a steep increase in transport rates for outsizes he believed many manufacturers would quickly redesign their awkward consignments. But up to now it had been too often the custom to look into what ought to be done and then look even harder for reasons for not doing it.

"Human aspects in automation" was the title of the final address given on Sunday by Dr. P. A. B. Raffle, deputy chief medical officer, London Transport Board.

The most profound effects of automation would be on social well-being and the transport industry could be involved in this social effect, Shift work would increase with automation so that expensive machinery could be fully productive. A demand could develop for public transport at times covenient for shift workers not only going to and from work but also to shops, restaurants and places of amusement, which would have to open at hours suitable for them.

The greatest impact of automation will be on mental well-being at work. It will relieve the human mind of repetitive thought processes and leave WM do what it did well—correlate unexpected observations. perceive solutions to novel situations and take independent action in the light of new data.

The removal through automation of hard-won skills caused resentment and Dr. Raffle instanced the resistance of commercial airline pilots to automatic landing devices. But, he pointed out, there was often compensation for loss of skill because the range of responsibility tended to increase with automation.

Boredom caused by repetitive mechanical processes could. however, be replaced by boredom of automation. When an automatic process was working properly the human monitor had nothing to do. Man was a bad monitor. When bored his efficiency fell and when infrequent emergencies arose he was out of training for events of this type and resented them when they arose.

Vigilance Decreases

Vigilance decreased the longer a task was performed. This was not because he recognized fewer abnormal signals when he was tired, as camera studies had proved. It was because his criterion of 'what was a fault altered with time. He had less confidence in his judgment as to what a fault was and so reported fewer faults and assumed more false alarms.

The more attention was paid to boredom, vigilance and work load, the less reason there would be for resistance to the changes involved in automation. Pertinently Dr. Raffle added: "We all have an in-built resistance to change-something we recognize in other people and seldom in ourselves!"

The introduction of automation was a heavy burden on the executive, it was too much to expect a man to run a department and introduce automation at the same time. It usually required a separate project manager so that it was not just the part-time occupation of an already busy executive. Human problems should not be submerged in a welter of technical and financial details


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