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In Dongguan City, located in the central Guangdong province of China, a technology company has set up a factory run almost exclusively by robots, and the results are fascinating.
The Changying Precision Technology Company factory in Dongguan has automated production lines that use robotic arms to produce parts for cell phones. The factory also has automated machining equipment, autonomous transport trucks, and other automated equipment in the warehouse.
There are still people working at the factory, though. Three workers check and monitor each production line and there are other employees who monitor a computer control system. Previously, there were 650 employees at the factory. With the new robots, there's now only 60. Luo Weiqiang, general manager of the company, told the People's Daily that the number of employees could drop to 20 in the future.
The robots have produced almost three times as many pieces as were produced before. According to the People's Daily, production per person has increased from 8,000 pieces to 21,000 pieces. That's a 162.5% increase.
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The growth of robotics in the area's factories comes amidst a particularly harsh climate around factory worker conditions, highlighted by strikes in the area. One can only wonder whether automation will add fuel to the fire or quell some of the unrest.
Is eliminating the work force the best way to solve labor unrest?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday August 03 2015, @04:21PM
> I am quite certain, though, that China lacks the infrastructure that we used to enjoy here in the US.
Even if you can't fly to Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzen, I'd recommend you point your google that way and realize how wrong you are. Then browse around to find a few smaller cities: when you've got up a few million employees to bring to work and feed every day, and then export the junk-to-high-tech gizmos they make, infrastructure happens.
Try a few major African capitals too, while we're on the topic of misunderstood realities.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 03 2015, @05:11PM
Are you referring to the internal infrastructures of companies and corporations - or to the governmental infrastructures, like highway systems, electricity grids, dams, and such?
It is a pretty well known fact that China has produced some terribly bad products in the past few decades. Remember the poisoned milk products? There is an example of a missing governmental infrastructure, namely, a Food and Drug Administration. Or, at the least, an EFFECTIVE FDA.
But, I was talking specifically about internal infrastructure. It takes, literally, decades to build up a supply chain. Comparing cost, quality, and availability of needed supplies across a spectrum of potential vendors can't be done over the internet, and certainly not overnight. The corporation's own logistics train is an infrastructure, in and of itself - and a very important structure. A smaller company can be destroyed if they rely on a vendor whose gadgets or widgets are substandard. Even major corporations can take a big hit, if they rely on a crap vendor, as evidenced by all those faulty capacitors back in - uhhhh - '99 to '07 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague [wikipedia.org]
There is no doubt in my mind that China's government run physical infrastructure probably rivals our own, today. China has been improving theirs, while we have allowed our own to deteriorate. If the trend continues, I suspect that by 2020, China's infrastructure will definitely be superior to ours, in the US.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday August 03 2015, @05:36PM
1978 [wikipedia.org] was a long time ago
WPG [wpgholdings.com] is scaring the [bleep] out of Avnet and Arrow (probably triggering the purchase of NuHo).
And in case you missed it: Hon Hai's factories [wikipedia.org] "together assemble around 40 percent of all consumer electronics products sold", including just about every consumer high-tech product you'd get as answers on Family Feud. About 2/3rds of their employees are in China.
And that's only the big guy. thousands of competitors surround it.
They've got the supply chain figured out, for sure, even if sometimes bad parts happen (to US/Euro companies too). There aren't too many places left in the world where you can ramp production as quickly as China. A few bad accelerators don't prevent Toyota from being number 1 any more than a few bad caps derail Shenzen.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday August 04 2015, @12:05AM
I do doubt it. I doubt it a lot. Yes, they build a lot, but it is so poorly built it almost has to be condemned the moment the ribbon is cut. It's like the high speed rail line they built down the coast but immediately had a horrible derailment because the contractor cut corners.
Washington DC delenda est.