automation

Lefint, Jérémy, and António Brandão Moniz. "Assessment of Exoskeletons for Work Activities: The Dilemma behind the Product." Applied Sciences 14 (2024): 7108. AbstractWebsite

The introduction of exoskeletons by many companies has often resulted in potential users not wanting to wear them. Evaluations of the exoskeleton reveal benefits of use, including ergonomic advantages and a reduction of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. How can this contradiction be explained? By searching the available literature, we can identify the methods used to develop these devices and the methods employed to evaluate their acceptance and benefit. By looking at the product from different viewpoints and involving different disciplines, we will get to the root of this discrepancy. Our findings indicate that the product definition, development focus, and evaluation methods do not sufficiently and adequately address the primary goal of exoskeletons. The development of such devices should be prioritized not only for the delivery of support but also for the motivation of the user. Finally, we put forward the proposal to discuss the establishment of a novel development method for the prospective elaboration of exoskeletons.

Candeias, Marta, António B. Moniz, and Nuno Boavida. "Automation trends in Portugal: implications in productivity and employment." GEE Paper (2022): 34. AbstractWebsite

Recent developments in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are leading to a wave of innovation in organizational design and changes in the workplace. Techno-optimists even named it the ‘second machine age’, arguing that it now involves the substitution of the human brain. Other authors see this as just a continuation of previous ICT developments. Potentially, automation and AI can have significant technical, economic, and social implications in firms. The paper will answer the question: what are the implications on industrial productivity and employment in the automotive sector with the recent automation trends, including AI, in Portugal? Our approach used mixed methods to conduct statistical analyses of relevant databases and interviews with experts on R&D projects related to automation and AI implementation. Results suggest that automation can have widespread adoption in the short term in the automotive sector, but AI technologies will take more time to be adopted. Findings show that adoption of automation and AI increases productivity in firms and is dephased in time with employment implications. Investments in automation are not substituting operators but rather changing work organization. Thus, negative effects about technology and unemployment were not substantiated by our results

https://ideas.repec.org/p/mde/wpaper/0165.html

Brandao Moniz, António. "Aspects sociaux de l’automation: le cas des défis organisationnelles de la robotisation en industrie." In Workshop “L’industrie du futur”. Metz: EINSAM Metz, 2019.
Brandao Moniz, António. "Occupation safety in automated environments: needs and consequences." In International Symposium on Occupational Safety and Hygiene (SHO 2019). Guimarães: University of Minho, 2019.programa-sho2019-bw-para-a5_vnc-1.pdf
Krings, Bettina-Johanna, António B. Moniz, and Philipp Frey. "Technology as enabler of the automation of work? Current societal challenges for a future perspective of work." Revista Brasileira de Sociologia 9 (2021): 206-229. Abstract806-1705-1-pb_revbrassociologia.pdfWebsite

Due to the innovative possibilities of digital technologies, the issue of increasing automation is once again on the agenda – and not only in the industry, but also in other branches and sectors of contemporary societies. Although public and scientific discussions about automation seem to raise relevant questions of the “old” debate, such as the replacement of human labor by introducing new technologies, the authors focus here on the new contextual quality of these questions. The debate should rethink the relationship between technology and work with regard to quantitative and qualitative changes in work. In this article, our example will be the introduction of automation in industry, which has been reflected in the widely recognized study by Frey and Osborne in 2013. They estimated the expected impacts of future computerization on US labor market outcomes as very high, specifically regarding the number of jobs at risk. Surprisingly, this study was the starting point of an intensive international debate on the impact of technologies on the future of work and the role of technological change in working environments. Thus, according to the authors, “old” questions remain important, but they should be reinterpreted for “new” societal demands and expectations of future models of work.

SOLSTICE

November 13, 2020

Sodium-Zinc molten salt batteries for low-cost stationary storage
European Project H2020-LC-BAT-2019-2020 - 963599
Coord. Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden (DE)
Outras instituições: UNINOVA (PT), SINTEF (NO), EMF (CH), CIEMAT (ES), DLR (DE), NTNU (NO), Politecnico Torino (IT), Quantis (CH), SensiChips (IT), FZSonick (CH), Imperial College (UK)

Metalworkers 4.0

May 26, 2020

Metalworkers 4.0 – high skills of employees as a measure for high adaptability of enterprises to technological changes.

Project co-financed by the European Union.

Grant agreement number: UDA-POWR.04.03.00-00-0117/18-00

webpage: https://metalowcy.eu/en/project/

Sustainable human resource management in the context of emerging technologies

April 8, 2020

ISM University of Economics and Management, Vilnius (Lithuania)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe (Germany)

(09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0156) https://www.ism.lt/en/rcl-sustainable-human-resource-management-context-emerging-technologies-0933-lmt-k-712-01-0156

Work and technology (KIT)

January 5, 2018

Since industrialization, the relationship between technical change and labor structures has been highly complex, and is still being discussed and interpreted today. The works of Karl Marx and other economists who have studied the conditions of industrial labor under the influence of mechanical engineering still have a great influence on the debate about the effects of technology on work structures.