MORIYA, Japan (AP) -- Thousands upon thousands of cans are filled with beer, capped and washed, wrapped into six-packs, and boxed at dizzying speeds - 1,500 a minute, to be exact - on humming conveyor belts that zip and wind in a sprawling factory near Tokyo.Nary a soul is in sight in this picture-perfect image of Japanese automation.The machines do all the heavy lifting at this plant run by Asahi Breweries, Japan's top brewer. The human job is to make sure the machines do the work right, and to check on the quality the sensors are monitoring."Basically, nothing goes wrong. The lines are up and running 96 percent," said Shinichi Uno, a manager at the plant. "Although machines make things, human beings oversee the machines."The debate over machines snatching jobs from people is muted in Japan....
I remember, in my far distant youth, a guy kept a shop open and made a living fixing toasters and lamps. But we don't fix things anymore, we put 'em in the landfill and buy an "upgrade".
ReplyDeleteSounds likes scene out of the old cartoon, The Jetsons.
ReplyDeleteCounterpoint to olcharlie's view. I am more than willing to fix things. The problem is that the Fixit Men formed a racket. The price of labor and parts is almost always 50% of the cost to replace. The warranty is maybe 90 days on what was supposedly fixed only. With the fact that the thing might soon break again and not be the same problem replacement with the extended warranty is usually the wiser move.
I have gone the Sears replacement parts / Youtube DYI Video route. Some successes, and some failures. Depends on job complexity and part costs.
I look at warranties much more carefully these days. I will spend more especially when manufacturers warranty is longer.