Laboratory automation: changing the role of the technical professional

Robots in industry During the last two decades, robots have gone from exotic to commonplace in the manufacturing industries. As companies strive to gain competitive advantage, mechanization of repetitive tasks has been a primary means of increasing productivity and reducing cost. The impact of robotization is now affecting the world economy [1]. While not the first to develop robotics, Japan has successfully applied the technology to compensate for labour shortages, to increase productivity, and to develop quality products through standardization [2]. The Jap-anese productivity gains have, to a large extent, been realized through the substitution of capital equipment for human labour [3]. As robotics spread through the manufacturing sector, there has been heated debate concerning the impact of automation on the worker [4-6]. The technologist views robotics as a means of creating high-quality jobs and improving the quality of life [7]. Workers, however, often perceive automation as a threat to their job security [8] researchers report that workers feel more threatened by robotics than any other form of automation [9] and it is believed that workers feel that a robot often directly displaces a worker. Robots in the laboratory Similarly, robots began to appear in the analytical chemistry laboratory during the early 1980s. The same reasoning behind the need for automation in manufacturing can also be applied to the laboratory-productivity can be dramatically increased by the automation of routine testing. The analytical chemistry laboratory tests a large number of samples using standardized procedures , while maintaining a quick turnaround time. Many of the tasks that are performed in the laboratory are routine and highly repetitive. Interestingly, studies have shown that the quality of work performed by laboratory workers decreases as the volume of work increases 10]. manager and the non-Ph.D, scientists are usually receptive to the technology. Technicians, on the other hand, may be reluctant supporters and may even feel threatened by the technology. Employee fears that automation will displace laboratory workers have so far been unsubstantiated. Robot manufacturers promote the image that automation will free the scientist to perform more innovative tasks [11]. Several pharmaceutical companies have announced that laboratory automation will not displace workers in their organizations [12, 13]; in fact, there are reports that automation actually causes increases in the laboratory staff [14). The author's staff has increased over the years, in spite of the introduction and growth of robotics. As the through-put capabilities of the laboratory …