Valk Welding: 1999

Some ten years ago, the first robot was installed at Assenburg, manufacturer of steel office furniture in Tilburg. At first, the employees were quite sceptical. "What am I going to", many of them thought. In the meantime, they are no longer in doubt. Even better, the employees are happy with more robots in the production process. "My work has become easier and  healthier".

The production hall where assistant chief Leo van Boxtel (43), has been a trade union member for almost 25 years, buzzes with activity. Machines are running, punching, hissing. "Here we make office cabinets from metal plates", Van Boxtel explains. He gives us an enthusiastic tour of the department. He himself has been working at Assenburg since 1972. "I started as production collaborator,  among others spot welding, polishing and mounting filing cabinets. Then, I became machine setter. Now, I direct the production together with the boss. I lead a team of twenty people." "Before, we made half-products", he says. "That meant monotonous work for the employees,  for example all day welding the same parts. With the robot we started to produce more finished products, meaning more variety of work, and more responsibility for the employees."

Van Boxtel recalls the first welding robot ten years ago (in the furniture branch a fairly new technique). "Most employees saw the robot as a threat. They would become redundant . But all these prejudices proved incorrect. No-one was dismissed. Moreover, the robot did their dirty work. The thing can turn, stoop, bend, you name it. The physical burden for the employee is thus reduced. Heavy work is past tense. No-one needs to bend through the knees eighty times to weld tubes under a table. That is the robot's job."

Arno Jansen (28) completely agrees. He is welding supports for tables with the use of robots. "My work has become easier and  healthier". He shows the pick-and-place unit where the robot picks up and places heavy metal frames. "Before, we had to do that by hand. The robot is now doing a lot of the lifting work for us."

And there is more variety in his work. "That is because I operate six different welding robots. Before, that was only one machine. Thanks to the automation, the labour conditions have indeed improved a lot", he concludes satisfied.

Supermarket
At the moment, two of the five Assenburg departments are working with robots. More departments will follow in the next years. "Nowadays, you cannot escape automation as a company", Van Boxtel declares. "When a customer buys our furniture, he wants it as quickly as possible. Or he goes to another company. And he is right."

In the past, Assenburg made two to three hundred office cabinets every week, today more than thousand. "Before, we had to do overtime for every big order. Indeed, the company had to adjust to the customer. But thanks to the robots, the capacity has significantly increased and we can work order-focussed. We start to look more like a supermarket", Van Boxtel laughs.

Although the automation at Assenburg did not result in dismissals, Van Boxtel admits that automation has kept a number of people out. "That is logical", he thinks. "If you make more use of robots, you must be careful when employing more personnel, meaning that we hire more contract parties and temporary workers."

As to the influence of robots on the work process, he says: "All physical actions were brought to nil. The employee on the contrary, has a controlling function. Before, he manually brought a product from A to B, now he checks whether the robot does this. For the personnel this means more independence and more responsibility and hence a greater psychological burden."

Responsibility
Production collaborator Toine Meijs (34) has no problem with that. "Because of the increased responsibility, my work has become a greater challenge", he says. "It works both ways. The company appreciates and trusts my work, or they wouldn't put me on the robot. That thing costs a fortune. But my boss can address my responsibilities." Meijs has been working at Assenburg for fifteen years now. He started via the employment agency and eventually got a steady job. Has the robot changed anything for him? "You never stop learning", he says. "The developments in automation are so fast and  everything I learnt before at school is outdated when it comes to robot technique. Some early retired employees who visit us, hardly recognise the plant."

Meijs followed a one-week programming course to learn to work with the robot. "You use a control panel to set the robot. People sometimes ask if the robot never makes mistakes. Then I tell them that the robot never makes mistakes because he does what I tell him to do. So, I am responsible, except in case of a computer defect or control failure."

Van Boxtel adds: "Before, we took employees by the hand,  and we did every job together with them. That is definitely over. Now, employees monitor the production themselves. And that is a good thing,  involving everyone in the company."

(Source: FNV Magazine 3 June 1999)