In the mechanization process of U.S. factories, helping factories to produce in the new automated environment is a goal that many companies are pursuing, and Paul Baldassari, Executive Vice President of Global Operations at Flextronics, has extensive experience in this field. At Flextronics, an “original design and manufacture” company focused on equipment and systems for the aerospace, consumer electronics, residential, energy, industrial and communications industries, Baldassari is responsible for hundreds of plants in 30 countries, more than 160,000 employees, and the design and manufacture of numerous products for hundreds of customers.

Paul Baldassari, Executive Vice President, Global Operations, Flextronics

With Flextronics’ high market and industry presence, Paul Baldassari has been exposed to thousands of digital application cases, and the lessons from these cases converge – the combination of employees and intelligent machines can improve productivity and safety, reduce costs, and enhance the customization of customers’ products. Baldassari calls this approach to combining workers and intelligent machines “Autonomation,” and he offers some advice for manufacturing decision makers on how to deploy it.

The essence of autonomy is to let machines support human work. Baldassari said that not 100% of Flextronics’ production lines are automated, and sometimes autonomy is used to support certain lines, allowing employees to focus on where they can do the most value. Flextronics gradually automates production lines by introducing automation into parts of the work that still requires manual operation. Initially, Flextronics automates specific workplaces and gradually reduces the number of people required on the production line over time, eventually creating a fully automated production line. In this autonomous model, technicians and engineers are only responsible for calibration and modulation. For example, because cables are flexible, Flextronics typically does not automate operations involving cable assembly, but instead automates the work before and after cable assembly, such as testing whether they are connected. This means that in addition to the above work, the actual

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connection of the cable still requires manual operation.

Flextronics also makes great use of “Cobots,” or robots that work alongside people, also known as “collaborative robots.” With high flexibility, such robots can collaborate with people in the same workspace and take over a large number of repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on those tasks that are best performed by humans and those that require the most flexibility.

Baldassari suggests three factors to consider for manufacturing decision makers planning to combine automation with labor:

Pay attention to manual operation. Businesses need the innovation and energy of their employees to constantly improve, so not everything needs to be fully automated. Without employee creativity, factories become rigid and inflexible. Companies can improve safety by using automation equipment for repetitive, heavy or dangerous tasks, while keeping some employees on the shop floor where flexibility and innovation are needed to continuously improve efficiency and provide better support to customers.
Plan ahead. In the early phase of digitization, Flextronics will invest more time in advance planning. Because machine and production line layouts are difficult to adjust once set, Baldassari recommends using 10% of resources for digital simulation before going into production. Whether in the growth phase of the business or in the future, taking the time to plan and simulate in advance will greatly help.
Keep faith. A key point in advancing digital transformation is to maintain a balanced perspective. From an economic point of view, there are a lot of headwinds and pessimism in the market today, so we need to take a more relaxed view of things. Baldassari said that even in this so-called “recessionary period,” the market is actually growing at 2 percent and the chances of reaching 15 percent inflation are slim. Maintaining balance is important for the future, as it enables more stability in the supply chain and helps companies improve efficiency in the manufacturing process.