Audience Opinion Piece

The future teeming with autonomous robots taking over the simplest tasks on the shop floor isn’t knocking on our doors yet. And frankly, that's not where our focus should be. As a CEO immersed in the trenches of innovation, my take is this: Our biggest bet isn't on machines; it's on people. It's about arming our teams with the tech and insights they need to work smarter, not harder. And there’s a gold mine of opportunities here, waiting to be tapped.

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Autonomous Robots? Slow Your Roll

Everywhere you look, there's chatter about autonomous robots and AI taking the wheel. But here's the reality: We're not even close to robots handling even the most mundane tasks without a hiccup.The tech’s cool, but it's not the end-all-be-all. The real magic happens when we pivot our focus back to human potential – the creativity, the insight, and the sheer adaptability that no robot can match.

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Investing in Our Greatest Asset: People

It's simple: Equip your team with the right tools and training, and watch them turn your operations into a power house of efficiency and innovation. Surveys show that employees are more committed to companies who invest in their personal growth. I'm talking about leveraging tech not to replace jobs but to supercharge them. Take Squint, for instance – it's our unique formula for streamlining routine tasks so your people can dial into what they do best: producing, fixing, and innovating. This isn’t about sidelining the workforce. It’s about amplifying their capabilities to do more and be more.

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See Clearly Through The Turnover and Efficiency Maze

Here's a nugget of wisdom from the frontline: High turnover and efficiency issues are two sides of the same coin. And guess what? Empowered automation, like what we're rolling out with Squint,can tackle both. We're not showing people the door; we're opening new doors for them. We're making their jobs more engaging, cutting down the grunt work, and letting them shine. That's how you build a team that's in it for the long haul.

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GenAI: Not Just a Buzzword but a Revolution

Now,let's talk about GenAI. Out-of-the-box GenAI is like a Swiss Army knife with no instructions – lots of cool tools with endless uses. But applied GenAI? That's where the magic happens. Taking a video of an operator completing a task on the floor and using Squint's AI to instantly convert that video into an operator-ready standard operating procedure (SOP) is just the tip of the iceberg. We're on the brink of revolutionizing how we work, learn, and innovate.

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Enhancing Documentation with a Modern Twist

Documentation has taken a leap forward, going beyond just improving efficiency to enable capabilities we once only dreamed of. Through discussions with our clients, a clear picture emerged:valuable team members are often tied up with the necessary yet time-consuming task of documenting work. This activity not only takes away from their enjoyment but also limits their contribution to enhancing the company's operational efficiency.

Thanks to the advancements in empowered automation, there's a shift in how things are done. This innovative approach allows skilled employees to concentrate on making the production floor more efficient, with the peace of mind that their efforts are being automatically captured and made available in an accessible Augmented Reality format. This method provides a dynamic learning tool for both new and seasoned employees, ready whenever they need it. With empowered automation, we're not just simplifying processes; we're empowering teams to focus on what truly matters, fostering a culture of improvement and knowledge sharing.

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Wrapping Up: Value People Above All Else

Here’s the bottom line: The future isn't about choosing between humans and machines. It's about how we can leverage technology to unlock humanity’s full potential. As we steer our companies into uncharted territories, let's not lose sight of our most valuable asset – our people. By investing in them and the right technologies, we're not just solving today's challenges; we're laying the groundwork for a future where innovation and human talent go hand in hand.

So, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. The real transformation starts with us.

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Devin Bhushan is the Founder and CEO of Squint, the leading platform for digitizing a factory's procedures using Augmented Reality (AR) on a mobile device. The Squint team is laser-focused on eliminating friction in training, operations, and maintenance on the shop floor.