Rio Tinto: A Report on the Effects of Automation on the Workplace

This report examines the impact of automation on the work culture at Rio Tinto, highlighting both positive and negative effects. The increasing use of AI, digitalization, and automation has reduced the need for manpower, leading to decreased human errors and resource wastage, while boosting operational efficiency and productivity. Key applications and devices used at Rio Tinto include communication networks, mailing and messenger applications, the internet, Wi-Fi, and various software applications, all connected to a cloud computation device for data protection and storage. Automation advantages include lower operating costs, improved productivity, and increased work safety, while weaknesses include higher capital expenditure and potential worker displacement. Recommendations for further automation at Rio Tinto include automating customer support services, recruitment and selection processes, and implementing robust cloud technologies for data privacy. Desklib provides this report and many other resources for students.

REPORT ON THE
EFFECTS OF
AUTOMATION ON YOUR
WORK

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Effects of automation on work....................................................................................................1
Main applications and the devices used in Rio Tinto group........................................................1
Advantages of automation...........................................................................................................1
Weaknesses due to automation of work......................................................................................2
Recommendations for the automation in the Rio Tinto organization..........................................2
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................3

MAIN BODY
Effects of automation on work
There is a severe impact of the automation of the various work processes through the
advancement in the technology, upgraded machinery and the highly equipped devices. This has
posed the positive as well as the negative impact on the work culture of the Rio Tinto group in
which I am working and those are employed by the business. The innovation of the artificial
intelligence, digitalization and the automation of the processes have lessened the involvement of
the manpower leading to the reduced human errors and the wastages of the resources,
maximizing the operational efficiency and the productivity of the company (Im and et.al., 2019).
The major shortfall is because this is somewhere decreasing the rate of employment and leaving
more people idle and jobless.
Main applications and the devices used in Rio Tinto group
In today's era the daily operations at the Rio Tinto are being facilitated with the use of
some main applications and the devices for the transmissions and storage purposes. The most
significant are the communication networks that have been established using the mailing
applications, messenger application for communicating in the organization. Apart from that
world wide web for the searching activities, Wi-Fi for the network and the various software
applications in the systems within the organization (Jeong and et.al., 2018). Apart from these the
various devices like the computer systems, telephones, printers, scanners etc. are used which are
centrally connected to the cloud computation device that shall be protecting and storing the data.
Advantages of automation Lower operating cost- Through the automation of the various processes and the advanced
machinery the productivity shall be boosted for the company which will be helpful in the
attainment of the economies of scale thereby decreasing the cost per unit of the business. Improved productivity- The involvement of the human resources shall be increasing the
chances of the errors, fatigue time and the less training can lead to the wastages of the
resources. With the advancement in the technology and the machines and robots working
these probability are less leading to the improved productivity (10 uses of technology in
21st century jobs, 2021).
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 Increased work safety- In the organization there are some tasks that are highly risky for
the health and safety of humans and if they are automated then the work safety will be
increased significantly.
Weaknesses due to automation of work Higher capital expenditure- The innovation of the existing techniques shall be requiring
the high level of capital expenditure and in case of relatively less financial resources the
advancement and modifications are not possible. Also these require higher level of
maintenance.
 Displacement of the workers- The resistance to the change is the often reaction of most
of the employees and in this case they displace from the workplace (Hansen, Bugge and
Skibrek, 2020). Also if the human roles are now played by machines and the employment
opportunities shall be decreasing.
Recommendations for the automation in the Rio Tinto organization
Some major recommendations that are very necessary for my workplace and must be
incorporated are:-
 The customer support services, seeking feedbacks, instant responses, query solving etc.
should be automated in the company.
 The other major requirement is recruitment and selection process needs to be automated
as this is most significant process of the company and the future prosperity depends on it.
 Data privacy of the customers is the major issue and proper cloud technologies must be
installed to ensure the same.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hansen, B. G., Bugge, C. T. and Skibrek, P. K., 2020. Automatic milking systems and farmer
wellbeing–exploring the effects of automation and digitalization in dairy farming. Journal
of Rural Studies. 80. pp.469-480.
Jeong, H. and et.al., 2018, September. Effects of automation type on human performance in
proofreading tasks. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual
Meeting (Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 1140-1140). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Im, Z. J. and et.al., 2019. The “losers of automation”: A reservoir of votes for the radical
right?. Research & Politics. 6(1). p.2053168018822395.
Online
10 uses of technology in 21st century jobs. 2021. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/jobs-and-careers/story/10-uses-of-
technology-in-21st-century-jobs-1358394-2018-10-08>
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