Will Sampson talks about how we can’t seem to decide if new technology is our friend or our foe. His guest is lean expert Brad Cairns talking about a crazy challenge pitting manual spray finishing techniques against a fully automated spray finishing line. Who do you think will win?
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by FDMC magazine. FDMC magazine is your vital source of information to improve your woodworking business. Whether it is keeping you apprised of the latest advances in manufacturing, helping you solve your wood technology problems with Gene Wengert, or inspiring you with case histories about successful businesses and best practices, FDMC magazine is there to be the sharpest business tool in your shop. Learn more and subscribe for free at woodworkingnetwork.com/fdmc.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
You can find all of our podcasts at WoodworkingNetwork.com/podcasts and in popular podcast channels. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks again to today’s sponsor, FDMC. If you have a comment or topic you’d like us to explore, contact me at will.sampson@woodworkingnetwork.com. And we would really appreciate it if you fill out the survey at woodworking network.com/podcast-survey. Thanks for listening.
Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Intro:
Welcome to this episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by FDMC magazine. My guest is Brad Cairns from Quantum Lean and Stolbek Machinery, talking about a competition we’re calling the Ultimate Finishing Challenge. But first I want to talk about:
Friend or foe in tech
The recent explosion in interest in artificial intelligence has spawned a global argument that often devolves into a friend-or-foe debate. This is, of course, nothing new. Every advance in technology, probably going back to the Stone Age, has prompted furious wrangling about whether it advances civilization or represents the end of the world as we know it.
Sometimes we just need to stop and take a breath.
Take me: I’m a walking anachronism. I embrace and occasionally teach primitive skills such as traditional archery, blacksmithing, and hand-tool woodworking. But I also have a CNC router in my woodworking shop and love what it can do. As a writer, I started out professionally using a manual typewriter, and I still own one, but I’ve written way more words on a computer keyboard, including this essay.
My friends all know I regularly invoke the image of the Terminator’s Skynet of machines taking over the world whenever something goes wrong with technology or there appears to be some kind of overreach coming. But are machines and computers really the enemy?
I think the key has to be in how we see and use technology. Is it a tool or a crutch? We recently had a headline for a story that just wasn’t working. I was at a loss for the moment to think of a better headline. We put the story and a prompt into an AI chatbot that immediately came up with all sorts of suggestions. I thought they were all flawed, but the process helped unlock my brain to think of a better solution.
Early in my journalistic career, I worked in mostly open format newspaper newsrooms. No cubicles. No walls. Just a big room with a bunch of people typing and talking. If you had a question or got hung up on something you were writing, there were always several people within earshot who could offer suggestions. You rarely took a suggestion verbatim, but it often unlocked new ideas. The new AI chatbots can be used that way.
In the shop, automated equipment can speed flow in production, improve quality, and even open up new opportunities for additional business. But it still takes smart thinking — human thinking — to integrate all of that effectively. Frequently, adding technology might solve one problem but create new ones. Embracing that reality and figuring out how to make the most of it is predominantly a human-centered task. It touches on factory layouts, material handling, order of operations, human resources, and sifting through a thousand variables at once to come up with a workable plan, put it to work, then re-evaluate and improve it.
I’m not really worried about the machines taking over the world, but I am worried about people who blindly embrace technology as a substitute for human intelligence. If there is a contest between John Henry and the steam hammer, I’m still going to root for John Henry, but the management side of my brain will be thinking about how I can best use the skills of both the man and the machine to do what neither of them could do by themselves.
Before we get to our interview with Brad Cairns, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor.
FDMC magazine is your vital source of information to improve your woodworking business. Whether it is keeping you apprised of the latest advances in manufacturing, helping you solve your wood technology problems with Gene Wengert, or inspiring you with case histories about successful businesses and best practices, FDMC magazine is there to be the sharpest business tool in your shop. Learn more and subscribe for free at woodworkingnetwork.com/fdmc.
Now, let’s talk with Brad Cairns.