Quarry Southern Africa March 2017 | Page 42

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In compiling the report , McKinsey analysed the impact of automation across 54 countries covering 78 % of the global labour market to assess time spent on activities that could potentially be automated through the use of current technology .

The report aimed to investigate the potential of automation technologies when it comes to the future of work . The results are enlightening . First off , the results suggest that rather than focusing on the automation of occupations , there is — or should be — a focus on the automation of activities . McKinsey ’ s research suggests that as much as 45 % of activities that people are paid to perform can be automated by adapting currently available technologies .

While very few occupations will be entirely automated in the medium term , there are a number of activities across all levels of occupation , from low-skill , low-wage roles to high-paid executive level jobs , that are likely to be automated , which would require entire processes and jobs to be transformed and redefined .

Globally , approximately 1.2 billion employees and USD14.6-trillion in wages were identified as involving technically automatable activities . Three

categories of work activities were identified as having significantly higher technical automation potential than the rest : collecting data , processing data , and predictable physical activities , that is , the performance of physical activities and the operating of machinery in predictable environments .

While all three categories relate to areas of the mining and construction sectors , it is this last category that is most likely to be affected . In fact , a number of automation solutions are already in use at various quarries across the globe , including autonomous and semi-autonomous mining trucks , as well as drones , which are used in quarry management for everything from planning to operations and stockpile measurement .

The countries examined were divided into three groups depending on their demographic and growth aspirations : advanced economies , emerging economies with ageing populations , and emerging economies with younger populations . South Africa falls into the third group . While the report points out that the continued growth of the working-age population in this group of countries could support maintaining current GDP per capita , high growth aspirations make automation and additional productivity-raising measures a necessity if countries in this group wish to sustain their economic development . Data referenced in the report indicates that South Africa is estimated to have an automation potential of 41 % overall , including 50 % in the construction industry and 43 % in the mining industry .

INSIGHT

According to McKinsey , as automation drives down the cost of manufacturing globally , low-cost labour may become less essential as a developmental tool for emerging economies : “ The advances in automation and their potential impact on national economies could upend some prevailing models of development and challenge ideas about globalisation … countries with high birth rates and a significant growth in the working-age population may have to worry more about generating new jobs in a new age of automation .” n

McKinsey Global Institute

This report from McKinsey Global Institute analyses how a wide range of technologies could potentially automate work activities for which people are currently paid in the global workforce , and the potential impact on global productivity .

40 _ QUARRY SA | March 2017