Computers and

Productivity

Long Time Ago….• A lot of products are made in mass production

(Assembly Line)• A person is only in charge of only one part making

a product (example only fit the wheels of a car )

Now….

• Mass production are mostly done by automatons (Machines that can work automatically)

WHY IS THIS SO?

Let us do a short comparison…

Round 1!

VSHuman VS Machine

Human• If you want a full body

massage, one masseur can only do one body part at one time

Machine• Just one massage chair

can do most of the body part at the same time

Time for Round 2!

WIN

Human 0 – 1 Machine

LOSE

Humans requires a large workforce to do the same work

as machines

Human• Human gets tired

and bored doing the same work

Machine• Machines will never be tired or

bored doing the same thing again and again and again…….

Winner is Machine!

WINNOT

AGAIN!!!Humans finds Repetitive Work,

BORING and needs REST

Human 0 – 2 Machine

Can you think of any other advantages that automatons/machines

have over humans?

AUTOMATION

• Some machines needs humans to control and monitor them, Ex: the drilling machine

• Some machines have processor to control and monitor them, Ex: This is an automatic drilling machine.

• This is called AUTOMATION!

Processor• A PROCESSOR

• Is the “brain” of a computer/machine

• Part of the computer that follows instructions and carries out actions

Benefits of RobotsI’m more accurate

and consistent

in the quality of my

work

I’m faster, and more productive than humans

I can work in

conditions that are

harmful to humans

It is cheaper to maintain

me than the salary paid to human workers

Human vs Automation• Lets us take a look at Piano playing

Blue Danube Pianola (Automation) Click to view

Blue Danube Duet (Human) Click to view

• A pianist playing for an hour may make 1 or 2 mistakes

• A computerised piano can play for many hours without a single mistakeWhich is superior to

you?

Publishing and Print Industry

• Lets look at how computers are used in the publishing and printing industry

Publishing and Print Industry

Publishing and Print Industry

Benefits of Using Computers in Publishing

Process Using computers Using your handsGraphics Digitalised graphics can

be changed easilyPaper graphics not easily changed

Documents The spelling-and-grammar checker reduces mistakes in manuscripts

You might not notice some mistakes when writing

Layout Desktop publisher can easily do the layout

You have to draw your own margins and layout

Printing Computerised printing machines can adjust colour and positions for high quality printouts

Whatever you write or do on paper is what you will get

Postal Mail Sorting

• Benefits of Using Computers in Postal Mail Sorting• Less manpower used• Shortens the time to process mail• Mails get delivered earlier

• Human workers sorting manually will• Requires a lot of manpower• Time consuming• More mistakes made

Computers at the Airport

• Airports are important travel hubs• As more people travel in airplanes, computers are

slowly roped in to perform some repetitive tasks• With time, computers are also tasked with more

sophisticated tasks.

Computers at the Airport

Travel/flight Information• Large airports

uses computers to automatically and accurately update flight details when necessary

Computers at the Airport

Customer Database (Advantages)• Customer details are

now all stored on computers

• Airport staff now saves time when retrieving/updating customer information

• Computers also help staff to data mine customers spending pattern

Computers at the Airport

Customer Database (Disadvantages)• BUT! The set-up cost

of the equipment and software is very expensive

• If database is down, you cannot access it. This is a high cost of failure

Computers at the Airport

Airport Security• Computers

enforces airport security

• They are used to identify suspicious travellers

Optical Fingerprint

Scanner

Face Recognition

Camera

X Ray Luggage Scanner

Computers at the Airport

DOES THIS MEAN THAT COMPUTER

S ARE ALWAYS BETTER THAN

HUMANS????

Humans are better than computers at…

Creative WorkPeople can do things that are different and

new

Adaptation/LearningPeople will continue to learn

new things as they grow. Computers only can do what

they are programmed to

Humans are better than computers at…

Dealing with UncertaintyPeople can react to different situations differently

Humans are better than computers at…

Pattern Recognition Although people has different speaking accents,

humans can still understand what others say

Click Here to view video clip

Now, did you get all that?

Lets Find Out..Take the Quiz!