#23 - Craftsmanship & Modern Manufacturing
In my stint in aerospace, the way manufacturing issues were dealt with usually annoyed me. If the issue was major enough, a committee would scrutinize it with a “root cause and corrective action”. Whether it was a mis-drilled hole or something bigger, the outcome was pretty much the same. There would be calls to: add more quality assurance inspections in the manufacturing process, or design some fixturing to make the process mindlessly repeatable, or redesign the part to make it easier to build. Not often was the outcome just that a technician screwed the pooch and needed to do better next time. (Is it possible that I’m only remembering the instances that meant more work for the engineering team? Maybe, but I can’t let trifling facts get in the way of my point.)
Rather than developing and encouraging mastery, the focus is on idiot-proofing. This is just a small example of what seems like a trend away from any sense of craftsmanship and towards automation and processes: a transition from shipwrights to assembly lines. Before I get any further, know that I’m not advocating a Luddite rejection of technology. As I’ve written before, my point is more that progress is not as simple and linear as it’s made out to be. Automation has opened up some incredible possibilities. I’ve personally benefited from CNCs and 3D printers; I just want to think about what, if anything, we might be giving up along the way.
The first thing we give up is being able to use the coveted “artisanal, handmade” label, though I imagine that’s more useful for selling bread than airplanes.
A second, more interesting concession we make is in the materials that can be used. If your manufacturing process relies heavily on automated inspections or relatively unskilled labor, you’re probably going to build with uncomplicated, uniform materials like metal or plastic. A material like wood demands a practiced hand to deal with its complexities: knots, grain that sweeps and curves, varying properties of sapwood / hardwood / pith, seasoning, etc. It’s interesting to speculate about the decline of wood usage in “serious” engineering applications. Is it solely because wood is considered unsuitable? Or has the difficulty of manufacturing with wood in a process-oriented system played a part?
A third concession we make might be in giving up an entire form of knowledge. I’m sure someone has formalized this with fancy terms -- but to me, in addition to the usual “head knowledge”, there’s also “hand knowledge”. I don’t know how to better describe it, but I’ve met a few machinists and technicians steeped in it. They haven’t had any formal instruction in engineering, but I’ve learned more from them than I have from my textbooks. And when manufacturing is controlled by processes, we don’t allow for new craftsmen to develop. It’s no different to the development of skills in engineers in large, bureaucratic companies compared to small, “startup”y companies. By making processes idiot-proof, we also make them genius-proof.
Well, you might ask, is it so bad to put “head knowledge” above “hand knowledge” and let the latter die out? I think so. Again, this is an idea I’ve touched on before. The more similarly we all think, the less options we have with which to solve problems, and the more boring our world becomes. Of course, craftsmanship will never completely die out but relegating it to small niches makes the number of skilled craftsman depressingly small.
A final thought I had was on enjoyment. Personally, I’ve least enjoyed the parts of my job where it felt like what I was doing could be automated. When manufacturing becomes too process-oriented, the role of a technician becomes so diminished that it’s hard to take any pride in the work at all. When we define a manufacturing process, we define careers too. Maybe our goal should be polarization. On the one hand, have full automation to handle mass-monotony and precision; and on the other hand, go hand-built to experiment, work with natural materials, and sustain - or even develop - an essential body of knowledge.
Corrections? Questions? Comments? I’d love to have your input.
If you want to get a hold of me individually, email me at surjan@substack.com or find me on LinkedIn.
great article ! really liked your writing .
Very on point. It is certainly a difficult balance to achieve. When a business strives for efficiency, automation seems the obvious choice. But low rate production relies heavily on craftsmanship, and while it feels counterintuitive, it might be more efficient to focus on increasing the know how. Good post Surjan!