Side effects of automation???

An article in Times of India on 31.08.2011 (Wednesday) on airplane accidents analyzed about how accidents are taking place due to too much dependence on auto piloting and how pilots are loosing their reflexes when they need in most critical situations.
It is our experience that even for simpler calculations, we use calculator or mobile phone instead of doing it mentally. If we want to know about something, we will not search books. Instead, we do google search or yahoo it. Even for meanings we fail to open dictionary. With such lifestyle, how wish to learn. Traditional methods of learning becoming extinct and getting addicted to NET. Less and less memory is being used and we do not play any mind games. The net result is loss of memory. After one or two generations, when creativity and intelligence is lost, I think we come back to square one and start reinventing the wheel.
I am not against automation. Automation should be designed, tested and implemented such that it is fool proof. We should use the technology for our advantage and should not blame it if there are accidents. Accidents occur because we fail to foresee, fail to plan, fail to use it the way it is required. It is easy to blame. But as an individual, as on authority, as on organization, what we are doing.
At home, we admonish our children, spouse, servant for some mistake. But, how many times we ourselves made mistakes. If we do mistakes, we call it experience and if others do it, we are ready to fire.
In the news item, it is mentioned that pilots use automated systems to fly airliners for all but about three minutes of flight i.e during take off and landing; that they have few opportunities to maintain their skills by flying manually as regulators do not allow manual flying.
In the same news item, at the end, it mentions about a fatal airline crash in the US, in 2009 caused after the co-pilot of a regional airliner programmed incorrect information into the plane's computers, causing it to slow to an unsafe speed, thereby triggering a stall warning. The panicked pilot bypassed two safety systems to control the plane unsuccessfully. In this case, even if the copilot fed wrong information, it appears, there are no program logic or supervision to verify about the wrong entry.
To address the complaint of pilots loosing reflexes of manual control due to automation, I feel that, after every fixed number of hours of flying, all pilots should be subjected to simulator training and examination for different types of scenarios and only those who passed with 100% should be put on roster.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Addicted-to-automation-pilots-forgetting-how-to-fly/articleshow/9804378.cms

Use of robots in automated processes - What are the safety implications?

Automation of processes is preferred by most of the organizations as it reduces human interface and improves productivity. In manufacturing / engineering industry, auto sector, etc most of the material handling jobs are automated and robots are engaged for complex jobs. This reduces lifting of weights of human beings, avoids stress / strain caused due to repetitive jobs and thus reduces health care costs.

However, it is important to understand the programming that went into sequencing of operations to be done in automated jobs and its implications particularly when the jobs are partly automated, partly manual. The job may look simple when routine sequence of operations are carried out. However, if any interruptions / change of sequence is there or breakdown occurs or power failure takes place, we need to know its impact on operations. May be we did not thought of restricting the functioning of robots or like it happens in computers when power failure occurs, there may be hanging of the computer programme. Whether such a situation creates any hazard to shopfloor operators in the vicinity is to be assessed.

Or, what are the hazards when maintenance is to be done when these automated systems are in energized condition. Whether safe positioning is incorporated when emergency stop switch is operated is to be known. Else, when someone looks into the problem during a breakdown, any of his repair job may cause the robot arm to move and hit the maintenance engineer.

Before programming the logics, a detailed WHAT IF analysis is to be done by involving concerned including design engineer, operation engineer, instrument engineer, maintenance engineer, safety engineer, etc to assess all possible hazards for all regular operations / breakdown jobs / maintenance, etc.

Still, there may be surprises depending upon the extent of questioning, imagination, thinking is put during hazard evaluation.