NBER Working Paper: Automation in O-Ring Production Systems with Quality-Complementary Tasks
By
jandrewrogers
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
This NBER working paper examines automation in production systems where tasks are quality complements rather than separable, using an O-ring technology framework. The research explores how workers allocate fixed time across tasks when machines can replace certain tasks with given quality, and how time is then reallocated across remaining manual tasks. The paper presents an economic model of automation in complementary task environments.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledWe study automation when tasks are quality complements rather than separable.
Production requires numerous tasks whose qualities multiply as in an O-ring technology.
A worker allocates a fixed endowment of time across the tasks performed; machines can replace tasks with given quality, and time is allocated across the remaining manual tasks.
Working Paper 34639
DOI 10.3386/w34639
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