A common theme of technological advances is the worker’s fear of being replaced by more efficient machinery. This has been especially true in manufacturing and construction, where practices such as orbital welding and automated notifications eliminate the need for jobs like manual laborers and maintenance staff, respectively. From an administrative and budgetary point of view, however, it only makes sense to streamline operations as much as possible.

Another emerging trend is the need for business to have products manufactured to incredibly precise specifications. In the production of technology equipment, such as microchips or superconductors, there is no room for human imprecision. Almost all the parts produced for the components that make up something as common as a laptop are too small and intricate to even be made without special equipment.

Even the manufacturing facilities where these types of components are assembled are built to meet a myriad of technical specifications. Referred to in the industrial world as cleanrooms, these are environments so strictly controlled that even microbes and dust from the outside world are design to be filtered out to desired levels. Needless to say, the physical materials that build these cleanrooms demand as much precision as the products that are produced inside them – everything from the paneling in the ceiling to the tiles on the floor.

As technology moves forward and sees greater mass production, a level of human involvement will always be necessary, albeit somewhat reduced over time. While companies many no longer need laborers to weld pipes or monitor equipment, they will always need someone to ensure they meet specifications.