When I think about manufacturing and particularly mass production I am usually sitting in an office or conference room discussing details of concept contraptions and machines. Automation is cool, for sure. Truly as we look at the world around us and consider the yield of some of the natural manufacturing things we take for granted, it is even more amazing that machines. By comparison, in many ways our engineering thinking has such a long way to go.
Natural Manufacturing Lessons
Can you imagine an automated manufacturing facility where mass production is done by those who prosper from doing the work (rather than being paid for their work)? Yes, I am thinking about the plants and the bees that do so much work in natural manufacturing - as an example.
Nature has some amazing systems that we can learn from. These are shots come from the garden, but they do not capture the amazement, the wonder and the complexity of the systems that bring them to us. They are beautiful on their own, but as we think about the natural manufacturing processes involved, they become even more amazing.
In this case, the gardener cultivates and plants and fertilizes and weeds and cares for the plants. He provides the water and some added nutrients that the plants need to grow - the raw materials so to speak. Then there is the work of all the others in nature such as the bees who pollinate and do an amazing amount of work - not for pay, but for their own benefit of making their food - and honey for us too. How about worms that help provide usable nutrients in the soil?
Then there is the work of the plant itself which is, of course, necessary to bring the fruit. We don't usually think of plants as workers, but they are.
And there is so much more. It is a grand design that makes it all work, and it is certainly very interdependent. This is a factory that moves at its own pace, but the yield is amazing! (And delicious.) Especially when we think that the main added raw material is manure. Well, and water!
What if we could build our factories to work on similar principles? It would certainly change our perspective on Factory Automation and Manufacturing Machine Design.
Scratching The Surface
We are the customers of nature's "natural manufacturing" (as well as the custodians). We are also observers and scientists to study all that is before us - including nature's manufacturing facilities. What will we do with this knowledge?
How can we extrapolate from the natural manufacturing processes to improve our own factories? In particular, how can we learn to reuse and/or recycle literally everything! (Remember, manure is the waste of some, but the fuel for others.) How do we get to that point?
As I travel the globe I see various differences in the mindset of manufacturing in different societies. Some are more, some are less connected with nature. And yet, we all come from it! Related: Foreign or Domestic Manufacturing.
What Can We Learn?
Nature has a great way of reducing, reusing and recycling everything. The excrement of one is the raw material for the next. What a challenge for us!!
Nature's labor comes with a huge benefit in ways (think bees) that we have not really imitated. And the customers (you, me, bears, birds, etc.) are almost always happy. Oh, isn't that what we want in the end for our workers and customers too?
What do you see that we can learn from nature's system and apply to ours? Write your comments below. Inspiration from another source our society is becoming less connected with. Imitating natural manufacturing (or at least some of the concepts) is an idea worth contemplating.
If you have not considered the "Manufacturing" that nature does, let us know that too. What difference does it make to you now thinking about it?
Thank you for visiting. We hope you have a wonderful day.