Miller Magazine Issue: 142 October 2021

59 COVER STORY MILLER / OCTOber 2021 automation, means the application of reason to the solution of problems or to the search for knowledge. In a production sys- tem, it means that the entire process from the raw material to the final product is carefully analyzed so that every operation can be designed to contribute in the most efficient way to the achievement of clearly enunciated goals of the enterprise. Rationalistic philosophy is nothing new, having become an important force in the world with the Renaissance. However, the scientific, rationalist philosophy takes on numerous new im- plications when it can be implemented by modern electronic machinery. The rise of electronic computers has led to a fas- cination with the possibility that super rationalism in the busi- ness and scientific spheres might spill over and transform soci- ety into an exact mechanism in which all elements of chance, risk, capriciousness and free will, as well as all spiritual values, would be eliminated. Although this kind of speculation is highly dubious nevertheless it is one logical extension of this fourth principle of automation. Following these four principles — mechanization, feedback, continuous process and rationalization - automation can be given a definition precise enough to be useful for flour milling industries. It can be said to be any continuous and integrated operation of a rationalized production system that uses elec- tronic or other equipment to regulate and coordinate the quali- ty and quantity of production. For the purpose of determining the extent to which automa- tion can be applied to productive processes, industries can be divided into three groups. The first includes those industries in which production can be produced into a continuous flow process. Flour milling and chemical production are illustrations of industries in which automation has made, and should contin- ue to make, significant progress. In other industries, it is possi- ble to revamp the productive mechanism in such a way as to convert it from a series of unit operations into a single endless process. While some industries utilize processes, which are not conducive to automation, new methods of production may be conceived which are more acceptable. A second class includes industries in which some auto- mation is possible, but full or nearly complete automation is not likely. Indeed, some industries may have automatic machines applied to 75 percent of their operations, yet the cost of making the plant completely automatic would more than offset the savings achieved from the use of partial ap- plication of automatic machines. In this category would be found industries which require substantial information - han- dling and accounting functions but in which the method of production or the nature of the product is not adaptable to continuous flow techniques. Such industries would include transportation, large - scale retailing, and the manufacture of certain non-standardized consumer products like furniture. The third group into which all industries may be classified