Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, is known for its futuristic skyscrapers, luxury shopping malls, and artificial islands. But behind the glitz and glamour, Dubai is also a hub of innovation and technology, especially in the field of automation. Automation is the use of machines, software, or systems to perform tasks that normally require human input or intelligence. Automation can increase efficiency, productivity, quality, and safety, while reducing costs, errors, and waste.
In this article, we will explore how Dubai’s automation revolution offers lessons for Kenya’s businesses, especially in the sectors of manufacturing, logistics, and food processing. We will also look at some of the challenges and opportunities that automation presents for both countries.
Dubai Industrial City: A model of micro-factories and high automation
Dubai Industrial City (DIC) is a 560-square-kilometer industrial zone that hosts over 2,000 companies from various sectors, such as food and beverage, chemicals, construction materials, machinery and equipment, and logistics. DIC provides its tenants with world-class infrastructure, utilities, services, and incentives, as well as access to regional and global markets.
One of the key features of DIC is the concept of micro-factories, which are small-to-medium in scale and highly technologically advanced compared to the traditional factories. They consume less power and human resources due to newer technologies with higher efficiency, hence requiring little to no human input.
An example of a micro-factory is Nutridor, a giant food and beverage processor that produces dairy products, such as milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt. Nutridor operates on a relatively tiny factory floor measuring just about 9,290.3 square meters (10,000 square feet), where a compact set of machines are humming away producing 60,000 liters of products per day and supervised by only 15 workers per shift.
“Our operations are highly automated, which presents us with good economy of scale. The size of our factory relative to what we produce is impressive, thanks to high automation,” Nutridor Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sankha Biswas told Business Daily in an interview at the company factory in Dubai. “We produce $1,500 (Sh 227,750.78) value of goods per square foot (0.092903 square meters) due to automation.”
According to Saub Abu Alshawareb, executive vice president of DIC, automation has become big, and most investors are spared the costs of setting up large factories with many employees. “I recently received an application from an investor who wanted to set up a factory operation and after I reviewed their plan, I told them they did not need all that land they had secured because of automation and advised them to lease out part of it,” he said in an interview.
Jebel Ali Port: A showcase of semi-automation and digitalization
Away from the DIC, the power of automation in instilling business efficiency also plays out at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, which is located 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai. The deep seaport is the largest in the Middle East and the ninth busiest in the world, handling over 15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo per year.
The port’s container Terminal 3, commonly referred to as CT3, is semi-automated and offers users a remarkable technological experience. Most of the operations at the port, including customs inspections and loading and offloading of cargo containers on trucks are done through automated systems.
The port runs on an automated digital system known as the ZODIAC, which consists of 18 internal integrated systems, including an automated cranes system, and berth planning. It also manages the rail system within the expansive port, provides full fleet management, and controls the container freight station and inland container depot. Furthermore, the ZODIAC system provides real-time container location tracking, clearance, and delivery with billing systems, all buttressed by the Internet of Things system.
The port also boasts of a state-of-the-art security system that uses facial recognition, biometrics, and smart gates to ensure safety and security of the port and its users. The port also has a dedicated customs center that uses artificial intelligence, big data, and risk management to facilitate trade and combat smuggling and fraud.
The port’s automation and digitalization have resulted in improved efficiency, speed, accuracy, and transparency, as well as reduced costs, emissions, and accidents. The port has also enhanced its competitiveness and attractiveness to global traders and investors.
Lessons for Kenya’s businesses
Kenya, as a developing country and a regional economic powerhouse, can learn a lot from Dubai’s automation revolution. Kenya has a vibrant and diverse private sector, with sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and ICT contributing significantly to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employment.
However, Kenya also faces many challenges that hinder its economic growth and development, such as poor infrastructure, high energy costs, low productivity, skills gap, corruption, and insecurity. Automation can help Kenya overcome some of these challenges and unlock its full potential.
Some of the benefits that automation can offer to Kenya’s businesses include:
- Increased efficiency and productivity: Automation can help businesses perform tasks faster, better, and cheaper, while reducing errors, waste, and downtime. Automation can also enable businesses to scale up their operations and meet the growing demand for their products and services.
- Reduced costs and improved profitability: Automation can help businesses save on labor, energy, and material costs, as well as maintenance and repair costs. Automation can also help businesses optimize their resources and processes, and increase their profit margins and returns on investment.
- Enhanced quality and customer satisfaction: Automation can help businesses improve the quality and consistency of their products and services, and meet the standards and expectations of their customers and regulators. Automation can also help businesses deliver their products and services faster and more conveniently, and increase their customer loyalty and retention.
- Improved safety and security: Automation can help businesses reduce the risks of accidents, injuries, and illnesses among their workers and customers, and comply with the health and safety regulations. Automation can also help businesses protect their assets and information from theft, damage, and cyberattacks, and enhance their reputation and credibility.
Challenges and opportunities of automation
While automation offers many benefits to Kenya’s businesses, it also poses some challenges and risks that need to be addressed and mitigated. Some of the challenges and risks of automation include:
- Job displacement and unemployment: Automation can replace human workers in some tasks and sectors, especially those that are routine, repetitive, and low-skilled. This can lead to job losses, unemployment, and social unrest, especially among the youth and the poor. Automation can also create new jobs and skills, especially those that are creative, complex, and high-skilled. However, this requires a shift in the education and training system, and a continuous investment in human capital development.
- Digital divide and inequality: Automation can widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, both within and across countries. Automation can create a digital divide between those who have access to and can afford the technologies and those who do not. Automation can also create inequality between those who can benefit from and adapt to the technologies and those who cannot. This can exacerbate the existing disparities and tensions in the society, and undermine the social cohesion and stability.
- Ethical and legal issues: Automation can raise ethical and legal questions and dilemmas, such as who is responsible and accountable for the actions and outcomes of the machines and systems, and how to protect the rights and interests of the humans and the environment. Automation can also challenge the existing norms and values, and create conflicts and controversies, especially in areas such as privacy, security, and morality.
Therefore, Kenya needs to adopt a proactive and holistic approach to automation, and balance the opportunities and challenges that it presents. Kenya needs to develop and implement a national strategy and policy framework for automation, and engage all the relevant stakeholders, such as the government, the private sector, the civil society, the academia, and the public, in the process. Kenya also needs to collaborate and cooperate with other countries and organizations, such as Dubai and the UAE, to learn from their experiences and best practices, and to leverage their resources and networks.
