When all else fails, becoming a captain of industry and a slave driver may succeed. It did for Andrew Carnegie and others. Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating slave labor — only slave machines, or what I call "mean manufacturing."

Today we have digital control networking that brings machines, robots, sensors, RFID, and other technologies together, making automation more attainable to those who are willing to work at it. The collection of the necessary data is also attainable. Any excuse for not automating disappears for those with the courage, imagination, and entrepreneurial spirit to make it happen.

However, it seems that the more that magazines and conferences are devoted to entrepreneurship, the less it seems to be practiced.

We can control robots on Mars. We can shoot down, on the first try, a wayward, toxic satellite. Why then can't we control a factory in New Jersey when we are in New Jersey? Is anyone for trying new automated manufacturing in Detroit?

The availability of cheap Chinese labor has begun to recede, and not only because of the Olympics. If we factor in poor product quality and toxic toys, outsourced manufacturing starts to lose some of its luster. To this we must add costlier supply chain and logistics conditions; after all, fuel costs are rising everywhere. Manufacturing at home may well become an attractive alternative.

The Japanese are out in front in the automation game. Both at home and abroad, the emphasis is on automation and robotics. Machine-based operations are backed up by highly skilled workers who function as quality insurers. When the Japanese manufacture in China, they often use robots despite the availability of low-cost labor. Educating unskilled workers can be costly while sophisticated machine tools and robots come with their algorithms built-in.

Labor-intensive manufacturing is often manufacturing that has not been examined for automation possibilities. There are good reasons for applying automation to manufacturing, such as:

• Increased process control or elimination of process variation;

• Removal of hazardous activity for workers;