[K-Industry: Future Architects] "Transplanting Skilled Workers' Tacit Knowledge into Robots... Perfected Through Communication with the Field"

(15) Jaechang Lee, Master at Samsung Heavy Industries RX Center

Expert with 38 years at the company since 1987
World’s First Portable Multi-layer Welding Robot for Offshore Plants
Selected as 2026 Samsung Master

Editor's Note
The landscape of Korea's industrial sector is changing rapidly. There are next-generation technology researchers and engineers who quietly design the future even amidst the turbulence of the global market. They are the lifeblood of the Korean economy and the true protagonists who will sustain the future of Korea. The Asia Business Daily presents an interview series, "K-Industry: Future Designers," which sheds light on their innovative world of technology and their vision for the future. The fifteenth protagonist is Jaechang Lee, a master at the Samsung Heavy Industries RX Center, who developed the world's first portable multi-layer welding robot system for offshore plants.

"The mere presence of automated equipment does not guarantee higher productivity. Efficiency peaks when humans and robots work together, each doing what they do best."

On the 24th, at the Samsung Heavy Industries Geoje Shipyard, Jaechang Lee, master at the RX Center, discussed how he has automated production sites so that robots can handle the difficult and hazardous work previously performed by skilled workers. He remarked, "Automation perfected through communication with the site becomes even more advanced."

Lee Jaechang, master at Samsung Heavy Industries RX Center, is posing in front of the welding automation line on the 24th. Samsung Heavy Industries

Lee, who joined Samsung Heavy Industries in 1987, has worked for 38 years in the fields of industrial machinery, equipment, robotics, and production automation. He developed the world's first portable multi-layer welding robot system for offshore plants, enabling robots to perform complex welding tasks once reserved only for humans. He also created the first domestic large assembly welding robot system, capable of working inside enclosed ship block interiors where robot deployment had previously been considered impossible.

Recognized for these achievements, he was selected as a '2026 Samsung Master.' Since 2019, Samsung has operated the Masters system to foster the company's top technical experts.

Offshore structures use thick steel plates and members. To ensure sufficient strength, high-level welding, where weld seams are stacked in multiple layers, is required. Because the shapes of plates and reinforcing materials differ for each block, and customer quality standards are stringent, this is regarded as a field where automation is particularly challenging.

Lee developed the world's first multi-layer welding automation system, enabling the robot itself to determine the optimal welding method by assessing the thickness and groove angle of the welding target. He explained, "The weld bead formed during each welding is never the same in shape and often appears curved. As such, it was difficult for the robot to recognize the weld line for each pass and continuously perform successive multi-layer welds."

He continued, "To solve this, the system digitizes various bead shapes and welded structures, enabling multi-layer welding automation. By utilizing a collaborative robot, the system has been optimized for movement in tight spaces and is capable of welding diverse structures, making it deployable anywhere in the workplace."

Converting Sensibility to Data: Overcoming the Limits of Shipbuilding Automation

The large assembly welding robot system, which Lee developed domestically for the first time, is significant in that it brought automation into areas where bringing in or removing robots had been impossible. In the shipbuilding and offshore industry, massive structures at least 21 meters in length are welded while fixed in place. Especially in the case of the sealed blocks, with the front encased, robot deployment was previously not feasible—but this system overcame those barriers.

Lee also developed technologies to secure the accuracy and quality of robot welding. These include creating robot work paths based on design information and using non-contact sensors to measure welding positions. He also built a monitoring system that manages the welding database and checks the operational status.

To further advance such automation systems, it is crucial to convert the skills of proficient workers into data and to reflect on-the-ground feedback. However, quantifying the tacit knowledge that skilled workers cannot readily put into words was no easy feat.

Lee explained, "Most of the know-how of skilled operators amounted to 'tacit knowledge' that could not be verbalized. When interviewed, many would simply answer, 'My hands just move that way.' Therefore, to digitize such sensibility, the first step was to design methods to quantitatively measure skilled work."

He further stated, "I identified influential factors in skilled workers’ actions, set these as variables, and measured them using sensors, then extracted recurring patterns in the data. Since transferring a worker’s sensibility 100% as-is is virtually impossible, it was critical to adjust the data so that robots could reproduce the quality of the outcome resulting from that sensibility."

The participation of frontline workers also played a crucial role in increasing the completeness of the automation system. Initially, there was a lack of trust in automated equipment, and significant concern that robots might replace their jobs.

Lee noted, "At the start, frontline workers felt highly resistant to automation; there was no trust in the new machinery, and there were fears for their job security."

Jaechang Lee, Master at Samsung Heavy Industries RX Center, said in an interview with The Asia Business Daily at the Geoje Shipyard in Gyeongnam on the 24th, "The difficult and repetitive sections are handled by automated systems, and skilled personnel operate and manage the systems so they can focus on processes that require more complex decision-making." Samsung Heavy Industries

He emphasized, "From the initial development stages, I went on-site to continuously listen to workers' difficulties and discussed solutions together. I worked hard to ensure they felt involved in the system development process."

He added, "By fostering a sense of joint development, we reduced the initial resistance, and as automation equipment transformed difficult, laborious, and dangerous work into easier, more comfortable, and safer tasks, workers' pride grew. Through numerous projects, I have learned that no matter how high the system’s completeness, if developers do not strive to understand the language of the field, adoption will be difficult."

When designing automation systems, Lee distinguishes between "work only humans can perform" and "tasks at which machines excel." Rather than focusing on robots replacing humans, he divides roles so that both can utilize their respective strengths.

He remarked, "With fewer new recruits joining, it is not realistic to allocate skilled personnel to every process. Difficult and repetitive sections are managed by automated systems, while skilled personnel operate and manage these systems, concentrating on processes requiring more complex decision-making."

The response at the site has been positive. Lee asserted, "I am often told that once the systems I designed were applied on the ground, it became possible to maintain quality and productivity with fewer people. Rather than simply replacing humans, the designer’s role in automation is to allow limited staff to be redeployed to higher-value tasks."

Recently, Lee has taken on the challenge of automating the painting process. Painting remains among the least automated processes in shipyards due to the complicated workflows and the dust-heavy environment, which hindered adoption of automated equipment.

Lee stated, "My greatest ambition is to establish a foundation where my colleagues can work more safely and with less hardship."

As advice for juniors, he urged them not to fear new challenges. He said, "Even more important than the ability to operate robots is the ability to understand, in workplace terms, why the robot must move as it does." He added, "Developers are privileged with the opportunity to try things no one else has done. I hope you make good use of this privilege and grow into real engineers who create systems tailored to the needs of the field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.