Whether you’re hearing news about automation, AI, Industry 4.0, the industrial internet of things, or something similar, you’ve been hearing that automation is booming in the industrial world. But what does that mean, why is industrial automation important, and why should we care? Automation is appearing in a variety of contexts, across a breadth of industries – but it isn’t anything new. Automation has been studied and implemented for decades. It allows for repetitive, delicate, or precise tasks to be undertaken in a safe, predictable manner. Robotics is a multi-billion-dollar industry that forecasts massive growth by the 2030s – and with good reason. The implementation of robotic automation allows for enhanced innovation and economic competitiveness across a continuously expanding range of industries and applications. As automation becomes further commonplace, the importance of understanding its benefits will only increase.
Advancement and Innovation
Including automated components into manufacturing, energy, wastewater management, healthcare, and other key sectors creates an environment rife with potential for advancement. As automation becomes more commonplace, more resources are devoted to improving and expanding the scope of what robotics can accomplish. The results of these improvements vary, from reducing cycle times to reducing waste to improving surgery outcomes.
Furthermore, as automation takes over more traditionally time-consuming or tedious tasks, teams are free to engage in other work, which can represent an advancement in business outcomes. In an example of a painting business, having a cobot (collaborative robot) handle the tiresome work of sanding parts allows workers to engage in other detail work, other client projects, or in developing new business. Workers can also engage in more complex work and have greater capacity to innovate when automation shoulders time-sucking tedium that is commonplace in industry.
Protecting People
Industrial robot cells often tackle repetitive, tedious work that can be damaging to humans over long periods of time. Some types of labour traditionally take place in environments rife with harmful or dangerous chemicals, materials, and fumes. The introduction of automation solutions allows robots, rather than human beings, to withstand the brunt of the harsh environment. Robots are not susceptible to repetitive strain injuries, joint injuries, respiratory illness, or other common workplace hazards. They also don’t have families and loved ones counting on them to come home healthy at the end of the day.
The implementation of industrial automation solutions comes with numerous safety requirements and considerations, to minimize potential harm to employees. Robot cells are fenced and locked to prevent unintentional human contact which could result in injury. Cobots are limited in size and speed to ensure that they are safe for humans to work alongside – and they come equipped with sensors that cause them to stop when a person gets too close. Though robotics can look intimidating and complex to the uninitiated, people’s safety is a primary consideration when implementing any automated solution.
Economic Impact
Industrial automation is great for business in a multitude of ways. Though for some businesses the introduction of automation can reduce labour costs, like many technological advancements before it, automation results in job displacement rather than job loss. Some workers may need to retrain or upskill to adapt to new roles; however, the adoption of automation technology does not eliminate the need for workers. Programmers, technicians, developers, skilled trades workers, and more are all necessary to build, integrate, and maintain automated solutions and systems. Keeping workers in jobs ultimately has a positive impact on the economy at large, as those employees purchase goods and services and continue to circulate funds.
Automation also affords businesses the opportunity to increase output and reduce errors and waste. Robots have the capacity to work faster, more efficiently, and with fewer errors than a person could in the same role or function. This allows companies to reduce production costs – and pass those savings onto consumers by offering cheaper goods and services. The reduction in waste is also a benefit to the environment, as it means fewer parts or components are destined for landfills. In our increasingly globalized commerce environment, companies that invest in automation are more globally competitive, as they can produce higher quality products rapidly and with greater efficiency.
As the industry expands rapidly each year, it is hard to predict just how important automation will continue to be to our jobs, our society, and our lifestyles in the future. We can almost guarantee that we will all be impacted by automation in one way or another; and most of those impacts are positive. Just like other significant technological advancements – the telephone, the automobile, the world wide web – industrial automation expands the bounds of what was previously thought possible and makes our world even bigger and more accessible.
Comments