The Often-Neglected Benefits of Automation and Robotics
People often associate automation and robotics with a threat to the status quo, and job security, making it difficult for the required changes to unfold within these companies. It is essential, therefore, to create a transparent, supportive, and involving approach to establish truly future-proof production capabilities.
Despite the fearful discussions around the topic, an important positive aspect of automation is often overlooked. It is the ability of robotic tools and automation to promote the development of career opportunities, and personal growth of production employees. With the ability to delegate some of the manual tasks that are traditionally done by humans, production companies can enhance their efficiency, quality of outputs and decrease the negative side effects of these tasks on the people.
Let the robots do the heavy lifting
As more of the manual tasks are handled by robots, production times can be shortened, and downtimes can be reduced. At the same time, people have moved away from dangerous working environments, which further reduces the change of workplace accidents and injuries. Additionally, as less creative, manual tasks are delegated to robots, employees are now provided with the opportunity to take on new roles, learn new skills to work on more meaningful, fulfilling tasks in production. The value-added through these activities will be much more significant for both the company and the individual as well.
In the new era when robotic tools, specifically assets that are designed to work effectively and safely around employees are becoming more readily available for all companies, the opportunity to automate repetitive, dangerous and monotonous tasks to robots becomes easier and in a way necessary step.
Getting people to support the automation initiatives of a production company can be a complex and multivariate task, but with proper planning, management support and the right tools it can be implemented effectively.
The whole process starts at the management level. It is important to get the leaders involved from the beginning and provide them with the necessary understanding of the benefits that automation and robotic tools can provide. Their involvement in the communication with the production workers is key.
Embracing a culture of constant learning and development also proves to be an essential aspect of the automation process. People must be encouraged to try and improve production processes through the expression of their ideas based on everyday working experience. Their feedback is invaluable for understanding the current production processes and is necessary for continuous improvement.
Lastly, automation is only as effective as the tools we use allow us to be. Therefore, it is essential to pick the right asset for the job that is also aligned with the work environment, the tasks that need to be handled, and the wider scope of the automation process.
To learn more about how robotic tools can support production employees, and assembly processes, check out the Spin Robotics website for more information.
