Industrial automation has quickly become the standard in manufacturing. It has changed how factories everywhere operate while instantly dominating the industrial industry. Although automation has quickly risen in popularity worldwide, some facilities have hesitated to switch from manual to automated assembly processes.

There are some considerations to remember when trying to decide whether to make the switch or not. The advantages can outweigh the disadvantages, but some cons could greatly impact your facility if you implement automation. It is worth the time to confirm that automation is right for you and your workplace.

Automation Advantages

The advantages of automation are clear to the facilities that have already utilized the systems. Implementing robotic automation will provide these benefits:

• Improved safety: Some workplaces have hazardous environments that cannot be entered by human workers, or areas that are risky for these workers to perform tasks. Robotic automation reduces the risk of injuries and accidents involving human workers in these environments.
• Increased uptime: Unlike human workers, automated machines do not need breaks, do not get tired, and will mostly outperform their human counterparts. Production time will decrease while output increases.
• Increased revenue and savings: Automated machines can save money and time more than ever. Implementing automation has resulted in a reduction in employee medical claims, better quality of products, and greater production output.
• Higher accuracy: The industrial industry requires accuracy and quality over anything else. Robotic automation has made strides in reducing errors, defects, and low production quality.

Automation Disadvantages

Although automation has clear benefits for any user, some disadvantages could defeat the purpose of installing machines in the workplace. The disadvantages of robotic automation include:

• Specialized training and maintenance/upkeep: Current employees will require training on the specific machines you decide to implement, costing time and money. Along with this specialized training is an added level of maintenance to keep things running smoothly.
• Inability to perform non-repetitive or complicated tasks: Automated machines are designed to perform repetitive tasks quickly and efficiently. They are now running into the issue of being unable to complete anything requiring a more complex production. As of now, only humans can complete complex tasks with non-repetitive processes.
• High starting costs: It is not a secret that the starting costs for automation are expensive. Although they will eventually bring in higher profits and break even with these costs, it can be a significant investment for a facility.

What Is Best for You?

In the end, the decision is yours if automation is right for you and your workplace. Automation is making waves in the industrial industry, and eventually, there will be no question of if you should automate but when you will. Implementing automation now will give you a higher chance of minimizing ongoing costs and increasing throughput on the bottom line. When it is time for you to automate your production, contact Motion Automation Intelligence to learn more about how our solutions are right for you. Contact Motion Automation Intelligence today to speak to a specialist.