Discovering the advantages and disadvantages of industrial automation

There's no doubt that industrial automation has transformed manufacturing and other industries by allowing things to be done faster and better. Industrial automation is required for any industry to remain competitive. Although automation has led to great improvements in manufacturing and other industries, there are some negative effects of industrial automation that need to be looked into so that you are prepared and equipped to overcome them.

In the following sections, we will discover what these advantages and disadvantages are.

Advantages of industrial automation

Let's look at how people can (or do) benefit from industrial automation:

• It reduces the time taken between starting and completing a process.
• It improves workers' safety. Automation saves workers from being exposed to hazardous environments in the factory.
• The use of robots in industrial automation increases production output. Robots can work 24/7 at a constant speed.
• Industrial automation reduces operating costs. Adding automated machines to an operation means less human effort (that is, fewer employees are needed to get the job done). Also, there will be less material waste due to the accuracy of the robots in performing a task.
• Industrial automation provides a faster return on investment (ROI) due to reduced processing time, reduced operating cost, increased production output, and so on.
• The use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and other automated machinery in the manufacturing industries reduces accidents that would have been caused by human error.
• Industrial automation allows managers to focus more on other aspects of their jobs since robots/automated systems require less supervision.
• Automated systems/robots don't get distracted, exhausted, or bored while working, so delays are eliminated and consistent performance can be expected.

Disadvantages of industrial automation

It is a good thing to relieve humans from certain activities through industrial automation; however, this threatens human workforces.

The following are some of the disadvantages of industrial automation:

• Industrial automation requires high initial capital (that is, the cost of designing, fabricating, installing, and commissioning automated systems is high).
• Industrial automation can get rid of jobs. Jobs done by humans can be taken over by an automated machine or robot. However, this might not necessarily be a disadvantage as the staff can be trained to service the machinery/ automated system or work in other areas of the business.
• Skilled personnel are required for maintaining and troubleshooting automated systems.

In this section, we learned how people and industries can benefit from industrial automation, as well as the various side effects of industrial automation. It is important to take these advantages and disadvantages into consideration when you are thinking about integrating automation technology in an industry.