With the growth of technology, we listen to the phrase ‘technology is taking over’ more and more often. Sometimes, people also say that robots or AI will take over one day. This does not mean they could become superior to humans, or that they will start ruling us.
Robots now do many operations previously carried out by humans. And this is on a rise. They are taking our jobs in the labor sector but are also creating more in the IT sector. Everything happens for a reason; similarly, the world is adopting automation because of its huge benefits.
Automation has a broad definition, and has humongous applications. It means to resort to a technology to minimize human involvement in a process and using e-solutions to carry it out. Automation has huge applications, starting from home, to small businesses and to industrial levels.
Lights at your home turning off automatically using light sensors, is a basic form or automation. A grocery store using a barcode scanner for checkouts and billing, and software for its inventory management is another example of automation. Whereas, on an industrial level, robots performing tasks is a widely and increasingly used form of automation.
There are several other sectors where automation has come into play. Medicine is another great example. Since we are talking from an industrial perspective, lets discuss a few of the key advantages of using automated solutions in industries.
Accuracy
Machines carrying out an operation, almost guarantees that there is no chance of errors. With humans carrying out the same task, they are prone to missing out a step or two. Whereas a robot will do what is fed into it a million times repeatedly, without missing out on even the smallest detail.
For example in automotive industry, where previously humans assembled the whole cars by hand, they could miss out a bolt in the middle. Such errors are minimized with the use of automation.
Quality
Use of technology means consistency of a process, which ensures quality of the product. If an automated machined produces a 1000 units of certain product. They will all be the same in specifications. Not even a slight difference in any aspect would be there.
Efficiency
Automation increases efficiency. An automated process produces more items in less time. And that too without a compromise in quality. This leads to increased productivity, since now the company can make more sales. Moreover, the labor force freed from the tasks is better utilized in other operations.
Using machinery in manufacturing processes, companies can also reduce wastage. This is possible because with automation, processes utilize a fixed amount of raw material every time.
Cost Effectiveness
Apart from all the benefits above, cost effectiveness is another most important one. Although installing automated systems have high upfront costs, their ROI (Return on Investment) outweighs those costs. This is not only because of the reduction in direct labor costs, but also because all of the factors stated above also contribute in reduced costs of production.
With the trend of automation in businesses and industries on the rise, the processes will keep becoming easier and more efficient. It will not only help the businesses to become more profitable, but also contribute to economy in the long term. If you own a business or an industrial unit, it is a wise idea to move towards automation before competition does.
