1. Shortage of labor
2. High cost of labor
3. Increased productivity: Higher production output per hour of labor input is possible with automation than with manual operations. Productivity is the single most important factor in determining a nation’s standard of living. If the value of output per hour goes up, the overall income levels go up.
4. Competition: The ultimate goal of a company is to increase profits. However, there are other goals that are harder to measure. Automation may result in lower prices, superior products, better labor relations, and a better company image.
5. Safety: Automation allows the employee to assume a supervisory role instead of being directly involved in the manufacturing task. For example, die casting is hot and dangerous and the work pieces are often very heavy. Welding, spray painting, and other operations can be a health hazard. Machines can do these jobs more precisely and achieve better quality products.
6. Reducing manufacturing lead-time: Automation allows the manufacturer to respond quickly to the consumers needs. Second, flexible automation also allows companies to handle frequent design modifications.
7. Lower costs: In addition to cutting labor costs, automation may decrease the scrap rate and thus reduce the cost of raw materials. It also enables just-in-time manufacturing which in turn allows the manufacturer to reduce the in-process inventory. It is possible to improve the quality of the product at lower cost.
Reasons For no Automation
1. Labor resistance: People look at robots and manufacturing automation as a cause of unemployment. In reality, the use of robots increases productivity, makes the firm more competitive, and preserves jobs. But some jobs are lost. For example, Fiat reduced its work force from 138,000 to 72,000 in nine years by investing in robots. GM’s highly automated plant built in collaboration with Toyota in Fremont, California employs 3,100 workers in contrast to 5,100 at a comparable older GM plant.
2. Cost of upgraded labor: The routine monotonous tasks are the easiest to automate. The tasks that are difficult to automate are ones that require skill. Thus, manufacturing labor must be upgraded.
3. Initial investment: Cash flow considerations may make an investment in automation difficult even if the estimated rate of return is high.
Issues For Automation in Factory Operations
■ Task is too difficult to automate.
■ Short product lifecycle.
■ Customized product.
■ Fluctuating demand.
■ Reduce risk of product failure.
■ Cheap manual labor.
Strategies For Automation
■ Specialization of operations.
■ Combined operations.
■ Simultaneous operations.
■ Integration of operations.
■ Increased flexibility.
■ Improved material handling and storage.
■ On-line inspection.
■ Process control and optimization.
■ Plant operations control.
■ Computer Integrated Manufacturing.