Q & A with Oliver Selby , Robotics Business Development Manager , FANUC UK
24
WHY UK FIRMS MUST AUTOMATE TO COMPETE ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
It ’ s no secret that despite its position as a top 10 manufacturing economy , the UK lags well behind its global counterparts when it comes to our use of industrial robots . According to the 2021 IRF World Robot Report , the UK ranks just 24th in the world robot density league with 101 units per 10,000 employees , far outpaced by countries such as China , Japan , Korea , the US , Germany , Italy and France . Globally , however , it is a promising picture – the average figure of 126 robots per 10,000 employees is nearly double what it was in 2015 . This makes the UK ’ s continued reluctance to automate all the more surprising . Here , Oliver Selby , Robotics Business Development Manager at industrial robot specialist FANUC UK , shares his thoughts on what could be holding the UK back , how companies like FANUC are helping to drive a change in mindset , and the surprising positives to come out of the pandemic …
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE SOME UK MANUFACTURERS ARE STILL RELUCTANT TO AUTOMATE ? There ’ s a long-standing misconception that automated solutions including robots take the place of production workers . In actual fact , this is not the case but we need more robotics users to come forward and say so . Most plants find that investment in robotics actually leads to productivity gains , company growth and , subsequently , the need to employ more people .
Labour shortages post-Brexit and the much-debated ‘ Great Resignation ’ following the pandemic have prompted some recent investment activity in certain industries , such as food , but this has been the exception rather than the rule – it ’ s always ‘ next year ’ with UK companies . Manufacturing and process plants here tend to dip their toe in the water regarding investment in automation , unlike their counterparts in mainland Europe who are more inclined to throw themselves in . That being said , things are steadily beginning to change , with more companies across all industries now waking up to the benefits of automation . Enquiry levels are holding steady in the UK and we predict that sales of FANUC robots will be reasonable this year .
WHAT PART DOES EDUCATION HAVE TO PLAY IN CHANGING THE UK MINDSET AROUND AUTOMATION ?
I believe that educating young people on the benefits of robotics and automation can hugely help to alter our national perception that robots are the ‘ enemy ’.