CONTROL & AUTOMATION
HUMAN MACHINES
MPAC LAMBERT
A NEW ERA OF AUTOMATION
As robotics and artificial intelligence combine,
headlines start to predict the end of the world
as we know it. Whether used as a point of fear,
or a more optimistic view of the future, there is
no denying that human roles in the workforce
are changing. But, when it comes to humans
being replaced by robots, there are a number
of factors, when combined, rule out the use of
robots in many applications.
Mpac Lambert provides technology leading
automation solutions to the medical and
consumer healthcare markets, and has
established itself as a global leader in
cutting-edge automation processes and
transformational technologies. Mike Lewis,
Innovations Director at Mpac Lambert takes
us through his thoughts on this era, and
how humans can make manufacturing more
automated.
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PECM Issue 42
“Human drive is the key to automation in
manufacturing. There is this obsession with
job-stealing robots that can cause us to
overestimate the impact of automation. Every
machine, piece of hardware or software, is only
as good as the people behind them. that people can. Instead, we focus on seamless
integration, and building machines that work
with people, not in replacement of. People
are able to provide muscle, whilst machines
provide added cognition, and together – both
are crucial to accomplishing a given task.
“When integrating automation, we take
a holistic approach. We constantly ask
ourselves ‘why’. The automation needs to
create efficiencies, be highly flexible and
customisable. Ultimately for us, it comes down
to design – everything needs to add value. “At Mpac Lambert, innovation is key, it offers
us opportunities for new efficiencies as well
as products and processes. We work with you
to design and develop your product, and
its manufacturing processes. We detail all
proposed automation and evaluate its impact
on the product design and production process,
so the resulting effect is improved product
quality, automation throughput and efficiency.”
“Automation helps us reduce uncertainty
in complex processes and provides us with
product consistency and quality control. But
what it doesn’t do is have the flexibility and
dexterity of the human hand. Automation
can’t think, adapt or react in the same way
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