CONTROL & AUTOMATION
THE BENEFITS OF AUTOMATION
SEWTEC
Why automation is playing a vital role in the manufacturing industry
As automation continues to transform
the workplace, manufacturing is perhaps
the sector which benefits the most from
automating its processes. Paul Johnson,
sales director at Sewtec Automation, offers
insights into the benefits of automation in
manufacturing.
Automation has enabled a new way working,
but one sector which can benefit the most
from automating processes is manufacturing.
From food to pharmaceuticals, personal care
to pet care, introducing factory automation
offers huge potential to increase throughput,
improve quality and reduce costs.
So, how will automated production in
manufacturing transform the industry’s
future?
ADDRESSING THE SKILL GAP
Manufacturing is currently in the midst of
a skills crisis, with businesses facing the
biggest shortage of skilled workers in 30
years. If four out of five manufacturers
struggle to find skilled staff, something
needs to be done – and the answer is
automation.
It is estimated that the potential to automate
processes in the sector is around 60 per
cent, meaning manufacturers can ease
the burden of unavailable resource by
automating ‘predictable physical’ processes
such as product creation, analysis and
sorting.
This benefit to businesses would have a
direct positive impact on the wider economy,
with a 30 per cent global increase in robot
installations predicted to create £3.9 trillion
in additional GDP.
It is also good for workers, as the creation
and maintenance of automation systems
demands higher skilled roles, such as
precision engineering. This reduces the
prevalence of what McKinsey’s automation
report calls “dirty, dull, or dangerous jobs”
from the workplace.
HIGH-SPEED PRECISION
A key benefit of automation in manufacturing
is that it improves product quality by
removing human error and variance in the
production process. When you consider
all this can be achieved often with higher
throughput and quality, it becomes a
compelling proposition for any manufacturer.
As an example, Tata Global Beverages
installed a bespoke automated tea-bag
packaging machine which packs 2,000 tea
bags every minute. The high-tech system
builds 120 flip-top cartons per minute, filling
each with a flow-wrapped bag containing 20
tea bags, before conducting quality control
and collating multiple cartons into shelfready
trays.
In many instances, machines are so
advanced that businesses could find
themselves close to operating ‘lights out’
production in future – where manufacturing
activities or whole facilities are entirely
automated without the need for human
intervention.
THE INTRODUCTION OF AI
With such a focus on physical manufacturing
processes, like packaging and palletising
products, it is important to remember the
Manufacturing is currently
in the midst of a skills
crisis, with businesses
facing the biggest
shortage of skilled
workers in 30 years.
software behind them. Factory robots have
increasing levels of capability and come in a
wide variety, from simple pick and place units
to collaborative robots (cobots).
Artificial intelligence (AI) relates to advanced
computerised processes that perform tasks
usually requiring human intelligence. But
machines do not need the most advanced
technologies to be smart – many have
sensors of some kind that can perform an
important sorting or checking function and
make a ‘decision’ based on that.
26 PECM Issue 46