Shifting the manufacturing narrative towards productivity
CONTROL & AUTOMATION TIME TO AUTOMATE
FANUC
Shifting the manufacturing narrative towards productivity
By Oliver Selby, Head of Sales for FANUC UK and Chair of BARA( British Automation and Robotics Association)
The latest IFR figures show just how far British manufacturing has to climb in terms of automation adoption. At 23rd in the global robot density league table, the UK has just 119 robots per 10,000 workers, against a global average of 162. The UK has also dropped out of the top 10 world manufacturing rankings, falling to 12th place.
In Q4 2024, our productivity was estimated to be 0.8 % lower compared with a year ago, and 19 % lower than the US. With a clear correlation between automation adoption and higher productivity rates, why aren’ t more UK manufacturers investing in robots?
Where are the workers?
One reason is a focus on job creation over productivity. A shift in government and media focus towards increasing productivity levels among manufacturing firms of all sizes – rather than job creation via investment in large corporations – would be more useful for boosting overall manufacturing output. Support for investment in automation projects would be a sure-fire way to do this.
Oliver Selby, Head of Sales for FANUC UK and Chair of BARA
Working culture has changed hugely over recent years and digitally native Gen Zs are looking for stimulating roles that offer career progression
64 PECM Issue 74