Automation has been on many manufacturers’ minds for years, even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, once the coronavirus started spreading rapidly and causing serious disruptions to the manufacturing supply chain, interest in automated solutions skyrocketed even higher. According to a 2020 Honeywell survey, the pandemic has inspired 42% of manufacturers to plan to implement automation technology within the next year.
Organizations that prioritize adaptability have already started to turn toward automated technology. Automated systems have become more appealing than ever primarily because of their ability to weather disruptive situations while keeping production running efficiently. Manufacturers in any industry can use automation in a variety of ways to improve their processes and better serve existing employees. We’ll dive into the biggest benefits below.
Eliminate Waste
Product waste can cause some of the biggest headaches for manufacturing plants, for both environmental and financial reasons. There is such a high cost associated with waste, and because it provides no benefit to the plant (or the planet), eliminating waste has become a priority for many organizations. To combat this issue, some plants have started using automated technology to pinpoint areas producing the most waste. Last year, nanomaterial manufacturer Promethean Particles began logging data from their plant to train artificial intelligence programs to identify instances of increased waste in its processes. Utilizing this technology has significantly sped up their process of minimizing overall waste, which has been a long-time goal of theirs to help cut down unnecessary costs.
Identify & Prevent Defects
As we discussed in another recent article, mistakes happen from time to time at every manufacturing plant. Monitoring is essential to help catch more errors or defects earlier in the process. However, the pandemic highlighted the challenges plants face when they rely so heavily on in-person-only roles. That’s where remote monitoring technology and automated data collection come into play. Many companies have started to test these forms of monitoring which allow supervisors to work from their homes or offices. Newer forms of this technology even offer geolocation restrictions, which can limit the service to devices in specific locations to decrease security risks. Some monitoring services are also browser-based, making it easy for employees to access no matter which device they use.
Adapt to Changing Needs
As consumer demand quickly increases and decreases depending on uncontrollable outside factors (such as a pandemic), manufacturers have had to find ways to adjust their plant floors to account for these shifts. Some organizations have started utilizing automated methods to scale production up or down quickly to meet changing deadlines and stay flexible during uncertain economic conditions. In the automotive industry alone, manufacturers using augmented intelligence have helped their employees perform their jobs more efficiently, leading to a 40% increase in productivity.
It’s important to note that even though automation technology can be incredibly beneficial, human employees are still the critical elements needed to provide expertise and insights. Advanced technology can give us much-improved methods for data collection, but it simply can’t contribute the deeper knowledge that we rely on from experienced people. Your employees are the ones who will ultimately implement and operate these new systems, so technology solutions must be people-centric to be the most successful.
Advanced planning and scheduling software, such as VirtECS, is one tool manufacturers can use to improve their processes and easily adapt to disruptions. VirtECS works to optimize production by creating a detailed model of your plant and automatically performing calculations to find the most efficient schedule. Any time you introduce new equipment or experience changes in demand, the tool will quickly readjust and find the best schedule to use moving forward. If you’re interested in finding out how to implement VirtECS into your manufacturing facility, click here to download our whitepaper.
