More than mere cost benefits
The value added by robot technology goes way beyond mere reductions in labour costs. Robotics is part of a wave of new technologies, including 3D printing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), opening new paths of production, real-time machine performance monitoring and preventive maintenance. Working in conjunction with other technologies, robotics adds a new set of values, including producing higher-quality products with more innovative designs, shortening delivery cycles, introducing flexibility (just-in-time assembly) and customisation (lot-of-one production).
Smart factories: the way forward in manufacturing
Smart digital factories connect and optimise equipment and materials, workers and processes to increase productivity and eliminate errors. They revolve around collaboration between people and machines. Successful companies are deploying cobots to streamline their processes and enable their employees to work more quickly. All of this facilitates customer centricity and local-for-local production. There is little doubt that the work environment in the digital factory will change radically. Setting up a smart factory not only requires the implementation of new technologies; it also means finding, hiring and training workers with the necessary digital skills.
Implications for Switzerland
Switzerland has a long tradition of industrialisation. Take the textile industry: this country ventured to take the first steps towards automation long before others, and even back then there were fears that jobs would be lost.
Now Switzerland is neck and neck with other European countries in terms of industrial robotics. New automation technologies are just being implemented, but are still in their infancy. Interestingly, the prevailing corporate culture in Switzerland makes the concept of cobots a very good match.
Why cobots are worth the investment
Cobots are touch-sensitive, so humans can work with them without the need for a cage or barriers for protection. On the contrary, cobots are there to assist their co-workers or do heavy work such as lifting on their behalf. This makes human workers more flexible and gives them the freedom to add value in other places. If cobots are equipped with artificial intelligence to enable them to develop and learn from their experience, they free up humans to do more highly qualified work, making them more flexible and productive.
Not only that, but the latest generation of cobots are relatively inexpensive, meaning that even small and medium-sized companies can invest in certain automation technologies and simply build them into their existing production processes. Robotics are part of a larger network of digitally-connected operations made possible by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology. Take the example of GM, which has connected at least one quarter – or 30,000 – of its robots to the internet and collects performance data that yields information that can be used for preventive maintenance. This has helped the automaker reduce breakdowns and assembly line disruptions.
«GM Hooking 30,000 Robots to Internet to Keep Factories Humming», April 2017, Bloomberg News
Manufacturers are finding value not only in increased efficiency, but also from data captured in other parts of the operation including materials, parts, components, labour and workflow records. When aggregated with other data (customer, financial, environmental, etc.), such data can serve as the basis for insights and actions.
Speed and individualisation
In tandem with 3D printing, robotics is paving the way for a new era of product personalisation. To manufacture on a lot-of-one basis, companies have to accelerate set-up times to be able to individualise orders and further reduce the production cycle of a product, and they have to make their production processes quicker and more flexible. It is therefore not surprising that introducing flexible robotics makes increasing sense as a means of remaining competitive.
Risks and side-effects
Adopting robotic automation can introduce a new layer of risk and liability considerations. For example, in the event of accidents connected with robotics systems (such as accidents caused by malfunctioning hardware, software, communications or misuse by a human), it is important to ascertain which party is responsible and liable.
Another workforce consideration is data privacy: especially in the light of the EU’s new GDPR. Companies are under increasing scrutiny and pressure to protect personal data that may be captured by robotics systems (for example via cameras, microphone and sensors). They have to be equally mindful of relevant labour laws that may apply in the event that workers are replaced by robots.
Humans still required
The good news is that robots cannot do everything. That is why ‘lights-out’ factories have not happened. In the robot-centric approach, automation limits the interaction between humans and robots by placing robots in cages or behind other barriers. The broad capabilities of cobots not only smooth out this interaction, but also encourage the innovation and creativity of human workers from the bottom up. People who are experts in a particular field have time to come up with new ideas for optimising the process, while cobots are happy to take over the repetitive, monotonous and heavy work.
