Companies undertake projects in manufacturing automation and computer integrated manufacturing for a variety of good reasons. Some of the reasons to justify automation are the following:
1. To increase labour productivity. Automating a manufacturing operation usually increases production rate and labour productivity.
2. To reduce labour cost. Ever-increasing labour cost has been and continues to be the trend in today’s industrialised societies. Consequently, higher investment in automation has become economically justifiable to replace manual operations. Machines are increasingly being substituted for human labour to reduce unit product cost.
3. To mitigate the effects of labour shortages. There is a general shortage of labour in many advanced nations, and this has stimulated the development of automated operations as a substitute for labour.
4. To reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks. An argument can be put forth that there is social value in automating routines that are routine, boring, fatiguing, and possibly irksome. Automating such tasks improves the general level of working conditions.
5. To improve worker safety. Automating a given operation and transferring the worker from active participation in the process to a monitoring role, or removing the worker from the operation altogether, makes the worker safer.
6. To improve product quality. Automation not only results in higher production rates than manual operation, it also performs the manufacturing process with greater uniformity and conformity to quality specifications.
7. To reduce manufacturing lead time. Automation helps reduce the elapsed time between customer order and product delivery, providing a competitive advantage to the manufacturer for future orders. By reducing manufacturing lead time, the manufacturer also reduces work-in-process inventory.
8. To accomplish processes that cannot be done manually. Certain operations cannot be accomplished without the aid of a machine. These processes require precision, miniaturisation, or complexity of geometry that cannot be achieved manually. Examples include certain integrated circuit fabrication operations, rapid prototyping processes based on computer graphics (CAD) models, and the machining of complex, mathematically defined surfaces using computer numerical control. These processes can only be realised by computer controlled systems.
9. To avoid the high cost of not automating. There is a significant competitive advantage gained in automating a manufacturing plant. The advantage cannot easily be demonstrated on a company’s project authorisation form. The benefits of automation often show up in unexpected and intangible ways, such as improved quality, higher sales, better labour relations, and better company image. Companies that do not automate are likely to find themselves at a competitive disadvantage with their customers, their employees, and the general public. [1]
