If your company has been putting off automating your facilities it is likely because of the initial cost of the change. However, read on to discover why that initial investment is going to pay big dividends in the long run.
Safer Operation
The fact is, anywhere you can remove people from potential hazards you’re going to have a safer work environment. From the dangers of heavy and potentially sharp equipment to dealing with electricity and chemicals, automation allows your employees to work safely in a control booth while robotics deal with the dangerous work. Industrial automation Southeast means less worker injury and absence which is only the first way that automation leads to reduced costs.
Reduced Costs
Reduced costs are really the gem in the crown of automation. Not only are your workers in a safer environment, leading to fewer workplace costs associated with absenteeism, worker’s compensation and liability insurance, but automation means that your warehouse or production floor can be organized in ways that are more tightly configured and have a higher vertical expanse than would be allowed with human workers. For warehouse operations, the cost benefits of automation go even further. Picking costs go down through automation, with reduced human error and streamlining of processes that would have caused a bottleneck when done manually.
Automation doesn’t just mean that your factory processes are handled robotically, it includes a whole range of sensors and software that will do more to reduce your costs. Sensors can let you know when equipment needs servicing. They can even save lives by letting employees know when there is a potentially deadly chemical leak. For facilities using everything from ammonia to plain old nitrogen, sensors can save lives.
Increased Productivity
Uninjured employees don’t just save the company money, they increase productivity. Besides the productivity of your employees, robotics simply do things that people can’t. Robots don’t get fatigued and make mistakes. They don’t need breaks and work faster. For a warehouse, this can mean a drone that easily grabs the correct box from the third story of a warehouse stack. For a production facility, it can mean a robot that paints or welds the same part all day, every day. Either way, the robot cuts costs and provides perfect results each time with minimal oversight.
Not only is automation good for individual businesses, but economists think that the US will actually maintain jobs and potentially bring manufacturing back to US shores as automation continues. Automation is an investment in the future.