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AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofAutomationinManufacturing|VistaIndustrialProducts,Inc.

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AdvantagesandDisadvantagesof
AutomationinManufacturing
PostedonSeptember18,2013byBritneyBlue(Payne)

Inthepast20years,technologyhaschangedthenatureofmanufacturing.Intheolddays,
manufacturingandfabricationwerealldonebyhandbypeople.Nowthatcomputersand
technologyhavepenetratedtheindustry,automationhasbecomethecompetitiveadvantagein
todaysmanufacturingworld.Automationhasallowedforcompaniestomassproduceproducts
atoutstandingspeedsandwithgreatrepeatabilityandquality.Automationhasbecomea
determiningfactorinwhetherornotacompanywillremaincompetitivewithinthemanufacturing
industry.Althoughautomationisconstantlysettingthestandardsfortheindustryandhasmany
advantages,therearealsosomenegativeaspectsaboutautomation.
AutomationAdvantages
Reductioninproductiontimehavingamachinethatisautomateddefinitelyspeedsupthe
productiontimesincenothinkingisneededbythemachine,thereisbetterrepeatability,
andlesshumanerror.
Increaseinaccuracyandrepeatabilitywhenanautomatedmachineisprogrammedto
performataskoverandoveragain,theaccuracyandrepeatabilitycomparedtoan
employeeisfargreater.
Lesshumanerrornooneisperfect,andweareallpronetomakingmistakes.Whichis
whyamachinethatperformsrepeatedtasksislesslikelytomakemistakesthanan
employee.
Lessemployeecostsbyaddingautomatedmachinestoanoperation,meansless
employeesareneededtogetthejobdone.Italsoindicateslesssafetyissues,whichleads
tofinancialsavings.Withhavinglessemployees,therearenumerouscoststhatare
diminishedorreducedsuchaspayroll,benefits,sickdays,etcetera.
Increasedsafetyhavingautomatedmachinesmeanshavinglessemployeeswho
performtasksthatcanbedangerousandpronetoinjury,whichcanmakethework
environmentsafer.
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Highervolumeproductioninvestinginautomatedequipmentcreatesavaluableresource
forlargeproductionvolumes,whichinturn,willincreaseprofitability.
AutomationDisadvantages
Lessversatilitybyhavingamachinethatcanperformacertaintasklimitstothe
flexibilityandvarietyoftasksthatanemployeecoulddo.
Morepollutiondifferenttypesofmachinesoperateusingmotorwhichmayrequiregases
orchemicalsinordertooperate.Thiscancauseanincreaseinpollutionintheworkplace.
Largeinitialinvestmentautomatedmachinescanbeoneofthemostcostlyoperating
costsforacompany.Withautomatedmachinesrunninganywherebetweenthousandsand
millionsofdollarsdependingonthetypeanddegreeofautomation.
Increaseinunemploymentbyincreasingtheamountofautomation,thereareless
employeesrequiredcausinghighunemploymentrates.
Unpredictablecoststherecanbeseveralunpredictablecoststhatmayexceedtheactual
costsavedbytheautomationitself.Someofthesecostscouldincluderesearchand
developmentcostsofautomatingaprocess,preventativemaintenancecosts,andthecost
oftrainingemployeestooperateautomatedmachines.
Whileautomationhasbecomearesourceforremainingcompetitiveinthemanufacturing
industry,therearedefinitelysomefactorstobeconsideredinordertobecompetitiveandtoget
areturnontheinvestment.Dependingontheoperations,automationmayormaynotbea
goodfit.Ifitisasmalloperationwithlowproductionquantities,theinitialinvestmentof
purchasinganautomatedmachinewouldnotbeeconomical.Ontheotherhand,iftheoperation
hasalargerfacilitywithmanyemployeesontheshopfloortwofabricatemediumtolargeruns,
automatedmachineswouldbebettersuited.
HereatVistaIndustrialProducts,Inc.,wehavehadtheopportunitytoinvestinautomationto
increaseourproductivity,repeatability,quality,andprovideshorterleadtimes.Duetothesizeof
ouroperationandstateoftheartmanufacturingfacility,automationhasbeenagreatfitforour
businessmodel.Wehaveagreatratioofautomationandemployeestocatertoourcustomers
needs.Giventhatwecanfabricatelowmix/highvolumeandhighmix/lowvolumerunsforour
customers,wehavetheflexibilityweneedtogetthejobdone.
Ifyouarelookingforacompanywithawiderangeofautomationforyourfabricationneeds,
pleasekeepusinmind.Wehaveautomationforsheetmetalpunching,forming,andmachining.
Pleasecontactustodayforaquote!
Thanksforreadingalongandstaytunedforournextblogpost!

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ThisentrywaspostedinMFG,Planning&Production,Typesandtaggedadvatagesof
automationinmanufacturing,automationvslabor,disadvantagesofautomationin
manufacturingbyBritneyBlue(Payne).Bookmarkthepermalink[http://www.vista
industrial.com/blog/advantagesanddisadvantagesofautomationinmanufacturing/].
12THOUGHTSONADVANTAGESANDDISADVANTAGESOFAUTOMATIONINMANUFACTURING

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AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofAutomationinManufacturing|VistaIndustrialProducts,Inc.

OwenCockburn
onMarch2,2015at1:50pmsaid:

verygood

thishelpedwithmyschoolwork

avacado123
onJanuary5,2016at5:02pmsaid:

sameherethanksalot

Tammi
onMarch26,2015at6:50pmsaid:

Firstyousaylessimployeecostthenyousayunpredictablecostthatmakesnosense.

BritneyPayne
onMarch31,2015at10:41pmsaid:

HiTammi,
Thanksforyoucomment.Asstatedabove,automationhascostadvantagesand
disadvantages.Thecostadvantageisemployeecostssincemachinesgenerally
replaceemployees.Thereforethecostsforemployees(wages/benefits,
insurance,workmanscomp,training,etc.)isreduced.Ontheotherhand,the
costdisadvantageisthecostforR&D/testing,maintenance,andtraining
employeesonhowtousethemachine.Ihopethisclarifiesanyconfusion.

rashedmirza
onMay18,2015at6:42pmsaid:

Gud.Ithelpsmesomuchtoundrstndautomation

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AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofAutomationinManufacturing|VistaIndustrialProducts,Inc.

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samantha
onApril1,2016at5:13pmsaid:

thisisreallyhelpfull

GraceBOPOLO
onMay20,2016at7:15amsaid:

Itisveryclear,shortandeaslyunderstandable

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narender
onJune7,2016at2:19pmsaid:

itsgood

Tanmay
onJune17,2016at6:29amsaid:

Excellent.Ithelpedmecompletemyschoolprojectwork.

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