“Necessity is the mother of Invention” is indeed a fact which has proven itself time and again on several occasions but it is also a fact that every invention needs a thorough manufacturing process to come into existence and become a reality. If there is any flaw in the product, your necessity may not be fulfilled by your invention. With the passage of time, manufacturing process has gone through various changes and experienced several advancements to make the invention flawless. In the modern era, automation has revolutionized the manufacturing industry and it has brought about drastic changes in the manufacturing process which has made possible the creation of inventions which are undoubtedly flawless and sometimes unbelievable to the humans.
We can simply say automation is a wonder for the manufacturing industry; however, when there are several advantages of the automation, there may be some disadvantages of the same depending on the inventions and their certain requirements. Here, we are going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of automation and its impact in manufacturing industry and associated human resource.
Advantages of Automation
There are several advantages of automation and some of the key benefits are discussed here one by one. Fast production is one of the foremost advantages of automation as it has reduced the time consumed in production substantially hence increasing the output rate and saving precious human hours. Enhanced accuracy and repeatability is the another important feature of automation as the manufacturing process has become more accurate and error-free hence making the products as per desire. Machines can also repeat the production process without any rest and continue production in quick successions. Less human error is another advantage of automation as there is limited human intervention in the manufacturing process hence making the products free from human errors and bringing about the accuracy in manufacturing. Less human resource is also an advantage in automation where we require limited number of human resource to oversee the manufacturing process hence saving the administrative cost. Enhanced safety comes with the presence of less human resource as a limited number of people are less prone to injury and it is also a benefit of automation. The most lucrative advantage of automation is higher production output as it manufactures the products swiftly and gives more output than the human manufacturing hence allowing more profit in less time for the manufacturers.
Disadvantages of Automation
Like any other invention, automation has also some disadvantages which are discussed here. Automation requires large capital for investment as automated machines are usually expensive and cost from thousands to millions of dollars varying from industry to industry. Increased pollution is another disadvantage of automation as machines emit more pollution due to the use of different chemicals and gases during manufacturing and put environment at risk. Limited versatility is also attributed to the automation as machines perform a certain task with limited flexibility whereas a human can perform the similar task in a variety of ways. Another shortcoming of automation is increased unemployment as a machine has replaced a number of people required to perform the similar task it performs.
In view of the above arguments, one may easily understand the benefits of automation and the shortcomings it may bring in the manufacturing industry.