RAVMAC Ltd co-owner and Director Mark McNally provides insight into what you need to consider!
Whilst global markets start to recover from the effect of COVID 19, with humanity navigating the effect of such a phenomenon, Industries are starting to rebuild their organisational and operational models to return to the new norm. In this transitional period business leaders are exposed to an array of technology providers all vying for their attention, advocating that they hold the key to accelerating business recovery and resilience through technological advancements – and whilst clear evidence exists that a ‘digital enabled approach’ is capable of significantly transforming business performance, applying digital tools and techniques without a clearly defined strategy, built on business understanding and benefits could be a high-risk strategy in these volatile times.
without a clearly defined strategy, built on business understanding and benefits could be a high-risk strategy in these volatile times.
COVID has caused untold damage to families, communities and economies leaving an indelible mark, and will take time for both society and the economy to recover. In this unfamiliar environment business leaders are challenged to formulate tactical plans to respond to the immediate financial and operational aftermath; whilst looking ahead to mitigate against further market instability and customer uncertainty. Those companies fortunate to weather the storm will be citing new ways to build resilience into their business processes, products, operations and supply chains to recover performance through new insights, grappling with a conundrum of cash flow, secured loans, a returning potentially diminished workforce, unknown consumer dynamics whilst determining what may constitute a sensible investment today, against whether this is the right decision for future growth and prosperity.
Those companies fortunate to weather the storm will be citing new ways to build resilience into their business processes, products, operations, and supply chains
In the evolving and sometimes confusing world of digital technologies, intelligent automation is one area that has sprung to the forefront of industry thinking in the midst of the pandemic, with industry leaders contemplating technology and innovation as a means of insulating against future volatility, reducing reliance on human centric operations, however uncomfortable as controversial this may feel. The advent of fully automated intelligent manufacturing systems, collaborative robots, AI driven autonomous systems all pose compelling propositions from the technology companies touting their wares, moving you to the new ‘modus-operandi’ and ‘digital enabled future’, but a key question remains in these complicated times; how many industry leaders fully understand and are equipped to make informed decisions, weighing up what technology is best for their business, how to evaluate the return on their investment and truly understand the business impact of such actions?
how many industry leaders fully understand and are equipped to make informed decisions, weighing up what technology is best for their business
Automation systems are still not widely employed in UK industry and the degree of adoption varies by sector and functional applications. Robotic systems have been around for decades, but the new suite of systems coupled with computational horsepower are changing mindsets, affordability models and capabilities. Automation solutions now offer a broad spectrum of operational equipment and infrastructure dependencies relying on bespoke equipment providers and expert installers/integrators – it’s no longer about buying some hardware with an installed motion controller and bolting it to the floor, it’s now about ‘smart’ systems fully integrated to provide a fully serviced solution, connectivity and hands-on data.
it’s no longer about buying some hardware with an installed motion controller and bolting it to the floor, it’s now about ‘smart’ systems
There is no doubt a well formulated automation strategy coupled with a well executed delivery can provide significant productivity & quality improvements if formulated from well defined and articulated business objectives and value map – that said, if on the other hand ‘if the primary objective is to remove your workforce to negate the risk of a recurrence of the pandemic it’s probably not a wise strategy to follow’. Automation is not something that should be considered lightly, consideration must be given to both the business expectations, product goals and investment profile. Conducting a robust review of the business value chain is essential, mapping out the dependencies on the Bill of design (BOD), process (BOP), sequence (BOS) and facilitation (BOF) alongside those existing manual operations to provide a clear risk and opportunities assessment, what will you gain, what will your lose in the short, medium and longer term.
‘if the primary objective is to remove your workforce to negate the risk of a recurrence of the pandemic it’s probably not a wise strategy to follow’
Whilst benefits can be high, automation comes with opportunities and risks besides the obvious initial installation and capital investment costs, a well-defined manufacturing system engineering approach provides insight and interdependencies on; IT infrastructures and licensing, physical real estate, integration & safe systems of work, testing & commissioning, ongoing maintenance and spares, system controls/ adaptions & prime authorship, all of which are generally outside the remit of a standard ‘non-automated’ organisational capability, relying on 3rd party ongoing support and contracts. Automated system design and optimisation relies on and influences product design and lifecycles, something that should be evaluated in the product design– is the product compatible / designed for an automated assembly, to what extent is human intervention and manipulation required in the current operations and how will this translate, what processes need to be accommodated, replicating manual processes are likely to drive time, error states and cost into your automated system design, therefore how and when should these be mitigated.
is the product compatible / designed for an automated assembly, to what extent is human intervention and manipulation required?
Automation systems need a balanced business perspective and approach, as with any digital technology its not a one dimensional solution requiring a combination of technology and human capabilities to maximise the recipe and benefits – the intent maybe to ultimately remove manual processes directly involved within the assembly process, although you will certainly needs access to capable people in the overall system enterprise to maintain operational excellence and knowledge. The overall impact assessment must evaluate the needs of balancing throughput, the quality operating system, system flexibility and responsiveness to manage future system scale, product change and adaptions to avoid ‘capital debt or system redundancy’, how responsive is your existing organisation and processes to market behaviour ( how essential is this to your business model) – companies should develop an automation lifecycle, what’s needed (and affordable) today and how you see it evolving in the future, this is likely to be supported by simulation and modelling scenarios to truly anticipate the journey and transitional plan.
how responsive is your existing organisation and processes to market behaviour
Automation is opening significant improvements in human capabilities and well-being, with co-operative robots and systems working to provide valuable assistance where operations need to be deployed in arduous or precision environments. Automation and digital demands are driving new skills across several sectors due to a growing digital landscape with automation a prime initiator. Whilst there is no doubt automation will impact human capital directly related assembly or logistic operations, it also worth contemplating the benefits and demands to up-skill, re-skill and acquire new skills to supports the overall technical advancements in your business, in future these capabilities are likely to become a key competitive advantage and IP generator.
Automation and digital demands are driving new skills across several sectors due to a growing digital landscape
Whatever your business model, in whatever sector, automation will be a key enabler to drive growth, as you contemplate starting your journey its likely the most effective and valuable investment you will make will be how you and your organisation , ‘become informed customers and practitioners ‘
Over 60yrs of operational, product and innovation delivery experience. Contact us for more details at info@ravmac.com or visit our website www.ravmac.com