INTRODUCTION
In today’s fast paced economy and with difficult demands made on manufacturing, the necessity to become more efficient and productive is critical. In light of many Western Nations steadily increasing their minimum wage rates, as well as the onslaught of cheaper imports from countries with artificially low labor rates and tariffs being removed from imports, throwing more labor at a manufacturing process does not solve the problem, in fact, it compounds it.
Labor costs per unit goes up instead of coming down, making the company and the manufacturing process less competitive and efficient. Manufacturers can no longer afford to do things the way they used to in the past because if they do, they cannot expect to do better in the future.
With the introduction of automation and robotics many of these problems can be solved. Labor intensive and repetitive jobs can be replaced such as moving, loading or unloading of material, thus avoiding injury (workman’s compensation claims), boredom on the job (unnecessary and long unscheduled extra breaks) etc.
Automation and Robotics are sophisticated machines not unlike any of the other machines such as panel saws, moulders, edgebanders or tenoners etc.
Automation requires preventative maintenance and trained staff like any of the above machines but if maintained will require far less maintenance than any other machine. A well trained operator/assistant will be able to handle more machines or tasks at the same time, therefore, once again, reducing costs, expenses and labor and is this not what it is all about, to become more competitive on the world stage?
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