What does automation bring to a business?

Posted on 13 Jul 2017 by Jonny Williamson
Germany’s annual supply and operational stock of industrial robots in 2016 had a share of 36% in Europe - image courtesy of University of Warwick WMG.

The latest Annual Manufacturing Report has revealed what the reasoning was behind manufacturers’ most recent automation projects.

Smart Factories - Most reassuringly, almost all (96%) of respondents said that their investment in automation met its defined objectives within the timeframe set for it.
Most reassuringly, almost all (96%) of respondents said that their investment in automation met its defined objectives within the timeframe set for it.

Overwhelmingly, improving business efficiency and reducing production time were the intended objectives of automation investments – cited by 71% and 73% of respondents to the Annual Manufacturing Report 2017 respectively.

These was closely followed by improving product quality (67%), with a noticeable drop to 42% of manufacturers indicating that automation allowed them to better develop new products.

Improving employee satisfaction also factored into the decision to adopt automation, with almost half (49%) looking to improve health and safety for staff, and more than a third (35%) seeking to improve the working environment.

Other goals stated included: freeing up staff to undertake more value-added tasks, reducing non-staff input costs, and achieving greater plant flexibility.

A positive finding was that none of the manufacturers surveyed said that it was not clear what the objectives were in regards to their latest investment.

Most reassuringly, almost all (96%) of respondents said that their investment in met its defined objectives within the timeframe set for it.

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You can download the full Annual Manufacturing Report 2017 here.

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