Companies that value and invest in sound implementation are much more likely to be successful, says Sanu Warrier.

Introducing automation technology has great benefits for manufacturers, but only if it is deployed correctly, and change management is critical. Automation can bring increased efficiency, greater worker safety and more seamless equipment design to manufacturing. It can even help bridge generational transitions in family businesses and preserve expertise built over years of hard work. However, implementing automation comes with challenges. How quickly can technology be implemented? How long will it take workers to learn how to use it effectively? Answering these questions in a way that makes sense for your business is critical.

Consider both software and hardware

Based on customers in the industrial sector, estimated per-wire times for design, processing and assembly for a project can be as high as 12 minutes per wire. If you have some process and wire processing, this number can be driven down to 5-7 minutes. A complete adoption of automation has the potential to bring it down to 2 minutes per wire. The difference is astounding. The best automated panel shops are using software to design products and then seamlessly integrating those designs with humans and automation machines on the shop floor.

For design software to be useful, it needs to take into account how a given panel will be built in real life by considering things that come after the design process: how do we lay out a panel so that it can be easily assembled? How can our design processes provide clear instructions for both people and automation programs? If design software allows, or worse, encourages, engineers to design schematics that cannot actually be assembled easily on the floor, it is for all intents and purposes just a suggestion. That is not a good use of engineering or manufacturing time. The best design software will allow designing in both 2D and 3D and reference detailed enough information about parts to prevent difficult-or-impossible-to-assemble schematics from getting to the floor in the first place.

Starting the process

For manufacturers that have not yet implemented automation solutions, it can be difficult to decide where to start. If you’re not ready to make a full leap into automation, deciding whether to start with software or hardware can sometimes feel like deciding between buying a car and buying gas. Do you buy an expensive piece of machinery without the software to fully take advantage of it? Or do you buy design software without the machines to build products? Do you buy a car and push it or do you buy gas without anything to fuel?

To shift your thinking, it might be helpful to think of automation equipment as an electric car and design software as electricity. Using this analogy points us towards starting with design software, which can help engineers complete schematics faster and with reduced errors. Even if you don’t have an electric car yet, you can still use electricity. Then you could bring in a small automation machine, and once the incremental returns begin to come in from that machine, continue adding on to the system until you are ready to fully optimise your manufacturing processes with automation.
 

Change is challenging

No matter how strong of an implementation plan you have for automation, change is hard. Bringing automation into manufacturing requires a shift in approach over time; it is not possible to instantly flip the switch. In addition to starting with small projects, it can be helpful to designate a few automation champions among engineering and manufacturing staff that are particularly excited about learning new technologies. These people can help find the best way to implement automation solutions and serve as advocates for technology among the rest of the workforce.

Along with adjusting to change, an issue that comes along with adoption is forgetting to consider training and implementation services as a key factor of success. Full process changes take time, commitment and the proper resources. Companies that value and invest in sound implementation are much more likely to be successful.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when implementing factory automation is not committing, or not giving things enough time to develop. People often expect automated tools to immediately automate every process and create an output that is exactly the same as what they used to build manually, and these expectations can set manufacturers up to fail. There will be roadblocks in the transformation process. Manufacturers adopting automation solutions cannot expect their lives to change overnight. The right mindset is one of constant change agility; thinking about design, thinking about production and finding ways to improve efficiency and performance. That is the ultimate goal of automation, not a direct replication of previous processes with less human interaction.

Sanu Warrier is Product Director for nVent, leading the global deployment of electrical design solutions. As part of the design to manufacturing platform, his work focuses on empowering customers to eliminate inefficiencies, improve design processes, and reduce costs to enhance competitive advantages. He is a self-professed foodie and loves to dabble in gastronomic alchemy as often as possible. 

Nearly half of workplace harm goes unreported, safety charity reveals

Nearly half of workplace harm goes unreported, reveal the findings from the latest edition of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll.

• One in five workers globally (18%) – equating to around 667 million adults – have experienced harm at work in the past two years.
• Nearly half (49%) of this workplace harm goes unreported.
• Further data shows almost two thirds (62%) of the global workforce have never received any health and safety training.

The figures come from the latest edition of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll, and are explored further in its latest report: Engineering safer workplaces: Global trends in occupational safety and health. The data was collected by global analytics firm Gallup, who conducted 147,000 interviews in 142 countries and territories around the world, and found that workplace harm rates have remained steady since the Poll began in 2019 (19% in the past two editions, compared to 18% now).

According to the data, rates of harm vary greatly across sectors, with fishing named as the most dangerous occupation, just ahead of construction and mining. Low- and lower-middle-income countries were also found to have higher workplace harm rates (19% and 22%, respectively).

Worryingly, the data shows that almost two thirds of the global workforce (62%) have never received occupational safety and health (OSH) training about risks associated with their work.

Several aggravating factors are identified in the report. Those in less stable forms of employment, such as part-time employees, were found to be more likely to suffer from harm than full-time employees (20% versus 15%). This is compounded by the fact that rates of training were found to be lower for part-time employees – less than a quarter (23%) had received workplace safety training in the past two years, compared to 41% of full-time employees.

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