MT Magazine November/December 2024

MT MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024

15

Necessary points out that the use of automation is not something indicative of all top shops, and that some other shops are deploying automation like collaborative robots (cobots). Still, the overall numbers in several categories indicate that automation is a salient characteristic of the shops that are able to achieve those solid returns and keep their operations consistently running. Fifty-one percent of top shops use robotic part loading, 16% more than other shops. The delta between the top shops and the others when it comes to lights-out operation is even greater: 68% to 48%. The point is: Automation can measurably impact the productivity of a shop – and its profitability. Clearly important reasons to use it. But there is some trepidation. Automate Now Which brings us to Joe Campbell, a consultant who has been involved in robotics and automation for some 35 years. He’s worked with SCARA robots, 6-axis robots, and cobots. “Twenty years ago, the only companies that were applying robots were big ones,” Campbell says. The reason why that was the case is simple: “They were too complicated and too expensive.” But that has significantly changed in terms of the technology – as has the need for the technology. “We found a lot of companies that couldn’t run their machines because they couldn’t get labor to load and unload them. So, you had a half-million dollar machine tool sitting idle because you couldn’t get production coming off of it,” he says. So, the shops that put automation on the equipment were able to “pick up the top line sales and bottom-line margin from the production of the machine.” Or, he says, other operations may want to expand capacity but are, in effect, “landlocked” – they have no ability to physically expand the shop. While the lack of available labor is certainly an important consideration, Campbell says that an important focus today is not just on finding or keeping the right people but on getting productivity up. “If you automate, you can get a significant boost in raw capacity, raw output.” Historically robots and other automation have proliferated in high-volume, low-mix operations like automotive. But Campbell points out that in an increasing number of cases, high-mix, low-volume, more customization, and shorter product life-cycles all lend themselves to being addressed by automation that can be quickly deployed – and redeployed, like cobots. Downtime is expensive. Arguably even unaffordable nowadays.

Back to the Start According to a study released earlier this year by consultancy Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute (MI), the U.S. manufacturing industry could need to fill as many as a net 3.8 million jobs between 2024 and 2033. Of those jobs, the ones specifically related to durable goods manufacturing include machinists and welders. One finding should give all manufacturing managers pause: Employees are 2.7 times less likely to leave an organization during the next 12 months if they think they can acquire skills that will be necessary for the future. In other words, if an employee is doing a job that could be readily automated, i.e., where there’s no future for them, then they’re going to be more likely to leave. Deloitte and MI calculate that of the 3.8 million job openings, 1.9 million could go unfilled unless manufacturers address the skills and applicant gaps. Campbell has a succinct observation about how this can be addressed by manufacturers: “Automation makes a facility a whole lot more attractive to a younger generation, so you can hire some people.” Resolving this probably won’t be an insurmountable issue for top shops. But as for the other shops …

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