Setting the record straight on robotic automation
09 February 2021
Using ABB’s YuMi cobot has enabled Italian manufacturer Anodica to boost productivity by 20 percent while giving its workers more interesting, ergonomic work
Robotic automation has the potential to transform the future of work, taking the strain off employees and providing them with a more rewarding working environment. Julian Ware, UK & Ireland Sales Manager of ABB Robotics explains why it’s time to change the narrative when it comes to robots and jobs.
While there is a lot to be optimistic about on the topic of robotic automation and the future of work, it can be hard to spot a positive headline when it comes to the way that robots are portrayed by the national press. Dramatic headlines have always pulled audiences, and this is certainly the case when it comes to telling the story of robots in manufacturing. Rather than accounts highlighting the proven benefits that robots have delivered worldwide for both companies and their workers, it is more common to see negative reports with headlines such as ‘Robots to replace up to 20 million factory jobs by 2030’, ‘Automation could replace 1.5 million jobs’ and ‘When Robots Steal Our Jobs’.
While such headlines may grab public attention, they only tell half the story, omitting several key facts that should be also included to add context and highlight the growing necessity for robots to be introduced to the nation’s factory floors.
Foremost among these is the simple fact that there is often nobody to fill the jobs in question. A perception of manufacturing as dull, dirty and dangerous has resulted in a growing skills shortage that is having a major impact on the ability of manufacturing companies to carry out work and win new projects. Prior to the Covid-19 global pandemic, 33 percent of vacancies in the UK were reflected as hard to fill due to a lack of qualifications, experience and skills. According to a skills shortages UK 2019/20 report by Luminate Prospects, 106,000 vacancies were recorded as hard to fill with 79,000 of those vacancies due to skills shortages.
As this shortage places a premium on the available skilled workers, some companies are paying higher prices in inflated salaries to retain staff and ensure their business can stay productive. Training employees hired at a lesser level than envisioned and the escalating costs of recruitment fees are other factors that also need to be considered.
These factors all build a strong case for robotic automation. The expanding capabilities of robots, including dexterity, flexibility, adaptability and agility is opening new opportunities for them to be deployed across a growing raft of manufacturing operations. As robots become increasingly able to collaborate safely with humans, new opportunities are being created for companies to achieve new levels of productivity and performance by combining the inherent skills and intelligence of their manual workforces with the fast, flexible and efficient performance of robots.
Robots are increasingly being used to help augment laboratory teams in medical and healthcare applications, handling repetitive tasks such as sampling and reducing exposure to harmful viruses and bacteria
One example of this is leading Italian metal components manufacturer, Azeta. Specialising in the manufacture of hydraulics components, Azeta installed ABB’s YuMi collaborative robot to support its employees with carrying out more challenging tasks as well as providing production efficiency. The robot released employees from performing tedious repetitive tasks, eliminated ergonomic risks and offered them the opportunity to grow within the business and contribute more of their knowledge to Azeta.
Most tellingly, feedback from those on the company’s production line was highly positive, with employees asking the management to invest in more robots. This alone was a great demonstration of the impact robotic automation can have on employees and it helped the company to lessen its Occupational Repetitive Actions (OCRA) index on various workstations across its manufacturing line.
Far from being a bar to job creation, robotic automation is a way for companies to help their workforces to be more productive and to create new job roles that will push business forward in other areas. The ability of robots to be adapted to handle different tasks, enables organisations to be more proactive, plan ahead and have the agility to cope with any external or internal crisis. The ‘Dull, Dirty and Dangerous’ jobs are immediately taken care of, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no health or mental risks. This liberates the employees to extend their careers at that company as they are performing more fulfilling, creative, and mentally stimulating jobs. Overall, this increases the dependence on people and opens new opportunities for more fulfilling roles.
Moreover, the improvements in productivity, efficiency and competitiveness that can be achieved using robots can also enable companies to grow their operations, resulting in additional employment to fill new roles needed to support growth, from sales and order processing through to delivery.
– Robots can help to move people away from having to work on dirty, dull and dangerous tasks and instead work in more rewarding roles
Time to tell a new story
For UK manufacturers, the truth is that a failure to join their international competitors on the journey to automation will leave them struggling to keep up. In this scenario, it will be the failure to automate that will result in lost employment.
It is also necessary to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With many manufacturers hit hard by the combined impact of repeated lockdowns, staff sickness and the requirements for social distancing on factory and warehouse floors, there is a growing interest in how robots can help. In a survey of 250 large and small UK businesses carried out by ABB, 81 percent of respondents said they are likely to introduce (or increase the use of) robotics and automation in the workplace in the near future.
We believe that robots will not replace humans in jobs but will instead provide an augmentation to human labour. When combined with well-designed occupational training and staff development, robots can provide employees with the opportunity to develop their skills and engage in better, more rewarding tasks. Robotic automation is not all doom and gloom, but a helping hand in helping manufacturers and their employees to fulfil their potential.
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