Robotics and Automation for Manufacturing: Hurdles or Assets?

by Fronetics | Jul 25, 2019 | Blog, Manufacturing & Distribution, Marketing, Marketing Automation, Robotics & Automation, Supply Chain

Implementing robotics and automation for manufacturing can be costly and a challenge for public perception – but, ultimately, these technologies are crucial assets for the industry.

Highlights:

Hurdles companies face concerning automation include public perception, potential safety hazards, and cost.
However, robots actually make factories safer and protect human workers from having to perform dangerous tasks.
Advantages of automation include decreased long-term costs, reduced error rate, improved productivity, and enhanced data collection.

As machine learning, or Artificial Intelligence (AI), gains sophistication and technologies continue to improve, supply chain companies are increasingly needing to evaluate the benefits and pitfalls of robotics and automation for manufacturing.

While current evidence suggests that experts are correct in predicting that automation will prove a significant competitive advantage, manufacturing companies are often faced with equally significant hurdles when it comes to implementing these technologies.

So, on balance, are robotics and automation for manufacturing assets, or do they present insurmountable hurdles? Let’s look at the case for each.

3 challenges of robotics and automation for manufacturing

1) Perception

When companies begin considering or implementing robotics and automation for manufacturing, they do so in the context of a public steeped in the kind of sci-fi lore that breeds hysteria on this issue. While public fears of Cylons and the like taking manufacturing jobs may seem like frivolous concerns, the battle that companies face when it comes to public perception is quite significant and should not be overlooked.

In addition to the more hysterical fears of robot uprising, manufacturing companies are faced with the need to combat negative public perception and employee fears when it comes to replacing traditional manual labor with capitalized assets. In short, the fear that “robots are taking our jobs” should not be underestimated as a challenge faced by companies considering manufacturing automation.

2) Dangers

In addition to cultural perceptions of robots as potentially threatening, there are real safety concerns when it comes to robotics and automation for manufacturing. A notorious accident in a Volkswagen factory in Germany, in which a worker was killed by a malfunctioning robot, has been widely reported in the media and serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers posed by automation.

Manufacturers seeking to implement automation are faced with the task of ensuring that factories remain safe for humans and robots to work collaboratively. This requires investment in safety features, as well as training and oversight.

3) Implementation costs

Perhaps the biggest hurdle to companies’ acquisition of robotics and automation for manufacturing is the cost. While these technologies are becoming more affordable, the high initial capital outlay presents a serious barrier, particularly for smaller and midsized manufacturers.

In addition to the costs of equipment, there are expenses associated with maintenance, compliance, software, and human worker training. Companies may be aware of the long-term benefits of automation but unable mount the initial costs or stomach ongoing expenses.

Robotics and automation for manufacturing: the case for overcoming the hurdles

Now it’s time to look at how these technologies are assets and whether it’s worth facing the challenges associated with implementing them.

Robots aren’t here to replace humans.

When it comes to combatting the public perception that robots will render humans obsolete, there’s one simple truth that sums it up best: robots will not replace humans. In fact, automation works best alongside human workers and maximizes the strengths of each, leading to enhanced employee value. Automation frees up human workers to work in their core competencies, focusing on strategic work, oversight, and administration.

Automation helps make factories safer.

While the dramatic examples of robots causing injury and death are harrowing, and deserve attention, it’s important not to sweep under the rug the fact that automation actually makes factories much safer for human workers. By performing tasks that put humans at risk, robots can remove workers from traditionally hazardous situations or exposure to harmful materials.

As these technologies develop, they are becoming increasingly safe and include provisions that facilitate working collaboratively with humans. Robotics can increase access to difficult or dangerous locations. Improvements in sensors, dexterity, artificial intelligence, and trainability are helping to ensure that robotics and automation for manufacturing are safe.

Automation as a value driver

While costs associated with implementation and maintenance may be significant, arguably, with the competitive advantages presented by robotics and automation for manufacturing, companies can’t afford not to automate.

Robots improve the speed and accuracy of routine operations, reducing costly error rates and increasing productivity. They decrease long-term costs, provide labor utilization and stability (particularly when labor is in short supply), and optimize picking, sorting, and storing times. The vastly improved data collection provided by automated manufacturing means reducing the frequency of costly inventory checks while increasing accuracy.

The bottom line: the hurdles presented by robotics and automation for manufacturing are well worth navigating.

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Customer-Service Automation Isn’t Always the Best Answer

by Fronetics | Apr 24, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Strategy, Supply Chain

While automation technology can streamline many processes and functions, customer-service automation can sometimes backfire and lose you business.

We’ve talked a lot recently about implementing automation technology into your sales and marketing operations. It can be a great tool for saving time and money while increasing your communication and customization with prospects and leads.

But a recent Harvard Business Review article by Ryan W. Buell, Professor at Harvard Business School, reminds us that the benefits of automation “aren’t universally rosy,” particularly when it comes to customer service. Here’s why customer-service automation isn’t always the best answer.

Your brand is at stake

People like technology when it works. But they can be unforgiving when it doesn’t. Customer service is the part of your business that is most likely to cause lasting damage to your reputation when automation fails.

Any point of contact between your company and your customers is part of customer service. Outbound emails, chatbots, automatic order confirmations, and interactive voice response (call trees) are all part of the customer experience. If any one of them disappoints, you’ve given customers a reason to think twice before doing business with you again.

Solving problems is more important than saving time

People want technology to make life easier and ordinary tasks faster. That’s why digital boarding passes, on-demand ride services like Uber and Lyft, and electronic payment systems like Venmo are “good” technology. With simple interfaces and a specific purpose, they make it easier to accomplish something that would take longer to do without them. People perceive companies that offer these services as innovative, helpful, and even indispensable.

If, on the other hand, “an action would be seen as annoying when performed by a person, chances are it will be annoying when performed by technology,” according to Buell.

Call trees are the most egregious example of bad automation, especially when callers are forced to listen to product pitches or survey requests before they can talk to someone who can solve their problem. “The best uses of technology are likely to make customers and employees feel more, rather than less, valuable to your organization,” says Buell.

No one wants to talk to a machine

Humans are emotional and social beings. Buell suggests “an instantaneous connection to a gracious and well-informed human should be a short stroll, click, or tap away.”

Machines are information deliverers, not problem solvers. They can’t deal with ambiguity or non-conforming situations. As they get smarter and more connected, they can fool you into believing they’re thinking when, really, they’re just processing inputs and responding based on rules. That’s not the same as hearing, caring and reacting with empathy. And that’s why great customer service should always include easy access to a human being.

When electronic service isn’t responsive, it can make your customers’ problems worse, not better. Tasks that require creativity or are unique to individual circumstances don’t lend themselves to automation.

Don’t let technology take center stage

Technology should be invisible to as great an extent as possible. When servers and cashiers are slaves to tablets and POS systems, they’re not making eye contact and talking to customers. When callers are asked to repeat the same account information while navigating from one department to another, they get justifiably irritated, which puts your call center agents on the defensive before they’ve even said a word. Automated services that are difficult to use or don’t lead to the right outcomes are more annoying than satisfying.

Experts at TechTarget offer the following advice to keep service technology in the background where it belongs:

Unify management of different customer service channels whenever possible to provide consistent service.
Integrate customer data so callers don’t have to repeat the same information over and over.
Integrate business processes across departments to create logical hand-offs and a path to solving customer problems.
Make it easy to reach a human at any time!
Make sure humans test and update automated services on a regular basis.

If you’re looking at customer-service automation as a way to improve productivity, don’t make the mistake of prioritizing cost savings over customer satisfaction. Never underestimate the value of human connections for both employees and customers.