Large scale automation has been with us for decades but we still have to deal with perennial staff shortages, high operational costs, lack of innovation and so much more. In the last decade, many big manufacturers have had no option but to move their operations overseas where labor and other costs are friendlier.

What this means then is that big economies that relied on large-scale industrialization have to feel and ignore the pinch of losing jobs and tax dollars to other nations. Could collaborative robots solve these problems and possibly shift the tides in the manufacturing industry? Early signs point to this possibility as Cobots do present a whole new ball game in the industrial automation space.

Here are three ways collaborative robots might impact the manufacturing sector going forward.

Bringing Back Jobs

Strange to associate robots with job creation, right? Collaborative robots allow a factory or manufacturing businesses to do more with less. There is a possibility that manufacturers will find it easier and economically feasible to set up operations in high-income countries thanks to collaborative robots. A single collaborative industrial robot arm can help a human worker to accomplish tasks that could have needed ten or more workers in the past.

At the same time, collaborative robots are being used to free highly skilled workers from repetitive tasks helping them accomplish more with less. This is critical when it comes to manufacturing in high skilled, and high-income economies since manufacturers won’t need to commit skilled workers to low paying jobs at their loss. Collaborative robots might bring back manufacturing jobs to the industrialized world.

The Rise of Small Manufacturers

In a recent interview with the Automationmag- a Canadian automation and manufacturing magazine, - Chris Claringbold who is Universal Robot’s Canada sales manager said that small manufacturers are now finding it easier to access robotic solutions courtesy of cheap collaborative robots.  In his remarks, he says that Universal Robots is now able to reach businesses that could have never received a sales call from an automation provider in the past.

Collaborative robots are having a huge impact on the small-scale manufacturing sector. They are relatively cheap, don’t need highly trained engineers and operators to run and can be used without much initial investment or running costs. ROI’s are surprisingly swift if we are to go by some of the case studies out there. This is thanks to easy deployment and low overheads.  With this in mind, it’s becoming clear that big manufacturers can no longer sit pretty knowing that they have an automation advantage over smaller manufacturers.

Safety and Insurance

Traditional industrial automation was good but it brought with it a myriad of safety and health burdens to manufacturers. The cost of insuring workers that work in highly automated manufacturing plants is very high. This is the reason why traditional robots need a lot of safety fencing and highly skilled personnel. Even with this, there are issues to do with ergonomics and freak accidents that cost manufacturers a lot of money in legal fees and compensation.

We are still at the early stages but there is a consensus among industry experts that collaborative robots are safer to work with as compared to traditional robots. To be collaborative, these cobots are made with safety as an underlying philosophy. They don’t need fencing or specialized factory setups unless required based on the deployment.

Collaborative robots also incorporate many smart safety systems such as force limiting and safety monitored stop enabling workers to work side by side with them without much risk. It’s therefore clear that manufacturers will spend less money on insurance if they use collaborative robots in their plants as compared to traditional robots. At the same time, fewer injuries also mean less money spent on medical compensation and fewer downtimes.

Final Words

The manufacturing industry requires innovative automation to move forward in industry 4.0. Collaborative robots will not only provide the much-needed innovation but also help manufacturers to save money and stay competitive. Small manufacturers have a lot to look forward to in industry 4.0 thanks to collaborative robots.