Productivity within the manufacturing industry – what can we expect?
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantWhether it’s the food takeaway industry
utilising mobile apps or sports events using video assisted refereeing,
technological advances are helping our world progress and become better.
It’s very evident to see that technology is
evolving across every business, allowing companies to become more productive
and efficient. Computer systems, such as CRMs and warehouse
management systems, can help you plan out your workload as efficiently as
possible to increase productivity of staff, while analytics allow you to judge
what updates are needed and when.
What can we expect to see in the future?
The process of quality control can
traditionally be a very time-consuming and expensive project. There would be
randomly selected machine-made parts that would be individually tested, and if
they passed the test, the batch it came from would be validated.
This process can’t be too reliable, as
faulty parts may well be produced in a batch and slip through after the checks.
That’s why the ever-improving embedded metrology will continue to help
manufacturers produce a better product. This quick and convenient solution is a
lot more accurate and requires little human interference.
It’s anticipated that this human aspect can
be removed completely, with technology helping to provide a fully integrated
and fully automated form of quality control. While some of the public are
concerned that jobs will be lost as it keeps progressing, it can only be a good
thing for manufacturing companies as it continues to help improve productivity
and efficiency. It will be interesting to see what we welcome to factories
next! Technology is continuing to amaze us in all walks of life.
The automotive industry is no different,
either, taking advantage of new inventions. It’s not only our cars that are
benefitting from technological advances, though — the manufacturing industry
is, too. Lookers, who offer Ford
Motability Cars, are an example of this too!
Printing techniques
In any manufacturing company, human error
can be extremely costly. That’s where 3D printing can come into play. While
it’s still early days for the technology, digital printing has
the potential to have a massive impact on practicality. It’s expected that this
invention will transform nearly every industry as it changes how manufacturers
will do business and will impact material costs, the traditional assembly line
and product pricing strategies.
They are particularly handy as automated
printers, like those used by Voodoo Manufacturing, don’t need to be manned
anymore and can continue working 24 hours a day. The use of robotics isn’t
aimed at replacing humans, but more so making employees’ jobs easier.
Bodysuits
It was announced in 2017 that line workers
in the plant would pilot exoskeleton suits — wearable technology that can help
support a worker’s arms while they undergo tasks above their heads. Ford’s
Michigan plant is also using innovative technological developments to help its
workforce. These suits can also be adjusted to support different weights,
depending on the wearer’s needs.
While such suits were more likely to appear
on the big screen in movies such as Iron
Man just a few years ago, the creation is having positive feedback from its
users in the real life world.
Drones
Drones can impact a company massively,
saving almost 12 hours on each inspection and reducing the time it takes to
check the equipment from 12 hours to 12 minutes. Not only can drones provide a
quick and thorough inspection, but they eliminate the health and safety risk of
someone needing to scale up to 150 feet to look at gantries. They have started
to use drones to help perform risky inspections on the factory’s equipment in
it’s Dagenham engine plant. The company is benefitting massively,
Drones are also particularly good at
providing the company with video and still footage that can be stored to allow
the plant to compare its findings over a period of time to monitor any changes
or patterns that are noticeable. This has become an indispensable tool for the
factory, with the drones greatly improving productivity and efficiency.
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Created on Jul 11th 2019 03:20. Viewed 420 times.