How To Implement Automation For Small Manufacturers
Post By: Holly Shaw On: 11-10-2024 - Automation & Control - Company Updates - Manufacturing
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold a greater share of business in the manufacturing industry than most people realise. However, they may find it harder to keep up with the technological developments of Industry 4.0. Most large corporations are already heavily invested in automating their operations, but smaller manufacturing businesses usually face greater constraints on their budgets.
It’s not beyond the power of SMEs to adopt automation technologies if you leverage cost-effective and intelligent strategies. You can enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of your SME by first identifying what you see as your greatest challenges. You should be clear about your objectives for implementing automation, such as downsizing your workforce, increasing output or just a general long-term reduction of costs.
How Can SMEs Implement Automation?
Successful implementation of automation for small manufacturers starts with selecting the most appropriate technologies and equipment. You don’t need to be a large corporation to implement automated technology, as you can find equally good and cost-effective choices that will deliver major benefits. Plug-and-play technologies or turnkey options require little in the way of set-up and you don’t need skilled personnel to do it. You should research potential systems carefully, taking into account the vendors’ industry reputation and track record.
Inexpensive Automation Equipment
Many smaller companies are put off the idea of automation because of the machinery costs, but it’s not always necessary to go for large and expensive items. You can make a significant impact on cost-effectiveness using only low-cost equipment like conveyor belts. These automate the movement of materials and finished products so they don’t need to be hand-carried. You can also integrate them with sensors so that you can sort items automatically, improving accuracy and minimising errors.
Other low-cost automation tools worth consideration include automated packaging machines, which increase packaging consistency and reduce the amount of manual labour required. Automated sorting systems can help you achieve faster throughput, further reducing human error. These systems work by setting predefined criteria for sorting and categorising different items, which they do at speed and with great accuracy.
Once you start to achieve efficiencies with low-cost automation tools, you can gradually begin to implement more advanced automated systems. These could be more expensive, but you can add components piecemeal as your budget permits. For instance, you don’t always need to replace your existing equipment with costly automated machinery. Instead, you might enhance a machine’s current capabilities with automated components, like robotic arms.
You might consider investing in collaborative robots, or cobots, which work alongside your human employees. You can program them to carry out various tasks, with increased safety and efficiency. Cobots are a valuable automation tool that can be operated with minimal technical expertise. Another useful addition to your small manufacturing premises is automated guided vehicles (AGVs). You can program these machines to follow specific routes around the factory floor, where they interact with machinery. Autonomous transportation of materials offers seamless and more efficient material handling.
Manufacturing Execution Systems
In addition to automation hardware, you can also gain valuable business insights by implementing smart sensors. You can analyse data in such areas as inventory management, process optimisation and predictive maintenance. Businesses of all sizes have adopted the marketing concept of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which provide an excellent way to monitor your performance.
Through KPIs, you can establish benchmarks to measure your current performance, which then helps to identify areas where implementing automation would offer improvements. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can help you do this with easily installed and managed software. This can manage practically everything in your business operations.
On its own or as part of an ERP software package, a manufacturing execution system (MES) module can help you set up and monitor your KPIs. You can track every product you manufacture and gather information about its performance through every stage of its progress. This means you can automate the monitoring and assessment of your production and identify areas for improvement.
Cloud-Based MRP Software
ERP systems specifically designed for manufacturing are called manufacturing resource planning systems (MRP). These are useful and cost-effective tools if you’re intending to automate. You can choose a cloud-based system so that you don’t have to invest anything up front, making the first steps of automation an economically viable proposition.
MRP software can go a long way towards automating your processes through meticulous production planning. It uses complex algorithms to monitor data such as current orders, available capacity and inventory levels to create a master production schedule. From this, optimised production schedules can be extrapolated, ensuring the most efficient use of resources. They’ll reduce idle time in processes and help eliminate production bottlenecks.
With MRP software, you can easily automate processes for inventory and order tracking, as well as forward planning. Stock levels are easily monitored, from which you can forecast future material requirements. You’ll get alerts when stocks are low, so you can raise pre-filled purchase orders on demand, preventing both overstocking and stock-out situations. Your stoppages will be minimised, and you can free up cash that would otherwise be committed to unused inventory.
Continuous updates and alerts give you instant visibility into the progress of any order. This improves the effectiveness of order tracking and management, reducing delays and ensuring your customers receive their deliveries with the minimum delay.
Why Small Manufacturers Should Embrace Automation
Even small manufacturing businesses can benefit from implementing automation. If you’re worried about your budget, you can start small, adding inexpensive tools and gradually building up your capabilities. Automated devices and MRP software will help you reduce operational costs, improve your efficiency and allow you to remain competitive.
Automated reporting and analytics help to improve your manufacturing performance with real-time insights into dozens of automated processes. This means you’ll be able to assess things like overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and be in a better position to make informed decisions. This will help you to achieve overall operational excellence.
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