Manufacturing industry workers often have to deal with dangerous materials while simultaneously adhering to tight production schedules. This has traditionally created a dangerous environment that led to workplace accidents. Automation has slowly encouraged the development of a safer environment because many of the tasks once done by people are now accomplished by machinery.
In the 19th century, the push for faster turnaround times inadvertently led to the rise of modern labor laws because of how dangerous things had become. Instead of moving toward legislative solutions for problems, more business leaders in today’s world are instead looking toward technical ones. By incorporating automated tools into existing workflows, they’re able to improve safety levels without reducing the total number of people who are gainfully employed.
Supervisors who are interested in trying out new manufacturing equipment have largely opted for off the shelf tools that are designed to work in as many potential situations as possible. These re suitable for situations where humans once performed repetitive tasks that placed them in the way of harm. For instance, anything involving the smelting of hot metals or making steel-derived salts exposes individuals to molten materials. Augmenting these chores with automated technology eliminates the risk that anyone who directly come into contact with these hazards. If there were anything wrong with the gear, then staffers could wait until it dropped back down to a tolerable level before they started to work on the equipment.
Companies planning to incorporate a greater number of solutions have largely gone with custom industrial automation equipment that’s specifically designed with their industry in mind. Shift managers have found that these solutions can actually replace a greater amount of hazardous work since they’re custom-tailored to each individual workflow. If a firm has to change the way a particular process works, then retooling it shouldn’t be difficult provided they installed a custom solution from the beginning.
Heavy industrial users have been among the most grateful for this kind of technology. Conventional computer numerical control devices strip material away from a workpiece until it fits a specific matrix. Once the end shape has been achieved, these machines move on to the next one. Newer pieces of equipment have integrated so-called 3D printing technology in order to process workpieces without the need for wasting any of the underlying material.
Both of these approaches have seen adoption in separate parts of the market, and most tech industry publications have focused on said adoption rates. Less obvious is the fact that they’ve both had a hand in reducing the number of workplace industries. Small machine shops often struggle to provide safe tools to their workers. By using automated solutions in this way, companies that do this sort of work can reduce their reliance on manually fitted workpieces. That means their staffers won’t have to get close to any moving parts that could cause industry.
Regardless of whether you represent a large or small organization, there’s sure to be an automated solution that will fit your group’s specific needs.