Mechanization of manufacturing processes first started during the industrial revolution, driven by the objective of reducing the efforts put forth by workers. Since then, mechanization has come a long way, and now most of the machines used in the manufacturing industry are based on the latest technologies. In fact, the machines of contemporary times are so sophisticated that they are replacing people to some extent, in a few manufacturing entities.
There is no clear answer for whether mechanization and automation will completely take over the sector eliminating the need for employing people altogether. That is dependent on several factors such as the exact processes of a plant, the cost aspect, and the related laws of the geographic zone. This article is going to compare mechanized and manual manufacturing and highlight the most salient of the corresponding points.
- Several market experts say that with the presently available technologies, only about 5% of the entire manufacturing process can be totally mechanized. They add that more than 50% of the manufacturing processes now in vogue will require at least a little bit of automation.
- Even the most basic of machines always operate slightly more efficiently than manual laborers. And, when we take extremely advanced machines, there is a huge increase in this efficiency. This is in terms of enabling both higher productivity and quality on a consistent basis.
- Despite the aforementioned point, we see that to date, and on the whole; the manufacturing industry isn’t contemplating seeing machines as complete replacements for workers. When many small and medium-size factories are viewed, full mechanization is something that can’t be integrated due to budgetary constraints. For these units, continuing with manual methods for the majority of processes is financially the most suitable option.
- Even if elements such as cost and legalities are set aside, we get to observe that there are many situations where human workers outperform machines. Let us elaborate more on this.
Rightly analyzing things and referring to past experiences to arrive at the right decisions is something that only humans can do. Based on all that, laborers can promptly resolve issues related to production, operating machines, and quality, to cite a few. And, that is a thing way beyond the capacity of even highly advanced devices powered by technologies like Artificial Intelligence.
- But, in several manufacturing settings, mechanized manufacturing processes have definitely brought about a small decline in the number of jobs available for people. In these places, rather than employing several unskilled workers, businesses recruit a limited number of people possessing the skills required to operate sophisticated machines.
- Mechanization is going to be of immense value for repetitive and predictable tasks of manufacturing processes, which are routine elements of a typical manufacturing facility. There is practically no element of uncertainty in these tasks. With regard to these jobs, mechanization is undoubtedly a viable alternative to manual methodologies. Experts emphatically state that in the subsequent few years, almost 80% of these tasks in the manufacturing industry will be fully mechanized and automated.
Dependency on mechanization and automation is indispensable for every factory/ plant. Businesses that don’t upgrade to these technologies will be unable to survive in the markets. In the foreseeable future, we won’t witness the scenario of machines completely taking over the human workforce. It will only be that a small number of skilled candidates will be employed to take care of mechanized processes.