Modern Manufacturing
July 2, 2020
CNC Machining: Why is It Important?
August 20, 2020
It’s important to note that automation has likely forever changed the dynamics between humans and machinery, affecting everything from work life to personal life. But too often automation is played down and over simplified to the image of robots taking the jobs of people in many of today’s modern industrial practices. And it’s true that many human jobs have transitioned to some type of automation in the modern industrial workplace. And for many businesses operating in the U.S and abroad, automation is here to stay; businesses couldn’t continue to perform nor afford to do business without it.
Cost is one of the most important decisions most businesses face when determining automation vs human labor. There are certain costs associated with human labor that include, but are not entirely limited to: wages and inflation, training, non-wage benefits, worker’s compensation insurance, payroll tax, and safety equipment. And there are many intangible costs: risks due to human error, product loss due to human error, and the inevitable slower and less efficient pace of human labor. But there are also significant costs to automated labor. For instance, there is usually a considerable investment in hardware and software and the training needed to use it. There will also be costs associated with training the operators: automation still requires the integration of human operators. There are ongoing maintenance considerations with automation, and when the equipment or software requires maintenance there will be both planned and unplanned stoppages in workflow.
What automation cannot do is establish relationships between workers and customers. NW Industries trains employees to be both leaders within the community and within the workplace, striving for quality assurances and timely schedules. While many larger organization have fully embraced automation to keep competitive in the modern economy, NW Industries keeps a service-oriented attitude, working toward cooperative one-on-one relationships with customers. If you have any questions about how NW Industries can help you accomplish your goals then call today.
