The majority of businesses strive to make their operations more efficient and organisations in the manufacturing industry need to do so immediately or risk closing shop.
Industry reports show that among the many challenges that manufacturing companies face, meeting customer expectations and finding a solution for the labour shortage is at the top of the list.
Separate reports also predict that by 2025, almost 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled with a shortage of 2 million.
In the meantime, the speed at which technological advancements are progressing and the availability of choice have grown customer expectations at a rapid pace. Customers—no matter the industry—want to have better-quality products while paying a reasonable price for them.
Keeping this in mind, organisations in the manufacturing industry must explore ways to increase the quality of their output with a minimum number of resources. To achieve this, automation is a popular option at the moment.
Most people in the manufacturing industry are aware of automation and the challenges that it can help overcome. To completely understand the obstacles that manufacturers must overcome, let’s dive deeper into some of the obstacles that the industry faces.
Skilled labour shortage
Automation of production lines is becoming more and more crucial in the manufacturing industry for organisations to stay competitive.
While the manufacturing industry has a slew of challenges, none is perhaps more prevalent than the skilled labour shortage. Finding skilled labour has become increasingly complex and what’s harder is retaining talent to keep up with the competition in the market.
Process automation is one of the best ways to offset this labour shortage—fabrication shops, for example, use similar forms of automation to improve their production rates and the quality of their products.
Automation of production lines can be customised to meet the unique parameters of any manufacturing line without wholly depending on employees and still meeting production output goals.
The automation software tools that you use could also require additional expertise or someone that’s experienced to install and control these systems. With many techniques being quite simple, the installation of these systems is allowed without hiring an expert, in some cases.
These tools and software used for process automation can be used by a single person on the manufacturing line who is capable of installing and maintaining these systems.
By empowering a person on the manufacturing line to install and run these systems, you’re solving the problem of not having adequate labour. In addition, this person can now also attend to other machines, increasing the amount of work that’s being carried out in the facility.
Enhanced quality control checks
Quality checks are one of the most critical aspects of manufacturing lines and, therefore, automation of production lines. Quality assurance is supposed to increase the company’s credibility and also boost customer confidence, enabling the company to better compete with others.
By using checklists, digital forms, workflows, and even mobile apps, the speed and accuracy of quality checks can be increased and profit margins can be improved, issues can be resolved faster, and stakeholders can benefit from greater visibility.
Production line employees can perform spot checks using mobile devices during and after production. Shipping lines can also use intelligent checklists to confirm that all the pieces that go into creating a product are included.
If there are packing errors or product defects, it would automatically trigger advanced workflows to rectify the problem. This translates to fewer resources needed to carry out manual tasks while maintaining the quality and speed of production.
Streamlined procurement processes
When it comes to procurement in the manufacturing industry, whether it’s selecting suppliers, purchasing raw materials, managing operations, or monitoring inventory, many areas need to be addressed.
By using responsive forms and automated workflows, procurement managers can streamline the process of sourcing, evaluating, and monitoring all of the organisation’s suppliers which would otherwise be carried out by outdated, manual processes.
Using automation, purchasing staff can create a seamless, end-to-end process for generating PO requests and approvals. The right automated workflows can help you easily connect to accounting systems.
In any organisation that’s heavily reliant on product manufacturing, procurement is a critical area that needs to be error-free and sped up so that the supply chain can operate smoothly.
Overcome challenges with automation of production lines
Wondering if automating your production line is the right option for your business?
Having the right automation software and seamlessly integrating them into your existing systems can help you succeed in getting the right solutions for your unique business.
Reach out to an automation expert and schedule a consultation to learn more about how you can benefit from custom automation solutions.