Important Questions to ask before investing in Robotics Automation

The world today is witnessing rapid technological revolutions happening everywhere. Robotics has always been a particular area of science and technology intertwined with the lives of the common man.

The common man can relate to robots as products of science that come to their aid, to make their lives easier. Automation is one of the upcoming hot words of the era that’s quickly gaining momentum. It may not be a term which would be that familiar for the common men but anyone who closely follows science, technology and its advancements will know about automation and how it is becoming an integral part of our day-to-day life.

An emerging field of technology coming to the front is the congregation of these two hot topics – Robotics Automation. As it is a vast field with immense scope and opportunities, there are many investors gushing in to make their contributions by investing in robotics automation projects.

There is a lot of things you need to take into consideration before investing in a robotics automation project. Let us carefully analyze all the aspects:

1: Having a very clear process definition

For successful robotics automation, you need to have an unambiguous understanding of all your current production processes. Also, you must have in hand the proper documentation of your processes and must be able to clearly communicate your purpose, design ideas, your processes and goals you are looking to achieve with the end product to the robot integrator.

2: Identify your reason for automating

Identify the core reasons for automating your business. Having a clear idea of the need will help you build the specifications and proceed with the design, development and deployment.

Having a clear understanding of this would help you define your automation goals and frame its mission and vision. Generally, some of the common factors that make businesses resort to automation are safety issues, precision and accuracy issues, the need to bring down the soaring production costs, the need to increase the volume of production, the need to enhance the quality of the products, etc.

3: Analyzing the type of manpower you will need to operate your manufacturing robots

Ideally, having manufacturing robots can help save labour costs but there are a few aspects that point in the other direction when it comes to the robotics automation arena.

You could save labour costs when it comes to the basic work that does not require much technical skills or knowledge. Hiring more skilled personnel becomes a matter of importance here though. They must be able to handle the technologies currently being used in your business, understand them and maintain them. They must also be able to perform upgrades and bug fixes on your current systems.

Hiring a skilled person will cost more as they tend to charge more but such recruitments will aid your business in a positive manner in the long run. Another option is to hire semi-skilled workers in the same field and to provide them with ample training to handle your project. In this case, the costs incurred will include training and development costs on a regular basis. Finding the right person for the job is also a tedious task. So this aspect must be carefully thought through.

4: Understanding the automation component types that are required by your production processes

The architectural descriptions speak what components the project will need. The component design should be precise and as per the architecture and specifications that have been gathered.

A robot alone cannot accomplish all the steps in the production process. There are several other components that are required to assist in completing or carrying out the production process. A few components like the robot base and factory standards are some of the other key cost and productivity constraints.

5: Clear understanding and analyzing your requirements

It is of paramount importance that you understand why you need to do what you are doing. The purpose, the need, the concept, the pros and cons of the concept, etc., should be thoroughly analyzed before proceeding with investing in the project. The scope of the concept at the time when it will be released should be foreseen and calculated in advance so as to prepare the project accordingly.

The most important requirement you will always need to keep in mind and something that you should not compromise for is the quality of your project. That should be one of your most significant requirements. Understanding your automation requirements is also very crucial for your project. If you do not have a clear idea of what your project requires and what it is trying to achieve, there will be a lot of unwanted wastage of money in the project. It could create losses that you would not have anticipated. Requirement analysis is, therefore, of supreme importance when it comes to investing in robotics automation projects.

It is clearly an era where technology is taking over and more and more organizations are inclined to automating their processes. The shift is clear, swift, active and in-progress. Plenty of investors, technocrats and engineers are keen on instilling this trend in and across all active businesses and technology fronts so as to enhance the reach of technology into production processes and other business arenas while yielding maximum productivity. With proper planning and analysis, robotics automation is an area that promises an assured return on investment policy.

Summing up, it is but always advised to clearly understand what you want, why you want it, how it can be achieved, what its scope is, what its requirements are and all that comes with it. If you jump into a project to make your investment without a thorough and detailed analysis of all these aspects, you must be prepared to face unexpected failures and losses at various stages of your project. Also, it is advised that you, being a sponsor of the project, is always in the complete knowledge regarding all the details of your project.

Hiring a very capable and efficient robot integrator can help you a great deal when involved in such projects. So do go through and keep in mind these points while you ponder on investing in robotics automation projects for your business.