Engineering Tomorrow, Today: How Automation Addresses “The Four M's” of Manufacturing
More manufacturers
worldwide are implementing automation technologies to eliminate error-prone
manual processes and reduce instances of interrupts that waste time and cost
money. In part one of this series on automation, we examined how
Celestica works with our customers in highly regulated industries to determine
how automation technologies may fit into their operations. After we make that
determination and present our recommendations, the next steps are to focus on
“The 4 M’s”: mental muscle, materials, machines, and measurement.
1: Mental Muscle
Manufacturing processes
and machinery are growing increasingly complex due to the integration of
technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the
Internet of Things. But the global pool of people with the “mental muscle” -
the background in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) -
who can address these complexities and minimize interrupts is not growing fast
enough to keep pace with demand.
According to Deloitte, “while some predicted that these new
technologies would eliminate jobs, we have found the reverse—more jobs are
actually being created. (Our research shows) a widening gap between the jobs
that need to be filled and the skilled talent pool capable of filling them.”[1]
Factory automation can
ensure that any fluctuations in a manufacturer’s labor force does not adversely
affect its ability to produce quality products and deliver them on time.
2: Materials
Materials must meet
requirements around quality, quantities and durability. If there are defects,
it doesn’t matter how well the machines are working. Defects create delays. The
sooner errors are identified, the easier and less costly they are to remedy, or
even avoid.
Automation technologies
can be trained to examine any number of factors such as dimensions, weight and
color, as well as inspect for defects, warpage or any other factors that cause
interrupts. Automation can also “teach” machines to conduct checks along the
entire supply chain to better manage incoming materials without the need for
human intervention. Additionally, this generates data the manufacturer can
analyze and use to prevent that waste from occurring in the first place.
Celestica’s expertise enables us to further
drive improvements by eliminating the need to turn to indirects (e.g., supply
chain engineers, process engineers) to determine the cause of a problem. We
create a very narrow channel that materials must go through to ensure defective
products don't pass through it.
3: Machines
All materials may meet
all incoming standards, but if a machine goes down, the operation suffers
delays. That’s why our recommendations for deploying automation technologies
often address improving preventive maintenance capabilities. Anticipating wear
and tear, and enabling machines to self-diagnose their current status saves
time and money because the manufacturer becomes better able to address
potential issues before they occur instead of reacting to them after they’ve
already disrupted operations.
4: Measure
“Measure twice and cut
once.” It’s an old adage for craftspeople like carpenters and tailors that also
applies to manufacturing. We work with our customers to assess the risk of all
the operations required to make a product by asking two key questions:
- What could go wrong?
- What are the costs of specific scenarios (e.g., downtime,
necessary resources, impact on customers)?
If we determine the risk
is high, we have likely identified areas where automation can help. And we
understand the benefits of deploying automation technologies to anticipate and
prevent issues before they arise first-hand. For example, one of our factories
that began operating in 2012 has made over 70 million units without a single
return from the field.
“There are 72 assembly
steps, and we know everything that can go wrong,” adds Dr. Kevin Dempsey,
Celestica’s Director of Global Automation. “We have implemented automated
processes to conduct weight checks, leak tests, visual inspections, go/no go
gauges, and alert us if replacement parts are unavailable. They all combine to
provide the answer to one question: ‘Did we do a good job producing this
product?’ If the answer is ‘no,’ the machine automatically throws it into a
reject bin.”
Now that we’ve covered
the 4 M’s, it’s also important to also note that automation never trumps the
importance of people power. The mindset of running an automated line is much
different compared to running a manual operation, and that affects the hiring,
training and oversight of employees as you build your Factory of the Future. We
will examine that issue in the next part of this series on determining how
automation fits into your manufacturing processes.
[1] Deloitte and the Manufacturing
Institute, “2018 Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute skills gap and future
of work study,” December 2018, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/manufacturing/articles/future-of-manufacturing-skills-gap-study.html