Throwing robots at an assembly line won’t solve a factory’s problems
While automation can increase efficiency in factories, robots can’t simply plug in to any worker’s role and instantly save a business money.
Automating intelligently: Tesla is a case in point. It had to shut down Model 3 production last month to “improve automation.” The manufacturer wrongly assumed its robots could pull off tasks that other companies have yet to automate.
The solution: As a recent article in Harvard Business Review explains, factories must redesign their processes, not just buy (or build) more advanced robots. Old human-based methods don’t necessarily work well for robots. Manufacturing procedures must be engineered from the ground up to take advantage of a robot’s skills.
For example: Automation has helped BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, double production, to over 400,000 cars annually. The adoption of a “cobotic” door assembly process (in which humans work together with robots) now helps pump out 5,000 doors a day. But the factory’s robotic painting process, which remains virtually unchanged from when it was done by human hands, is still slow and expensive. It takes 12 hours, more than 100 robots, and four miles of travel in the factory to paint a car. All the robots in the world won’t fix a problem like that unless the task is fundamentally rethought.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.