• What? - By adding electronics, sensors, actuators, computers and mechanisms human capabilities can be augmented to improve manufacturing.
• Why ? - In many cases there are valid reasons for assisting humans
- tedious work -- consistency required
- tasks are beyond normal human abilities (e.g., weight, time, size, etc)
• Without production, a company has nothing of real value to sell.
• A company which is poor at production is guaranteed to go out of business eventually.
• Competition drives production, and every advantage counts.
• Automation can act as valuable weapons against competitors.
• Advantages of Automated Manufacturing,
- simplification of production
- increased moral in workers (after a wise implementation)