Industries have been evolving by leaps and bounds ever since their advent into the world. Starting from the usage of very primitive tools such as spinning jenny, modern industries have progressed to maneuver advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing systems.
Today’s ferocious competition between industries demands consistent products with standard quality and wholesome costs. In order to address these challenges efficiently, industries have begun to contemplate automated services, besides the already existent mechanical techniques.

The term “Industrial Automation” refers to the usage of control systems such as robots, computers and information technologies for efficiently handling processes and machineries in an industry to serve as an alternative to human beings. It is the next big step after mechanization, in the scope of mechanization.

The automated services are projected to achieve performance superior to human intervention. While mechanization generally means replacing human labour by machines, Automation implies the integration of machines into self-governed and self-operated unit.

An integral part of automation is control system. Control aggregates the set of technologies that achieve required patterns of variations of operational parameters and sequences for machines and systems by providing the requisite input signals.

Automation is applied in mass-production where high investment and high production rates are required; in press working for automobile body panels, outer shells of major appliances (laundry machines and ranges), metal furniture (desks and file cabinets) and in simulation & visualization through powerfully automated computer systems which emulate real world situations, analyze and generate realistic visualizations of potential outcomes in various domains ranging from geology and mining, to engineering design and mechanics, right up to surgery and real time medical surgery.

Reasons why should companies resort to Industrial Automation?

• High Productivity: Companies hire plenty of workers to run any plant for maximum number of hours, for three shifts per day, albeit the plant still needs to be closed on regular basis for maintenance and holidays. Industrial automation, single handedly fulfills the objectives of a company by allowing it to run a manufacturing plant for 24*7*365. This leads to substantial increase in productivity of a company.
• High Quality:  Automation eliminates the chances of human errors. Moreover, robots don’t undergo boredom and fatigue, unlike humans, which results in production of high quality products without the need of employee management schemes.
• High flexibility:  Addition of any new task in the assembly line demands training with human workforce, however, robots can be programmed to do any task. A single robot can be programmed to perform a plethora of different tasks, making the manufacturing task highly flexible.
• High information security: Automated data collection, allows you to collect key production information, improve data accuracy and reduce data collection costs. This facilitates an organization with facts to make the right decisions when it comes to betterment of processes and eliminating waste.
• High safety: Automation ensures industrial safety for employees by employing robots instead of humans at hazardous conditions. Also, industrial accidents such as fire breakouts and electric shocks can be avoided by using robots instead of humans.

However, instituting such technologies requires exorbitant expenses; the preparatory investment incurred in switching from a human production line to automatic production is very costly, in addition to other significant costs for training employees to manipulate sophisticated mechanisms.

Although, adopting automation in industries is highly beneficial for companies, it is absolutely not for employees, with no intellectual qualifications nor academic degrees, depending only on their physical abilities. Due the implementation of automation they can lose their jobs and be forced to resort to menial jobs for a living.

There are three keys that constitute the winning edge in a global market:

• Proprietary products: Economic and quick production of products, with a continuous scope of upgradation and adaptation to maintain leadership.
• High-value-added products: Proprietary products and knowledge facilitated through efficacious global service providers, intended for specific users.
• Global yet local services: The specific needs and custom requirements of customers living in remote areas shall be given due priority and they must be handled locally, giving them the satisfaction of proximity and partnership.

In order to meet these demands, automation companies must find a way to expand globally; minimizing the dominance of central corporate cultures and maximizing services for local customers shall be their cornerstone.

In the newfangled 21st century, companies must adapt, innovate and utilize global resources to take a step forward towards automation and consequently towards growth and success.