May 2021

10 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk May 2021 Insight I t is poignant to recall that at the time the world went into meltdown, industry in general was still riding the Industry 4.0 wave and looking forward to following a collective journey towards digitalisation and smart manufacturing. The global pandemic certainly put the brakes on that but what will happen when we emerge on the other side of this crisis? What this experience has shown us and is continuing to show us, is that businesses who had already adopted automation, or by their very nature are digital operations, such as the online retailers, have adapted more quickly and in some cases have enjoyed a boom time. In contrast, many traditional manufacturing companies are struggling to return to anything like pre COVID-19 production levels because of many factors, not least of which is the requirement to observe social distancing requirements for staff on their production lines and associated processes. Could it be then, that rather than be its nemesis, COVID-19 may well prove the catalyst that stimulates and drives manufacturing to forge ahead with digital transformation post pandemic? Digitalisation for all Perhaps in the past, talk of smart manufacturing and the digitalisation of the manufacturing process could have been interpreted by some as only applying to the larger manufacturers and enterprises. To accept that argument would be to deny SMEs the chance to enjoy the benefits of adopting automation and a level of ‘smart’ that is appropriate for their business. It is important to consider the manufacturing process as a whole and analyse areas where the adoption of automation would have the greatest impact. Labour intensive areas have always been a target for automation and with the availability of today’s technologies, the options are wide and scalable. As an example, the adoption of robotic solutions in A catalyst for digital transformation Chris Evans* looks at the effect the pandemic could have on the future adoption of automation in manufacturing within SMEs.