From the editor's desk: The virtual business assistant
8 June 2020
Editor's Choice
By Steven Meyer.
Have you ever wished someone would automate the daily grind of routine tasks and set you free to focus on the more engaging aspects of your job? Imagine a robot sitting in front of your computer capable of invoking the same applications and executing the same keystrokes that you would usually make.
Enter robotic process automation (RPA), a disruptive workplace technology that uses software 'robots' to mimic many of the repetitive interactions human beings have with their computers. It performs such tasks faster than us people, and also eliminates the errors we are prone to make. These bots act directly across an application’s user interface, logging themselves in and out, entering data, and even computing the end results.
However, as is true of most automation, RPA only translates into competitive advantage when it is applied in the right context. Applied inappropriately, the bots are quite likely to run amok, and leave more work for the human operators to clean up than if they had just done the job themselves in the first place.
So what are the criteria for a successful RPA implementation in a manufacturing context?
Well, first of all, the chosen tasks must be repetitive in nature; and second, RPA is best applied where the repetitive process is also highly susceptible to human error. Examples of where these conditions are likely to exist in a manufacturing company include order processing, bills of materials, inventory reports, regulatory compliance, and customer communication. RPA can deal with involved processes such as matching large volumes of transactions, certifying account reconciliations, or even collecting and compiling data for complex financial reports. Robots are arguably better than humans at performing such tasks since they do not need to take breaks and are not prone to boredom when tasks are prolonged and mundane.
The close of the third industrial revolution was marked by the introduction of mass industrial automation and robotics. The microprocessor revolutionised manufacturing and companies that embraced and adopted this technology were the beneficiaries of sustainable manufacturing advantages. Similarly, in this industrial era, businesses and countries that embrace and adopt 4IR technologies (including RPA) look set to be the ones that benefit from global agility and cost efficiency.
Steven Meyer.
RPA is forecast to play an increasingly important role as organisations progress with their digital transformation plans. It offers companies an exciting new way to improve their operations while also improving employee job satisfaction. RPA solutions look likely to become a widely adopted strategy for enhancing value chains by freeing employees to focus their time and efforts on more high-value and meaningful work. The benefits accrue from being able to do more with less while reducing errors, increasing worker job satisfaction, and better ensuring that deadlines are met, which benefits accrue with only relatively small capital requirements and IT resources. While RPA cannot be applied to all types of work, it can save time spent on routine, manual tasks when correctly applied.
From the editor's desk: The age of superintelligence Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
In this issue of SA Instrumentation & Control we say farewell to our longstanding contributing editor, Michael Brown, who is retiring soon. His outstanding contribution over the years in the field of ...
Read more...SAIMC: Sunshine, swings and smiles: Durban Golf Day hits a high note Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
SAIMC
We say it every year, and we’ll say it again: May in Durban is hard to beat; but 9 May, when the Durban Golf Day teed off at Kloof Country Club, was something else. With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 20s, it was a fantastic day, full of fun and great energy.
Read more...A cure for measurement headaches in contract manufacturing VEGA Controls SA
Editor's Choice
A contract manufacturing organisation provides support to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the manufacturing of medications, formulations and substances. VEGA’s measurement solutions offer accuracy and reliability for monitoring levels and pressures during the manufacturing process.
Read more...PC-based control for a food capsule and pod packaging machine Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice
For TME, a machine builder specialising in the packaging of powdered foods, Beckhoff’s PC-based control technology offers unlimited opportunities when it comes to performance and innovative capacity in terms of flexibility, scalability and openness.
Read more...From the editor's desk: A good servant and a bad master Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
In our new AI-generated world it was inevitable that the Nobel Committee would have noticed. And last November two pioneers of artificial intelligence, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, won the Nobel Prize ...
Read more...Simple and efficient level measurement in the mining, minerals and metals industries Endress+Hauser South Africa
Editor's Choice Level Measurement & Control
Measuring devices in the mining, minerals and metals industries face the challenge of varying material states and long distances in measurement height. Endress+Hauser’s answer to these challenges is the new Micropilot family.
Read more...PC-based control for fertiliser Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
On a farm in the USA, valuable ammonia is extracted from slurry and processed into ammonium sulphate. NSI Byosis has transformed this complex process into a flexible modular system. This modular approach requires an automation solution with flexible scalability in both hardware and software, which this Dutch company has found in PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...Loop signature 28: Things to consider when tuning. Michael Brown Control Engineering
Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
I was giving a course at a remote mine in the middle of the Namibian desert. We were discussing tuning responses, and as I always do on my courses, I mentioned that in my opinion ¼ amplitude damped tuning is not desirable, and is in fact not good.
Read more...Control without complexity
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
In an era where precision, performance and smart control define industrial success, the right driver can make all the difference. At Axiom Hydraulics, we’ve seen firsthand how the Sun Hydraulics XMD series transforms hydraulic systems, from mining and construction to agriculture and automation.
printer friendly version