Automate or Die?

Food manufacturing automation has been rapidly advancing in recent years. These advancements continually update, some of the more recent include more complex and/or flexible robotic applications (primarily through robot gripper technology enhancements), AI (artificial intelligence) and 3D printing.

Overall, these advancements in food manufacturing automation are helping to improve efficiency, quality, and safety in the food industry, while also enabling greater creativity and customization.

The increasing use of automation in food manufacturing does have the potential to reduce the need for unskilled labour in certain areas. For example, tasks such as picking and placing products, packaging, and palletizing can now be automated using robots, which can replace manual labour – something that is currently in short supply due to a perfect storm of challenges.

The Changing Dynamics of Investment Justification of Automation Projects

Prior to the global pandemic, the main driver of automation investment analysis and justification was the payback period of the investment project proposal. Typically, under a year payback was highly justifiable, one to two years would require some justification, two to three years would need to have a fundamental long-term impact on the business and over three years stood very little chance of coming to fruition.

The pandemic forced a lot of businesses to modify operational strategies and/or scale back, as resource from Eastern Europe and wider had returned home and could not be replaced. As a result, the need for automation has become essential as businesses simply do not have access to the human resource to run their existing lines.

However, it is also important to note that automation does not necessarily mean the elimination of all jobs. Automation may shift the nature of work, requiring different skills and knowledge from operatives. Some jobs may become more technical, requiring workers with specialized training in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Additionally, the adoption of automation in the food industry may lead to the creation of new types of jobs. For example, workers may be needed to monitor and maintain the automation equipment, to program and troubleshoot the machines, and to analyse data collected by sensors and other monitoring devices.

Therefore, while the adoption of automation in food manufacturing may reduce the need for some types of unskilled labour, it is likely to create new job opportunities and require a different set of skills and knowledge from workers.

Moreover, as consumer demand for customized and unique products continues to grow, companies that do not adopt automation may struggle to keep up with this trend. Automation can help companies produce customized products at scale while maintaining consistency and quality.

However, it is important to note that automation may not be suitable for all companies, and the decision to adopt automation should be carefully evaluated based on the specific needs and goals of each company. Where market uncertainties exist, the holy grail is the ability to scale production up and down in an agile manner according to demand. A key component to achieving this is flexible automation with reliability and simplicity of changeovers built in.

In summary, while automation can provide significant advantages to food manufacturing companies in terms of cost reduction, addressing labour shortages, upskilling and/or reconfiguration of facilities to become more flexible, efficient and/or productive, the decision to adopt automation should be based on careful consideration of each company’s unique circumstances and goals. Companies that do not adopt automation may face challenges in remaining competitive, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.

Within the direct support DDK provides to clients in the definition of holistic capital investment plans and then active delivery of the same with and through DDK, this can and does include considerations and opportunities for automation, feel free to get in touch for an informal initial chat.