Robots were once perceived as a threat to people’s jobs, or even just a tool used in the heavy industry sector, but in this digital era, SMEs are starting to make use of them as well.
While some people argue that robots are replacing humans, SMEs are benefiting from the support of this technology to kick start their journey towards success.
Robots Increase Efficiency and Productivity
The latest studies are showing how the impact of robotics on productivity levels is increases the overall efficiency of a company’s workflow due to the high level of precision and quality. When it comes to SMEs in particular, the concept of “cobots” has been on the table for further consideration: Cobots are basically robots designed to interact with humans in the physical world in order to support their jobs. Instead of the high cost of autonomous entities working on their own, which can be a very expensive investment for small businesses and startups, this type of technology would perform a certain specific task that would help department employees work on their own task. For example, a cobot arm could sort and arrange cups of different sizes in an organised manner, making it easier for a human worker to attach the right sized handle to respective cups.
SMEs are the backbone of most of the world’s economies which means that they are the ones that could benefit the most from robotics in order to remain competitive in a global marketplace and keep up with the evolving technologies and innovations.
Robots Reduce Errors
Humans are naturally prone to error, especially in jobs that require multitasking, and making mistakes, even unintentionally can have serious consequences. If something goes wrong at a single point on an assembly line or in a factory, that error affects everyone else all the way down. Which is why using robots and robotics in general to automate small tasks ensures that everything works smoothly and on time, no matter how redundant and tedious it may be. Since the machine has a sole dedicated job, it won’t make any errors but of course requires maintenance and every now and then for updates and follow up.
Improving Company Culture
Embracing innovations that prioritize employee’s well-being will strengthen a company’s culture. By automating repetitive tasks, managers are giving their employees more time and flexibility to move onto more important duties and express themselves more comfortably, which automatically improves their performance and boosts their motivation to work on new things every time. In fact, this sense of comradery and belonging to a company or a team’s value can be spotted early on with engineering students who are learning to develop and rely on technology to solve a lot of modern economic, social, academic, artistic issues and even sports and special needs cases. By working in teams to compete or even joining a robotics club, ESiLV students are fueling their passion, learning professionalism, and participating in showrooms and competitions where they get the chance to develop tools and create robots with a purpose. And through this non-traditional team activity, they get to strengthen their leadership skills, learn to cooperate with others, and learn the highs and lows of competing.
Learn more about ESiLV, French engineering school.