With 1.2 million industrial robots expected to be working in factories by 2010, robotics manufacturer ABB has developed a guide designed to help manufacturers better understand the "10 good reasons for investing in robots." The guide includes real-life case studies from companies and integrators, and is itself based on a recent survey by the International Federation of Robotics that identified the top 10 reasons that manufacturers invest in robots:
They range from reducing operating costs, improving product quality and consistency, as well as the quality of work for employees, to increasing production output rates, product manufacturing flexibility and reducing material waste and increasing yield.
While you'll need to fill in a form to download the PDF guide, you can see the related video (4:50) right here:
ABB isn't the only robotics company arguing the business case for robots. Robotic automation provider Motoman also has a downloadable PDF, this one titled - not surprisingly - "The Business Case for Robots."
The PDF includes statistics and calculations showing how manufacturers can use robots to compete directly with low-cost labor, and lists some of the harder-to-quantify benefits of robotics as well. The company also offers an Excel-based downloadable Robotic System Value Calculator, which is intended to detail the cash flow savings over the extended life of the robot when compared to the costs for manual operations.
The calculator takes inputs such as total system cost, number of robots, annual labor costs, and number of operators, and generates a chart and a graph with the annual cash flow accumulation up to 15 years. According to the company, this can help provide an idea of the real value of applying robots to manufacturing operations.
