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Robots vs Manual Labour: Cost & Efficiency Comparison

Antonio Leone

The manufacturing industry is changing rapidly, and robots are playing a significant role in this shift. In sectors such as automotive and electronics, automation has changed production methods, boosted efficiency and reduced costs. While production has traditionally relied on human workers, many factories are now exploring the benefits of using robots.

Manual Labour

Hiring and training workers come with upfront costs such as recruitment, onboarding, salaries, and benefits.

Robots

  • Robots require a larger initial investment.
  • Purchase of robotic cells or arms
  • Installation and integration with existing systems
  • Programming and software setup
  • Safety barriers and compliance measures

Even with the higher upfront expense, robotic manufacturing can be advantageous over time, particularly for dangerous operations, for heavy work, in high-volume or precision-focused operations.

Considering that human have the brain, and they should use it, what do you think about the industrial automation investment?

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  • 0

    I don't think it's answerable without doing a cost/benefit analysis once you know exactly what the task is.

    For multinational companies, the answer may be to outsource it to a country where labour is cheaper than robots.

  • 0 in reply to Simon Barker

    You are right, due to the fact that multinational companies sometimes transfer that manufacturing towards country where labor is cheaper than robots!  

  • 0 in reply to Simon Barker

    Bang on. It's very task dependant. Some dexterous, variable and multi-stage tasks are far less appealing to automate, as they have a high cost and may be even slower than a person to carry out (particularly is inspection for success is required, something a human worker can do by-the-by).
    I believe, if manpower is a serious issue in product throughput (and in the UK it typically is!), then automation is the a great way to multiply how much work you can do with limited staff. You look for the biggest wins first, and sell workers on it by showing how it can be a tool for them, rather than a replacement. After that, tough as it is to swallow, it might be worth looking at evaluating a product design to see if it could be made easier to automate, particularly at bottlenecks in the line. And that's all assuming it's not much easier to just leave it as is and got abroad for cheap and plentiful manual labour.

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  • 0 in reply to Simon Barker

    Bang on. It's very task dependant. Some dexterous, variable and multi-stage tasks are far less appealing to automate, as they have a high cost and may be even slower than a person to carry out (particularly is inspection for success is required, something a human worker can do by-the-by).
    I believe, if manpower is a serious issue in product throughput (and in the UK it typically is!), then automation is the a great way to multiply how much work you can do with limited staff. You look for the biggest wins first, and sell workers on it by showing how it can be a tool for them, rather than a replacement. After that, tough as it is to swallow, it might be worth looking at evaluating a product design to see if it could be made easier to automate, particularly at bottlenecks in the line. And that's all assuming it's not much easier to just leave it as is and got abroad for cheap and plentiful manual labour.

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