Automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly
by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying
those predeterminations in machines.[1][2] Automation has been achieved by various means
including mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic devices, and computers, usually in
combination. Complicated systems, such as modern factories, airplanes, and ships typically use
combinations of all of these techniques. The benefit of automation includes labor savings, reducing
waste, savings in electricity costs, savings in material costs, and improvements to quality, accuracy, and
precision.
Automation includes the use of various equipment and control systems such as machinery, processes
in factories, boilers,[3] and heat-treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering, stabilization of
ships, aircraft and other applications and vehicles with reduced human intervention.[4] Examples range
from a household thermostat controlling a boiler to a large industrial control system with tens of
thousands of input measurements and output control signals. Automation has also found a home in the
banking industry. It can range from simple on-off control to multi-variable high-level algorithms in terms of
control complexity.
In the simplest type of an automatic control loop, a controller compares a measured value of a process
with a desired set value and processes the resulting error signal to change some input to the process, in
such a way that the process stays at its set point despite disturbances. This closed-loop control is an
application of negative feedback to a system. The mathematical basis of control theory was begun in the
18th century and advanced rapidly in the 20th. The term automation, inspired by the earlier
word automatic (coming from automaton), was not widely used before 1947, when Ford established an
automation department.[5] It was during this time that the industry was rapidly adopting feedback
controllers, which were introduced in the 1930s.[6]
The World Bank's World Development Report of 2019 shows evidence that the new industries and jobs in
the technology sector outweigh the economic effects of workers being displaced by automation. [7] Job
losses and downward mobility blamed on automation have been cited as one of many factors in the
resurgence of nationalist, protectionist and populist politics in the US, UK and France, among other
countries since the 2010s.[8][9][10][11][12]
Advantages, disadvantages, and limitations
Perhaps the most cited advantage of automation in industry is that it is associated with faster production
and cheaper labor costs. Another benefit could be that it replaces hard, physical, or monotonous
work.[45] Additionally, tasks that take place in hazardous environments or that are otherwise beyond
human capabilities can be done by machines, as machines can operate even under extreme
temperatures or in atmospheres that are radioactive or toxic. They can also be maintained with simple
quality checks. However, at the time being, not all tasks can be automated, and some tasks are more
expensive to automate than others. Initial costs of installing the machinery in factory settings are high,
and failure to maintain a system could result in the loss of the product itself.
Moreover, some studies seem to indicate that industrial automation could impose ill effects beyond
operational concerns, including worker displacement due to systemic loss of employment and
compounded environmental damage; however, these findings are both convoluted and controversial in
nature, and could potentially be circumvented.[46]
The main advantages of automation are:
Increased throughput or productivity
Improved quality
Increased predictability
Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product
Increased consistency of output
Reduced direct human labor costs and expenses
Reduced cycle time
Increased accuracy
Relieving humans of monotonously repetitive work [47]
Required work in development, deployment, maintenance, and operation of automated processes —
often structured as "jobs"
Increased human freedom to do other things
Automation primarily describes machines replacing human action, but it is also loosely associated with
mechanization, machines replacing human labor. Coupled with mechanization, extending human
capabilities in terms of size, strength, speed, endurance, visual range & acuity, hearing frequency &
precision, electromagnetic sensing & effecting, etc., advantages include: [48]
Relieving humans of dangerous work stresses and occupational injuries (e.g., fewer strained backs
from lifting heavy objects)
Removing humans from dangerous environments (e.g. fire, space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities,
underwater, etc.)
The main disadvantages of automation are:
High initial cost
Faster production without human intervention can mean faster unchecked production of defects
where automated processes are defective.
Scaled-up capacities can mean scaled-up problems when systems fail — releasing dangerous toxins,
forces, energies, etc., at scaled-up rates.
Human adaptiveness is often poorly understood by automation initiators. It is often difficult to
anticipate every contingency and develop fully preplanned automated responses for every situation.
The discoveries inherent in automating processes can require unanticipated iterations to resolve,
causing unanticipated costs and delays.
People anticipating employment income may be seriously disrupted by others deploying automation
where no similar income is readily available.
Paradox of automation
The paradox of automation says that the more efficient the automated system, the more crucial the
human contribution of the operators. Humans are less involved, but their involvement becomes more
critical. Lisanne Bainbridge, a cognitive psychologist, identified these issues notably in her widely cited
paper "Ironies of Automation."[49] If an automated system has an error, it will multiply that error until it is
fixed or shut down. This is where human operators come in.[50] A fatal example of this was Air France
Flight 447, where a failure of automation put the pilots into a manual situation they were not prepared
for.[51]
Limitations
Current technology is unable to automate all the desired tasks.
Many operations using automation have large amounts of invested capital and produce high volumes
of products, making malfunctions extremely costly and potentially hazardous. Therefore, some
personnel is needed to ensure that the entire system functions properly and that safety and product
quality are maintained.[52]
As a process becomes increasingly automated, there is less and less labor to be saved or quality
improvement to be gained. This is an example of both diminishing returns and the logistic function.
