< Previous East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk FACTORY AUTOMATION SPOTLIGHT © stock.adobe.com/putilov_denis 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:06 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link FACTORY AUTOMATION SPOTLIGHT U sing technology in this way for roles otherwise fulfilled by human labour can increase the production and monetary efficiency of any large factory, while improving the overall quality of the products rolling off your line and onto shelves. In this article we’ll look into the variety of implementations for automation there are to choose from, as well as how you can scale up your business and up your standards across the board. Robotics cover by far the most cutting edge and exciting areas of factory automation, and have the added bonus of being widely versatile in the tasks they can accomplish. Robots can be used to move materials and products around the factory, transport raw materials to the production line, or move finished products to the packaging area. But they can also be deft enough to manage the actual assembly and packaging of products, some having the fine motor skills to perform tasks such as welding, labelling, painting or screwing, and all with a level of precision and consistency that is difficult for humans to achieve. Automation can even improve safety by performing tasks that are dangerous or physically demanding for humans. You can begin to see here how robotics assure against the flaws, mistakes and dangers which can be all too common when human hands and eyes are involved. On top of the efficiency of each robot in its dedicated task, inspecting products for defects and flaws can be further applied as its own set of automated actions. With the power of machine vision, which can detect flaws invisible to the human eye in many cases, robots can use cameras or sensors to detect imperfections and take action to correct them. The fast and accurate removal of defective products from the production line ups efficiency even further, by reducing the waste of materials on defective items and stopping these from reaching the consumer market. Sensors and other software can also be easily installed to work with, around or instead of robotics to monitor any stage of production, ensuring quality control while catching flaws as they arise. For example, temperature sensors can monitor the temperature of a heating element, and then adjust as needed to maintain consistent conditions. Separate vision systems can automation Factory automation is the use of technology to carry out manufacturing processes, which can include using robots to perform repetitive tasks, sensors to monitor production, and software to control the production line. We take a closer look. 22 Á Unlocking 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:06 Page 2 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk FACTORY AUTOMATION SPOTLIGHT inspect products for defects or anomalies and take action to correct them. Inventory management can also be maintained by tracking inventory levels and automatically ordering supplies through smart software, or watching any item through the production process with the use of RFID tags. Even the maintenance of other machines on your factory floor can be managed with guaranteed precision and focus, such as by installing vibration sensors to detect when a machine is starting to wear down, allowing maintenance to be scheduled before a breakdown occurs. As a step up to involve robotics in the mix, these clever machines can be used to perform routine maintenance tasks, such as cleaning or oiling machinery. Robots and other automations can complete all these tasks, and many others, much more quickly and efficiently than humans. Any level of automation will likely result in improved efficiency, because output will increase as production time and unnecessary downtime decrease, leading to cost savings and growth in profitability. While robots can perform repetitive tasks at a constant speed without needing breaks, automation as a whole can manage and monitor production in up-to-the- moment real time, allowing for adjustments to be made quickly and efficiently. Such fine-tuned detection capability improves the reliability of high-quality finished products, reducing the need for rework or separate quality control staffing. It upholds the standardisation that’s vital to public safety and trust in your brand by controlling the production line at any and every level, ensuring that products are manufactured according to the same specifications every time. But automation provides an eye on your products even after they leave factory production by providing traceability throughout. Sensors can track materials as they move through the production line, allowing for a detailed record of each step of the process and reducing 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:06 Page 3www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link FACTORY AUTOMATION SPOTLIGHT the risk of recalls. However, even when an error or flaw slips past detection, the trace established by data during production can remain linked so that faulty batches may be easily identified and pulled back from sale if necessary. Once you can be certain the current quality of your products are handled for you, identifying and future-proofing your improvement goals becomes easier with automation too. Software can be used to analyse production data and identify areas for improvement, for example by using production statistics to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the production process. This information can help your business optimise its production processes, adding another layer to efficiency improvement. From there, it’s simple to plan out the scalability of your business model using this analysis data, especially with automation technology. For one, automation can be reconfigured quickly and easily, allowing businesses to adapt to changing production needs. For example, robots can be reprogrammed to perform new tasks, and software can be updated to adjust to changes in production volume or product mix. This can help any size of business to scale its production up or down as needed, as well as increase production capacity without needing to hire additional workers or invest in more equipment. By customising your business model and production line with factory automation wherever’s right for you, efficiency, quality, safety and cost effectiveness can all be maximised to scale. This is becoming an increasing demand for businesses that want to remain competitive, profitable and relevant in a modern market. But if there’s anything the diversity of factory automation enables, it’s the ability to implement as and when, a little at a time. And if there’s anything that the proven effectiveness of each of these systems shows, it’s that even a little can go a long way to assisting and improving your business endeavours. © stock.adobe.com/Blue Planet Studio 20-23.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:06 Page 4 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk LOGISTICS © stock.adobe.com/Joaquin Corbalan Sustainable business Sustainable business 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:08 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link LOGISTICS T he transport industry won’t be pleased to see a renewed plea from scientists as to the vast environmental damage humanity is doing to the world right now. Fossil fuels remain a thorny subject for many, especially in a time when economies are doing poorly and it’s tempting to reach for the quickly profitable fossil fuels over long-term investments. The transport and logistics industries have been struggling with the problem of green transport for a long time now. The technology has been there for a while, but while the consumer demand for greener method has only grown stronger, wholesalers and retailers have been so unwilling to consider paying higher costs that fleet managers haven’t been able to invest. The simple factor is that costs would have to go up to cover changing a whole fleet to greener methods, but big supermarkets would rather guard their profits. This is reflected in reports that freighters have been offering a range of environmentally friendly options, but that shippers are balking at the procurement stage. Sustainability is positively talked about in all areas that might reach marketing or be seen by the public, but the interest falters as soon as shippers are faced with a choice between sustainable fuels or cheaper, more environmentally damaging, alternatives. Inevitably, profits are prioritised. One of the largest couriers, DHL, provided a target of spending 7 million euros on sustainable measures and decarbonisation by 2030, but has only spend 440 million euros so far. While DHL themselves blamed the slow uptake on a lack of measures, those in the logistics industry have said the fault lays more on an unwillingness to spend, and customers’ willingness to pay a premium for sustainable transport. Many transport companies are calling on governmental support to further push the issue, but the true need the industry faces might be in greater scrutiny on supermarkets and retailers who are happy to claim they are doing all they can to decarbonise, but at the same time refuse to deal fairly with their logistical suppliers. These companies are unlikely Sustainability is the key word of the logistics industry today – both in terms of environmental sustainability, and in terms of finding a sustainable source of freight workers and drivers. 26 Á 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:08 Page 2 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk LOGISTICS to budge for anything but a threat to their reputations and profits. The industry faces greater challenges than just environmental, however. Rising fuel costs have also impacted earnings and left many in a precarious state of needing their existing contracts so badly that they cannot afford to take risks pushing sustainable alternatives or higher costs. At the same time, freight forwarders are struggling under recruitment issues of their own, with transport and logistics reporting high levels of job vacancies in specialist jobs from dock working, to warehouse operatives and HGV drivers. With competition for new drivers rising and existing ones growing closer to retirement, attention is turning toward the next generation – who, by all accounts, have poor understanding of what it means to be a lorry driver, and even poorer perceptions of it. Hollywood depictions of HGV drivers as slimy, overweight men certainly haven’t helped, and with how much of today’s world is influence by social media and Instagram, it has to be said that the job of a lorry driver is not seen as particularly desirable. More must be done to bridge the gap between the industry and younger people, because it is in fact a well-paying job involving a lot of travel, and it’s certainly not low-skilled. Finding new drivers wouldn’t be such a problem if it was. While logistics firms are doing their best to lobby to younger audiences to try and get more people interested in the industry, it’s hard to know how effective this has been. Shocking new research published nationally suggested 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:08 Page 3www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link LOGISTICS that 25% of young people feel they are not prepared to enter the workforce, up to and including having no idea what they want to be. While it’s naïve to say that is 25% of young people the logistics industry can be targeting, they can at least aim for a portion of that number. The fact is that school visits and talks to students won’t do anything to change minds. It didn’t when we were younger and won’t now. Children will see it as a free day from lessons and that alone. To really make a difference it may be more important to talk to people of the age of 14-16, and stress real-world things like the pay, the work, and the opportunities – and then to get them interested by offering to involve them in operations and let them see first-hand what the job will entail. All too often is “reaching out to the youth” seen as something one does maybe once per generation, standing in front of a class of distracted children and talking about things they can’t really grasp and haven’t had to think about yet. On the other hand, there is another easily accessible demographic in female workers. Women are woefully underrepresented in the logistics sector and aiming to make the workforce more inclusive for them is not just to meet goals of inclusivity, but to open up a pool of new recruits. There is obviously a lot of work to be done, but the recruits are there if people can only improve on reaching them. Perhaps what the sector means when it says, “there is no one to hire” is more “it’s harder to find the people I could hire.” © stock.adobe.com/Monkey Business © stock.adobe.com/Daniel Jędzura 24-27.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:09 Page 4 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk TAX James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, reflects on the Spring Budget. L istening to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget you might have been left with the sense that it set out to address everything for everyone, everywhere here and now. Delivered with the news that inflation seems to be on target to being more than halved by the end of the year and that the UK has technically avoided a recession, the Chancellor did appear ebullient in terms of future prospects for the UK economy and growth. Early on in his speech it was good to hear about the proposed £100m support for local charities, recognition of the vital work and role our third sector plays in supporting our communities. So too was the news around the provision of £63m to be made available for public swimming pools and leisure centres, all of which play a key part for many in ensuring physical and mental health and wellbeing. When it came to the cost-of- living crisis all will no doubt have been pleased to hear that the energy price cap for households will remain in place for a further 3 months, with the start of the summer expected to see a reduction in real terms in the cost of energy. Motorists will have welcomed the continuation of the 5p fuel duty freeze and for those that like a pint down the pub, the 11p reduction in alcohol duty on a draught pint has probably gone down a treat. Moving on to what the Budget 2023 number of measures aimed at targeting and supporting, at one end, those with health-related issues and child care challenges and at the other end, encouraging those aged over 50 back to the work place. With regard to the latter, a key area of focus was seeking to address the shortage of health care professionals who might have left the profession as they have reached the pension threshold and felt continuing was not financially attractive or beneficial. Measures to boost the workforce then saw financial support and incentives for those seeking child care provision and more flexibility for nurseries and child minders as providers. Schools are also being encouraged to provide greater wrap around cover for childcare at the start and end of a working day. When it comes to those over 50 who may have left the workplace, the Chancellor chose to increase the annual pension allowance from £40,000 to £60,000 and remove the life time allowance, the maximum a person may have in a pension pot. With this, along with the rising costs of living and a sense that many might now want to do something, he hopes that people will seek work, even if it is not necessarily what they used to do. To support them he is also looking to introduce apprenticeships for the over 50s helping them to re-train and up skill. Whether the measures announced will means for business and enterprise, Mr Hunt did not, as many might have hoped, seek to cancel the forthcoming increase in Corporation Tax from 19% to 25% this April. In part he indicated that the lower rate actually hadn’t had the impact or desired outcome in terms of stimulating economic growth or rewarding or incentivising enterprise. He did however, seek to harness the upside of Super Deduction, the tax relief which was due to come to an end this April, with the introduction of full capital expensing for the next three years, with the intention of making this permanent. Under this relief, IT, plant and machinery will be deductible in full from taxable profits. Looking to support the life science and creative sectors, an enhanced credit is set to be introduced whereby for every £100 spent on R&D, eligible companies would be able to claim £27 back. Further tax relief and support is also being introduced for SME’s who undertake more intensive R&D, especially in the fields of life science, healthcare and artificial intelligence. When it comes to barriers to economic and business growth one of the key challenges many businesses face is a workforce and labour shortage. Whether keen to help businesses address this issue or to reduce the growing number of people who are classed as economically inactive, the Chancellor announced a 28-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:11 Page 1TAX help to fill vacancies will no doubt depend on the ability to match skills with jobs, especially in those sectors with particular challenges such as healthcare, education, tourism, hospitality and even the professions like accountants and solicitors. Finally, it was interesting to hear about the creation of 12 new investment zones including those planned for the West Midlands, East Midlands, Teesside, South and West Yorkshire along with the proposed £400m for further levelling up partnerships. Such initiatives do appear to be, in part, underpinned in some areas with changes to public accountability and responsibility with a move to decisions, influence and control transferring from Local Enterprise Partnership to unity authorities. At just over an hour long the Chancellor’s Budget could not be classed as an epic. It did though seem to be action packed and full of content, as to the substance that is likely to come to the fore when we see the devil in the detail. The next 12 months as we run up to an election will see if it has the desired impact he and the government want and the electorate might crave. 28-29.qxp_Layout 1 03/04/2023 14:11 Page 2Next >