Mechanization and automation of production processes

Automation of production and technological processes is a procedure in which the control and management functions performed by a person are transferred to devices and devices. Due to this, the productivity of work and the quality of products are significantly increased. In addition, the share of workers involved in various industrial spheres is reduced. Let's consider what automation and automation of production processes are.

Historical reference

Self-functioning instruments - prototypes of modern automatic systems - began to appear in antiquity. However, until the 18th century, artisanal and semi-domestic activities were widespread. In this regard, such "self-acting" devices have not received practical application. In the late 18th - early 19th centuries. There was a sharp jump in volumes and level of production. The industrial revolution created the prerequisites for the improvement of methods and tools of labor, the adaptation of equipment for the replacement of man.

Mechanization and automation of production processes

Changes that caused the industrial revolution, touched primarily wood and metalworking, spinning, weaving factories and factories. Mechanization and automation of production processes were actively studied by K. Marx. He saw in them a fundamentally new direction of progress. He pointed to the transition from the use of individual machines to the automation of their complex. Marx said that the conscious functions of control and management must be ensured. The employee becomes close to the production process and regulates it. The main achievements of that time were inventions of the Russian scientist Polzunov and the English innovator Watt. The first created an automatic regulator to power the steam boiler, and the second - a centrifugal speed controller for the steam engine. For a long time, intellectual activity remained manual. Before the introduction of automation, the replacement of physical labor was carried out through the mechanization of auxiliary and basic processes.

The situation today

At the present stage of the development of mankind, the systems of automation of production processes are based on the use of computers and various software. They help to reduce the degree of people's participation in activities or completely exclude it. The tasks of automation of production processes include improving the quality of operations, reducing the time that is required for them, reducing costs, increasing accuracy and stability of operations.

Basic principles

Today, means of automating production processes have been introduced into many spheres of industry. Regardless of the scope and scope of the companies, almost all of them use software devices. There are different levels of automation of production processes. However, for any of them, there are unified principles. They provide the conditions for effective execution of operations and formulate general rules for their management. The principles, according to which the automation of production processes are carried out, include:

1. Consistency. All actions within the operation should be combined with each other, to go in a certain sequence. In the event of a mismatch, a process violation is likely to occur.
2. Integration. An automated operation must fit into the overall environment of the enterprise. At one stage or another, integration takes place differently, but the essence of this principle is unchanged. Automation of production processes at enterprises should ensure interaction of the operation with the external environment.
3. Independence of execution. The automated operation must be carried out independently. Participation of a person in it is not provided, or it should be minimal (only control). The employee should not interfere with the operation, if it is carried out according to the established requirements.

These principles are specified in accordance with the level of automation of a process. For operations, additional principles of continuity, proportionality, specialization and so on are established.

Levels of automation

They are classified in accordance with the nature of the company's management. It, in turn, can be:

1. Strategic.
2. Tactical.
3. Operative.

Accordingly, there is:

1. Lower level of automation (performing). Here management is concerned with regular operations. Automation of production processes is focused on the execution of operational functions, maintaining specified parameters, maintaining specified operating modes.
2. Tactical level. This provides the distribution of functions between operations. Examples include production or service planning , document or resource management, and so on.
3. Strategic level. It manages the entire company. Automation of production processes of strategic purpose ensures the solution of forecasting and analytical issues. It is necessary to support the activities of the highest administrative level. This level of automation provides strategic and financial management.

Classification

Automation is provided by using a variety of systems (OLAP, CRM, ERP, etc.). All of them are divided into three main types:

1. Immutable. In these systems, the sequence of actions is set according to the configuration of the equipment or the process conditions. It can not be changed during the operation.
2. Programmable. They can change the sequence depending on the configuration of the process and the program. The choice of this or that chain of actions is carried out by means of a special set of tools. They are read and interpreted by the system.
3. Self-tuning (flexible). Such systems can choose the right actions as they go along. Changes in the configuration of the operation occur in accordance with the information about the operation flow.

All these types can be used at all levels separately or in a complex.

Types of operations

In each economic sector there are organizations that produce products or provide services. They can be divided into three categories according to the "remoteness" in the resource processing chain:

1. Mining or producing - agricultural, oil and gas producing enterprises, for example.
2. Processing organizations of natural resources. When manufacturing products, they use materials produced or created by companies from the first category. These, for example, include enterprises of the electronic, automotive, power plants and so on.
3. Serving companies. Among them - banks, medical, educational institutions, catering enterprises, etc.

For each group, it is possible to distinguish operations related to the provision of services or the release of products. They include processes:

1. Management. These processes provide interaction within the enterprise and contribute to the formation of the company's relations with the interested participants in the turnover. The latter include, in particular, the supervisory bodies, suppliers, consumers. The group of business processes includes, for example, marketing and sales, interaction with customers, financial, personnel, material planning and so on.
2. Analysis and control. This category is associated with the collection and compilation of information on the performance of operations. In particular, such processes include operational management, quality control, stock assessment, etc.
3. Design and development. These operations are related to the collection and preparation of background information, the implementation of the project, monitoring and analysis of the results.
4. Production. This group includes operations related to the direct release of products. They include, among other things, demand and capacity planning, logistics, and maintenance.

Most of these processes are now automated.

Strategy

It should be noted that the automation of production processes is complex and time-consuming. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to be guided by a certain strategy. It helps to improve the quality of the operations performed and to get the desired results from the activity. Special importance today is the competent automation of production processes in engineering. The strategic plan can be briefly presented as follows:

1. Understanding the operation. In order to automate the production processes in engineering or some other economic field has brought the desired effect, it is necessary to fully analyze all the steps. In particular, it is necessary to determine the input and output of the operation, the sequence of actions, the composition of resources, the relationship of links,
2. Simplify the process. After a complete analysis, you need to optimize the operation. Excessive actions that do not yield results or have no significant value should be reduced. Some operations can be combined or carried out in parallel. You can improve the action by offering another way to do it.
3. Automation of the process. It can be implemented only when the operation is maximally unloaded. The simpler the procedure, the less time-consuming the automation becomes, and, accordingly, the efficiency of the process will be higher.

Benefits

Mechanization and automation of various processes can significantly improve the quality of goods and management of production. Other advantages include:

1. Increase the speed of repetitive operations. By reducing the degree of human involvement, the same actions can be carried out more quickly. Automated systems provide greater accuracy and maintain efficiency regardless of the duration of the shift.
2. Improve the quality of work. With a decrease in the degree of human participation, the influence of the human factor is reduced or eliminated. This significantly limits the variation in the performance of operations, which in turn prevents many errors and improves the quality and stability of the operation.
3. Increase the accuracy of management. The use of information technology allows you to save and take into account in the future a greater amount of information about the operation than with manual control.
4. Accelerated decision-making in typical situations. This helps to improve the characteristics of the operation and prevents inconsistencies in the following stages.
5. Parallel execution of actions. Automated systems make it possible to perform several operations at the same time without sacrificing accuracy and quality of work. This accelerates the activity and improves the quality of the results.

disadvantages

Despite the obvious advantages, automation may not always be appropriate. That is why before its implementation, a comprehensive analysis and optimization is needed. After this, it may happen that automation will not be required or will be disadvantageous in the economic sense. Manual control and process execution may become more preferable in the following cases:

1. Operations are too complex to automate them technologically or economically.
2. The product life cycle is very short. If the product should be developed and implemented for a short time, the duration of its stay in the market will be small. In this case, automation may become impractical. Performing manual operations will be faster and less expensive.
3. Single or unique products are produced. For the manufacture of products of this type, certain parameters and requirements are established. In this case, the human factor can have a favorable effect on the process. Some unique products can only be released when using manual labor.
4. Sharp changes in demand in the market. The change in consumer activity has an impact on production volumes. The restructuring of production in such situations can be carried out more quickly if the products are produced using manual labor.

Conclusion

Mechanization and automation, of course, are of great importance for the production sector. In the modern world, fewer operations are performed manually. However, even today, in a number of industries, this work can not be done. Automation is particularly effective at large enterprises, where products for the mass consumer are manufactured. So, for example, at automobile factories in operations the minimum quantity of people participates. At the same time, as a rule, they monitor the progress of the process, I do not participate in it directly. Modernization of the industry is currently very active. Automation of production processes and production is considered today the most effective way to improve the quality of products and increase the volume of its output.