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Three days later, production lines for the electric car company’s Model 3 ground to a halt. The reason for the second break in production in three months?
“These periods are used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks to increase production rates,” a Tesla spokesperson told reporters.
The break in production lasted for several days and came amid a widely publicised struggle to meet demand for the car, which is aimed at the mass market. But the context is farther-reaching than a temporary pause in factory output.
Max Warburton, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein, has reportedly called Tesla’s faith in extensive automation a “fallacy,” and highlighted a reduction in the use of robots at German manufacturers and continuing scepticism in Japan.
Elsewhere, others are challenging the notion that manufacturers can quickly make efficiency or quality improvements by handing human tasks to computer-controlled systems or even artificial intelligence.
“Tread with caution. There is some very useful technology there but be careful – don’t rush to adopt things before they are ready,” said engineer Andrew Banks from software verification and compliance firm LDRA, at the MACH 2018 exhibition.
Manufacturers should heed recent crashes involving self-driving cars in the US, he said, claiming they showed the risks of rushed adoption of ‘smart’ technology. Introducing AI to control factory processes risks a step backwards on the use of vital standards that ensure repeatable robot tasks always happen safely, he added. “We’ve been using robots in manufacturing for a good many years to do the nitty-gritty, the repeatable tasks where getting things exactly the same is so important,” he said. “Once we start introducing robots that can ‘think’ for themselves, we are undoing a lot of the process development that we spent a lot of years getting right.”
But, despite voices of caution, companies are still widely encouraged to join the fourth Industrial Revolution, either directly or indirectly. In the US, Reuters reported analysts’ predictions that the Republican administration’s tax policies will incentivise manufacturing in the US “regardless of how the work is done”.
In the UK, organisations urge companies to “catch up” with other countries. Last year, a survey from the manufacturers’ organisation EEF warned that British companies risk falling behind European competitors because of a lack of investment in automation. Meanwhile, Chris Coopey from accountancy association MHA called for more government investment in Industry 4.0 to help counter the skills gap and a potential worker shortage after Brexit.
For others, the fourth Industrial Revolution is now simply an inevitability. Anthony Sayers, an Internet of Things “evangelist” for Software AG, said companies must think carefully about the reasons for automation-enabling extensive connectivity. Like Banks, he urged caution and said businesses risk failure if they rush into the use of techniques such as predictive maintenance.
Regardless of companies’ initial success, however, he said the collective weight of industry would eventually force all firms to embrace the technology. “Everybody will have to move along,” he said. “Everybody has to do it.”
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.