Page 25 - Industrial Technology EXTRA - Brexit Briefing

BREXIT BRIEFING

FIRMS BELIEVE Is your business too small

HAVING A CHIEF
SUSTAINABILITY for industrial robotics?

OFFICER BOOSTS NEIL BALLINGER, head of EMEA at EU Automation,
CYBERSECURITY explains what to consider when implementing robotics

in small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses
For some industrial organisations, cyber There is a misconception that the benefits of market Eva, a robot priced at just £8,000
breaches that affect the health of staff and industrial robots are reserved for few and programmable in under 30 minutes.
other people are one of the major manufacturing giants. However, according Eva is ideal to automate a variety of
cybersecurity challenges they face. to the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), repetitive tasks, such as pick and place,
Almost all enterprises (98%) are confident enterprises with less than 100 employees machine tending, sorting and dispensing.
that sustainable development strategy and less than ten robots represent a
and the specific role of Chief growing segment of the robotics market. Another low-cost option for pick and place
Sustainability Officer will improve their applications is Delta Robot, developed by
cybersecurity. Small and medium-sized enterprises igus. The cost for a Delta Robot ranges from
(SMEs) are the economic backbone of £10,000 to £15,000, including integration
However, organisations seem to have a some of the most industrialised countries in costs, and its typical ROI period is estimated
mixed approach to their sustainability the world. In Germany, for example, they at just six months.
policies. 56% of industrial businesses generate about 37 per cent of total
don’t plan on introducing the role of CSO, corporate turnover. These small, flexible robotic arms are
but around half either already have, or accessible to most businesses and add
plan to introduce technical measures SMEs represent a very attractive market for substantial value by freeing up human
(50%) and investments (44%) in this area. robot manufacturers, who are adapting their workers from tedious, repetitive tasks and
These are findings from Kaspersky’s ‘The offer to add flexible, user-friendly and cost- allowing them to focus on jobs that require
State of Industrial Cybersecurity in the Era effective solutions to their portfolios. These decision making and problem solving.
of Digitalisation’ research. can be a real asset for smaller businesses,
but to choose the best one for their needs, Do we have the technical skills?
The level of protection from cyberthreats manufacturers should ask themselves the A typical challenge for SMEs is the
in industrial organisations can directly right questions. perceived need to hire a specialist to
impact the safety of their employees and programme the robot and fix technical
sensitive customer data, relationships Why do we need it issues. In reality, most robot manufacturers
with partners, people and environmental Manufacturers might fall victim to the have user-friendly options that don’t require
safety. This means organisations need to pressure to digitalise without a specific any specific technical background to be set
make cybersecurity part of their strategy in mind, but assessing the plant’s up and programmed.
sustainable development strategy so that real needs is key to investing in the right
it can enhance a company’s approach to tools. Ask yourself what kind of challenges Eva, for example, is the protagonist of
cyber protection. your company is experiencing, and whether several YouTube unboxing videos where
or not they can be tackled by industrial users explain how they assembled the robot
The survey showed that some organis- robotics. Are you struggling to fill positions and trained it to perform several tasks, in as
ations recognise the consequences of for repetitive manual tasks? Are dangerous little as 20 minutes. Other robots, like Delta,
attacks that directly affect the lives and operations impacting workers’ safety? come pre-assembled and are ready to be
health of their employees (32%), and Would you like to add night and weekend programmed in a few easy steps.
other people (18%), as well as the loss of shifts without increasing labour costs?
sensitive data (28%), as their major In addition, all robot manufacturers and
cybersecurity challenges. Sustainability These issues can be successfully tackled integrators offer training to their customers.
initiatives, including introducing the role with robotics. Indeed, if a task doesn’t For example, the Universal Robots Academy
of a Chief Sustainability Officer may be require thinking on the spot, creativity, or is a free platform that teaches core
seen as a way to mitigate such risks and human dexterity, it can probably be programming skills to all UR cobots users,
improve industrial organisation protection automated. SMEs are usually characterised large or small.
from related cyberthreats. by small production runs, but thanks to the
latest innovations in collaborative robotics, Replacing parts to fix or customise your
However, sustainable development manufacturers no longer need huge robot can also be relatively easy. With the
strategies, as well as dedicated volumes to build a solid business case for help of reliable automation suppliers (like
investments, measures and roles are not investing in robotics. EU Automation), manufacturers can get the
all consistently aligned. While more than parts they need in as little as 24 hours.
half of (56%) companies are not planning According to robot supplier RobotWorx, an
to hire a CSO, 34% already have industrial robot typically cost between Too many businesses assume that robots
additional technical measures in place £50,000 and £80,000. However, small and are not for them and miss out on the
and 25% have allocated investments for flexible alternatives, which are ideal for low- benefits of automation. By embracing
sustainable development. Another 16% volume production, are available at a robots, SMEs can futureproof their
and 19% respectively are planning to do fraction of that price. For example, US- operations and gain a substantial
so in the future. based Automata recently launched on the competitive advantage.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA – WINTER 2021 25