Automation is linked to the system that makes it possible for a machine to perform certain tasks without human intervention.
The act and consequence of automating is called automation . This verb, for its part, refers to making certain actions become automatic (that is, they develop on their own and without the direct participation of an individual).
The concept is usually used in the field of industry with reference to the system that allows a machine to develop certain processes or perform tasks without human intervention . Automation saves time and, often, money.
Rise of automation
The origins of automation are found in Prehistory , with the development of simple machines that minimized the force that people had to exert. Animal or human energy, over time, began to be replaced by renewable energy (such as wind energy or hydraulic energy).
The next stage in the development of automation consisted of the use of clockwork mechanisms for the repetition of actions. This is how automata were developed, for example.
Currently, robotics and computing have allowed the scope of automation to increase. Machines that allow the automation of processes are used in countless industrial sectors.
Automation helps save time and money.
Main advantages
Automation offers several advantages: in addition to saving time , it usually favors precision in the development of tasks. On the negative side, at least on a social level, the machines that do these jobs can replace people who, in this way, lose their jobs .
Other advantages that automation is considered to have are the following:
-It serves so that the most complicated or dangerous jobs are not carried out by workers but by machines.
-Improves and significantly increases production.
-It allows tasks that, due to their thoroughness or complexity, cannot be carried out by people to be undertaken by machines.
-It is considered that, at the same time, automation contributes to improving employee safety.
-Minimizes the effort of the human being.
It is important to highlight, however, that automation always requires some type of control or supervision by humans . In addition to direct observation and physical contact with machines, it is common to use computer programs for this work.
Issues linked to work automation
When talking, specifically, about what work automation is, we have to emphasize that there are several aspects that are worth taking into account. We are referring to data like this:
-That term did not begin to be used at a work level until 1947. And it was because the important automotive company General Motors, in the United States, chose to create a department with that name.
-There are various types of automation. Specifically, among the most significant are continuous control; the on/off, which stands out for its simplicity; the computational, so called because computers are responsible for undertaking different control and management tasks; the sequential, which is based on what are algorithms that take place sequentially...
-Improving production and product quality, increasing production, reducing the costs of this work and even giving more security to workers are the reasons why automation is considered necessary.