Reasons to be cheerful

Brexit. The global pandemic. The UK's perennial productivity crisis. These issues are not necessarily going to be high on your list of reasons to be cheerful - unless you are Mike Wilson, that is. Ever one to be optimistic, at a recent industry event (online, of course), the  Chairman of the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA) turned these particular challenges on their heads, viewing them instead as opportunities in relation to automation.

There's no denying it, Brexit is generating issues across industry, and whether these are teething problems or more long term remains to be seen. One thing is for certain though, and that is that it is imperative that UK remains competitive in the global market going forwards. Wilson highlighted re-shoring, a trend that is gaining more attention as businesses seek to strengthen newly precarious supply chains by bringing more processes to the UK.

"Apart from being positive for the economy and generating increased manufacturing in the UK, re-shoring also gives us more opportunities for automation," said Wilson.

He also pointed to the way in which the pandemic has highlighted the need for resilience, not just in the supply chain but also in the UK's manufacturing facilities, prompting businesses to look at how they operate and how they could apply automation to improve their processes.

When it comes to productivity, things have been pretty dire in the UK for many years, but as Wilson asserted, this really underlines that something needs to be done, and one of the most sure-fire ways of increasing productivity is by implementing automation. And although it might not seem like it with profits under stress from the pandemic fall-out, now is the perfect time to invest.

"For companies looking at automation at the moment, borrowing is about as cheap as it's ever been. If people don't want to borrow, then there are leasing solutions available," said Wilson.

There are also various allowances available to encourage investment available, including the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) for capital investments in plant and machinery assets, whereby businesses can claim up to £1 million in same-year tax relief, which has been extended until 1 January 2022.

Undoubtedly, some are already taking advantage of the financial opportunities available, as reflected in the 2020 figures for robot orders collated by BARA, which were said Wilson not bad considering the pandemic. While numbers in the automotive sector were somewhat predictably down, the food & drink sector experienced significant growth.

Wilson also reported what he described as a general groundswell in favour of automation, with various industry surveys indicating many businesses have already accelerated technology adoption, or plan to do so.

To help end users, BARA has on its website a number of 'How to Guides', which offer simple guidance on how to make the first steps into automation. BARA will also point those enquiring to independent consultants who can provide impartial advice. The Association also puts on various educational events, the most recent of which was an online roundtable discussion on Safety Benefits of Robots for Dangerous Tasks and Environments, for which I acted as chair. A write-up will be included in the next issue of CDA (Apr/May), so do keep an out out for it if this area is of interest.