If you’re an entrepreneur or an executive for a small business, it’s very possible you have never considered using a robot at your workplace. You have probably been aware that robots have been helping large companies like automobile manufacturers for decades, but you might also have thought that robots were too expensive for your company.
Until very recently, perhaps the last year or two, your assessment about the feasibility of using robots at your workplace was probably 100 percent correct. Sticking to that assessment now, though, would be a huge mistake because the robots of 2018 are not your father’s robots.
Today’s robots, in fact, CAN help small businesses. Thanks to technological advances, they are far more intelligent, mobile, compact, and flexible than they were just a few years ago, and are far more capable of working side by side with humans rather than by themselves. These new collaborative robots, often called cobots, cost as little as $25,000 and are much easier to use than older robots, reports the Bloomberg Businessweek article “Cheap Robots Are Helping Small Businesses Survive.”
The lower cost of robots has spurred small businesses to begin using them.
“It’s just being brought down to an affordability level that gets to the smaller manufacturer,” Stewart McMillan, the CEO of a small business in Indiana that manufactures fire-hose nozzles, told Bloomberg Businessweek. “You can sit down with these things and, in a matter of minutes, watch a couple of YouTube videos and know how to do basic programming.”
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the largest small business association in the USA, touts the new generation of robots in an article entitled “5 Robotic Essentials for Small and Mid-sized Manufacturers.” The NFIB’s reasons for encouraging small and mid-sized businesses to consider using cobots include:
* Cobots can increase a company’s productivity. Among other things, they can perform repetitive tasks while freeing employees to spend time on tasks that require more thinking, and can work with people in complementary operations.
* Cobots can perform more tasks than older robots because they are much lighter and, thus, can be moved more easily to multiple locations in a facility “without changing the production layout.”
* Cobots can improve worker safety by performing tasks that cause injuries to people.
* Cobots are much easier to work with than older robots because they don’t require people with advanced technological skills to program them. This also means that companies don’t have to hire robotics specialists.
* Companies can recoup the cost of a cobot within a few months.
The article reports that cobots are “changing the game” for small businesses and making them more competitive with larger businesses.
“Robotic automation is finally affordable for small and mid-sized manufacturers,” the article says.
As a small business executive or entrepreneur, you have to analyze whether the new generation of robots is a match for your company.
Which industry are you in? The Inc. magazine article “How the Rise of Robots Will Affect Small Businesses” advises small businesses executives who are considering utilizing robots that the manufacturing, retail, storage, and transportation industries will be among those most impacted by robotics.
“Jobs that require creativity or a unique perspective are the most difficult to automate, while easily defined and repetitive activities are ripe for automation,” the article says. “For example, many companies are already using robots to replace human workers in the warehouse, since warehouses are physically predictable work environments where workers perform repetitive activities.”
The Inc. magazine article reports that there are legal issues about the use of robots in many industries. It cites the healthcare industry as an example. Consulting your industry’s trade association or another industry source before purchasing a robot is probably a good idea.
The article emphasizes that choosing robots over human beings can be counterproductive for companies that are dependent on building long-term relationships with customers even if the robots can save you money. It also conveys the point that adding robots to your workforce rather than using them as replacements for workers can be the best decision because “in many cases, robots help humans work faster and more effectively.”
The Boston Consulting Group projected in 2015 that annual growth in the investment of industrial robots would increase from 2 to 3 percent to about 10 percent in 2025. This probably means that the technological capability of robots will improve in the next few years and the number of low-cost options for robots will increase.
Consequently, if you’re a small business executive or entrepreneur who can’t afford a robot currently, you should still pay attention to developments in the robotics industry because robots can still be an option for you within the next few years.
“Businesses of all sizes are poised on the brink of a new robotic age,” predicted the Robotics Online article “Why Small Businesses Are Investing in Robots.”
“As with any opportunity, early adoption and effective implementation will determine competitive advantage. With the right strategy, however, small businesses can use robotics to differentiate themselves from the competition.”
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
