What is Automation?

The dictionary defines automation as the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate
automatically.
We define automation as the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and
delivery of products and services.
Using our definition, the automation profession includes everyone involved in the creation and application of
technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services; and the automation
professional is any individual involved in the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the
production and delivery of products and services.

Automation encompasses many vital elements, systems, and job functions.

Automation provides benefits to virtually all of industry. Here are some examples:

Manufacturing , including food and pharmaceutical, chemical and petroleum, pulp and paper

Transportation , including automotive, aerospace, and rail

Utilities , including water and wastewater, oil and gas, electric power, and telecommunications

Defense

Facility operations , including security, environmental control, energy management, safety, and other
building automation

And many others

Automation crosses all functions within industry from installation, integration, and maintenance to design,
procurement, and management. Automation even reaches into the marketing and sales functions of these
industries.
Automation involves a very broad range of technologies including robotics and expert systems, telemetry and
communications, electro-optics, Cybersecurity, process measurement and control, sensors, wireless applications,
systems integration, test measurement, and many, many more.

Why is the Automation Professional so Important?

Think about the cell phone and computer you use every day to do your job. Think about the car you drive to take
to work. Think about the food you eat; water you drink; clothes you wear; and appliances you use to store,
prepare, and clean them. Think about the television you watch, video games you play, or music system you listen
to. Think about the buildings you visit. Think about any modern convenience or necessity. Just about anything
you can think of is the result of complex processes. Without talented individuals to design, build, improve, and
maintain these processes, these technological advances would never have occurred and future innovations
would be impossible. Without automation professionals, our world and our future would be very different.
Automation professionals are responsible for solving complex problems in many vital aspects of industry and its
processes. The work of automation professionals is critically important to the preservation of the health, safety,
and welfare of the public and to the sustainability and enhancement of our quality of life.
The U.S. government, among many others, recognizes the unsung value of automation professionals. Support
for the importance of automation to industry comes from the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.
On 30 June 2009, the committee submitted report language (including the excerpt shown below) to accompany
the bill: H. R. 2847 (Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010) emphasizing
the importance of automation to industry:
Supporting the Nation's manufacturers, especially small businesses, is critical to keeping America innovative in a
global marketplaceMEP, NIST, and its partners are directed to consider the importance automation plays in
accelerating and integrating manufacturing processes. The topic of automation cuts across all levels of industry,
rather than serving as a stand-alone technology, and particularly affects the fields of control systems cyber
security, industrial wireless sensors, systems interoperability, and other basic automation technologies necessary
for the success of industrial enterprises. NIST is encouraged to consult and collaborate with independent experts
in the field of automation to support the agency's efforts in working with industry to increase innovation, trade,
security, and jobs."
Automation professionals do and will continue to play a crucial role in protecting us from cyber-attack; enhancing
our quality of life; and ensuring the reliability, efficiency, safety, constant improvement, and competitiveness of our
electric power systems, transportation systems, manufacturing operations, and industry as a whole. Without
these individuals, we cannot advance into the future.

What are different types of

Automation? (OR) Compare hard
automation and soft automation.
Automation of production systems can be classified into three basic types:
1. Fixed automation (Hard Automation)
2. Programmable automation (Soft Automation)
3. Flexible automation.
1. Fixed automation (Hard automation): Fixed automation refers to the use of special
purpose equipment to automate a fixed sequence of processing or assembly operations.
Each of the operation in the sequence is usually simple, involving perhaps a plain linear
or rotational motion or an uncomplicated combination of two. It is relatively difficult to
accomodate changes in the product design. This is called hard automation.
Advantages:
1. Low unit cost
2. Automated material handling
3. High production rate.
Disadvantages:
1. High initial Investment
2. Relatively inflexible in accommodating product changes.
2. Programmable automation: In programmable automation, the production equipment is
designed with the capability to change the sequence of operations to accomodate
different product configurations. The operation sequence is controlled by a program,
which is a set of instructions coded. So that they can be read and interpreted by the
system. New programs can be prepared and entered into the equipment to produce new
products.

Advantages:
1. Flexible to deal with design variations.
2. Suitable for batch production.
Disadvantages:
1. High investment in general purpose equipment
2. Lower production rate than fixed automation.
Example: Numerical controlled machine tools, industrial robots and programmable logic
controller.
3. Fixed Automation: (Soft automation): Flexible automation is an extension of
programmable automation. A flexible automation system is capable of producing a variety
of parts with virtually no time lost for changeovers from one part style to the next. There
is no lost production time while reprogramming the system and altering the physical set
up.
Advantages:
1. Continuous production of variable mixtures of product.
2. Flexible to deal with product design variation.
Disadvantages:
1. Medium production rate
2. High investment.
3. High unit cost relative to fixed automation.