What Are Some Positive and Negative Effects of Automation?
Some positive effects of automation are reductions in operation expenses and increases in production speed, while some negative effects are the initial cost of implementation and the need to train employees to handle an automated system. Depending on various factors, automation may or may not make a business more efficient.
Automation has the potential to make a business significantly more efficient. Introducing automated systems can reduce everyday operation costs in the form of wages. Automation can also make a business more efficient by reducing opportunities for human error. In addition to this, automated systems are able to do simple, tedious tasks that would otherwise be done by a human. This can free workers up to focus their energies on more complex and productive tasks, further increasing workplace efficiency.
On the other hand, automation often involves high start-up costs that may be difficult to offset. Then, once the automated systems are installed, expensive workers with a particular expertise in the automated system may need to be hired. On issues of safety, automation can go either way. In some instances, an automated system may be able to do dangerous tasks that would otherwise be done by humans. In other instances, a system may create new hazards that endanger workers.
