Annons

Concerns in the Automotive Industry About Rising Energy Expenses in Europe and Labor Costs in the US

NEW RESEARCH FROM ABB Robotics and Automotive Manufacturing Solutions. A growing concern about increased energy and labor costs paired with great uncertainty about deadlines for the production of electric vehicles, which in turn can be linked to the lack of trained labor. These are the most important conclusions in a recent survey among the world's automotive companies. The "Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey", as the mapping is titled, has been commissioned by ABB Robotics and the industry specialist Automotive Manufacturing Solutions (AMS).
This second annual barometer of the automotive industry's challenges shows that more than half (53 percent) of all respondents in Europe cite rising energy costs as one of the top three issues, compared to just 38 percent in Asia. In North America, 63 percent say rising labor costs are the single most important issue, possibly reinforced by recent union negotiations that secured double-digit wage increases for their members.
”Rising labor and energy costs were prominent in our second annual survey,” says Joerg Reger, Head of ABB Robotics Automotive Business Line. He continues: “There are already solutions to reduce energy consumption at the point of manufacture. With new generations of intelligent automation and robot controllers such as ABB's OmniCore, power consumption is significantly reduced – by up to 20 percent – thanks to the use of leading software, lighter materials and regenerative systems.”
Additionally, however, it can be pointed out here that PLM-related solutions can achieve impressive results regarding energy efficiency in production environments. PLM&ERP News has, for example, in an earlier article showcased how the German car manufacturer BMW cut around three million kWh in the group's largest engine factory, in Steyr, Austria. This was primarily done through simulations in Siemens Digital Industries Software's Tecnomatix portfolio. In the simulation model, modifications to the existing programmable logic controllers (PLC) for production line machines were predicted to provide energy savings of 1.66 million kWh of electricity on the workshop floor; which was also achieved in physical reality after the maintenance technicians reprogrammed the PLCs. Since an idling machine does not need to be supplied with cooling lubricant, an additional 1.4 million kWh of electricity was saved by shutting down some of the high-pressure pumps at the media supply facilities.
Returning to the ABB/AMS survey, it also highlights how supply chain disruptions caused by global instability remain a major problem for the industry, often leading to component shortages and production delays.

In ABB’s first survey (Global Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey), industry experts questioned whether prescribed timeframes for switching to production of pure electric vehicles could be achieved. The question came up again in this year’s survey, and there are now fewer respondents who strongly believe that the transition can be completed, from the previous 11 percent down to just 8 percent this year. Over half (53 percent) still believe that the goals will never be reached, compared to 59 percent in the previous year’s survey.

Specific skill gaps provide insights
One reason for the doubt about whether deadlines will be met for electric vehicle production may be due to concerns about the lack of trained labor. Over half (54 percent) of all respondents believe that specific skills shortages have a major impact on manufacturing: European (52 percent) and Asian (58 percent) respondents point to skills in electric vehicles and batteries as the primary problem areas.

“The skills shortage in certain very specific areas is a concern in the industry,” says Daniel Harrison, Automotive Analyst at Automotive Manufacturing Solutions (AMS), and adds: ”As the production of electric vehicles increases, the need for skill enhancement or relocation of a large number of existing employees as well as the need to attract new talent to the automotive industry increasingly important. Electric vehicle manufacturing, together with more and more software, electrical and advanced electronic components, demands new and different skills, and the survey reflects a conviction that more efforts need to be made.”

In response to the growing demand in education, the IRB 1090 industrial educational robot is designed exclusively for teachers and students to gain industry-relevant robotics and automation skills essential for their future careers.

It is also notable in this context that ABB Robotics has responded to the challenge by investing in outreach programs developed together with hundreds of schools and universities around the world to teach automation and software skills to students, skills that can then form the basis for the smart manufacturing solutions of the future. Verified by STEM.org, the company’s IRB 1090 educational robot is designed to empower students as they learn the basics of robot programming.

Disruptions in the supply chain
The survey also highlights how disruptions in supply chain caused by the global instability also continues to be a major problem for the industry and often leads to component shortages and production delays. More than a third (35 percent) of all respondents highlight this issue, and there is a strong increase among respondents in North America (51 percent) who consider this to be the region’s top manufacturing challenge.

ABB’s survey gathered opinions on a number of different topics from a broad mix of nearly 400 industry experts, from vehicle manufacturers and suppliers at all levels of management to engineers and other specialists across the entire automotive manufacturing industry.

In the intro to this article we discussed what BMW managed to produce in terms of saved energy consumption in its engine factory i Steyr, Austria, as an example of what you can do with PLM and simulation tools. Don’t miss to read the case study published by Verdi Ogewell on ENGINEERING.com to learn how the iconic German car manufacturer saved millions of kWh by using simulation tools from Siemens Digital Industries Software – Tecnomatix Plant Simulation. Click on the linked headline below to read the full article:
How BMW Used PLM and Simulation to Save 3 Million kWh Per Year

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Success Stories

Industriellt

Success Stories

Intressant på PLM TV News

PLM TV News

PLM TV News

PLM TV News

PLM TV News

PLM TV News

Aktuell ANALYS

Aktuell Analys

Aktuell Analys

3D-printing

Block title