The modern manufacturing sector is combating a number of industry-wide issues, from labor shortages and skills gaps to finding strategies to stay competitive. As these challenges remain prevalent in the industry, manufacturers are adopting new technologies to combat them. Among these technologies are robotics and automation, which have become a well-known solution for manufacturing problems but have yet to be adopted throughout the industry.
The labor shortage in particular has created an environment for robotics and automation to thrive in manufacturing. Picking up on this need, Phillips Corporation, a manufacturing solutions and services company, launched a robotics and automation division in 2019. Now, Phillips has an expert team that works with customers to see how these technologies can improve production operations.
“The robotics and automation division grew out of the need to help our customers,” explains Shane LeCroix, solutions engineer at Phillips. “We continue to have customers tell us that they want to buy more machines, but they can’t find people to run them. So, we’ve had to adapt to provide these services and products to our customers.”
LeCroix’s colleague, Dave Cirilo, a senior applications engineer at Phillips, expands on this: “We know the statistics on how many jobs are going to go unfilled in the manufacturing industry, and how that’s creating a need for automation. So, Phillips has built up that skill set and is helping machinists evaluate their processes and determine if they’re currently ready for automation.”
Though there’s a lot of interest in robotics and automation, some manufacturers are still hesitant to adopt. But this technology isn’t just a way to help combat some of the industry’s main challenges; it has the potential to transform how manufacturers do business.
Combating the Labor Shortage with Robotics and Automation
With the ongoing labor shortage in manufacturing, it’s been difficult for industrial facilities and machine shops to find personnel, especially ones that are trained on how to set up and operate a machine. This has driven manufacturers’ interest in commercial robotics and automation products.
“When thinking about automation, a lot of people go to robotic arms, but it’s more than that. There’s 4th and 5th axis rotary tables, bar feeders, part catchers, and pallet pools, for example. There are multiple commercial automation products,” says LeCroix.
Due to the lack of qualified workers in the sector, the industry is having to change their business model and adapt to remain competitive in modern manufacturing. With his customers, LeCroix has seen how beneficial automation can be by enabling machine shops to have unattended processes running.
“Machine shops are required to do more with less, both because of the labor shortage and budget constraints,” LeCroix says. “Even if they’re only able to get two hours extra of machine run time a day with automation, that’s 10 hours’ worth of production a week that they otherwise wouldn’t have.”
Manufacturers could simply buy another mill or lathe to increase production, but that requires another person. And there’s not enough workers coming into these jobs to even replace those that are retiring, much less to take up new positions.
“Automation takes over the dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs in a manufacturing facility,” Cirilo explains. “Those workers can then be repurposed. We still need machinists to know how to program and set up these machines, and we need workers who can set-up, troubleshoot, and reprogram robots. At Phillips, we’re able to teach that and build skilled operators.”
Both Cirilo and LeCroix maintain that adopting robots allows business to redeploy workers to other knowledge-based jobs that robots can’t do, because automation can’t replace industry knowledge. LeCroix even reports that out of ~150 companies, none of them have reduced headcount as a result of adopting automation or adding a robot.
But where automation really shines in resolving the labor shortage is its ability to improve the lives of human workers. One example Cirilo cites is a machine shop that had such high production requirements that they had to ask staff to work significant overtime on nights and weekends.
After implementing robots at the shop, they could meet goals without requiring weekend overtime. Plus, they had such a good return on investment (ROI) after adopting automation, that the employees got raises to make-up for the lack of overtime.
“We’re not in the robotics and automation business to replace anybody,” LeCroix emphasizes. “We want to bring people into this business, and we've got to in order keep this industry going forward.”
Automation and Process Improvement
Another industry challenge is that manufacturers have to do more with less, as LeCroix said. Part of this is working with tight budgets but also figuring out how to be more productive despite having less workers. This is where automation comes in.
When a shop automates machine tending processes, they can keep more machines running with their current head count. These machines keep running after the workers go home and during breaks. It may be small chunks of time but adding that time up over multiple machines is significant.
“Those incremental increases in production add up very quickly. Especially when shops can have unattended processes running,” says LeCroix.
Cirilo agrees, adding that businesses really see those productivity gains due to the consistency of robots and automation and the ability to work uninterrupted for longer hours compared to human workers.
But a limited budget can keep machine shop owners from making that leap to adopt automation. These increases in productivity help assure manufacturers they’ll get a return on their investment, which LeCroix says they’ll usually achieve within 12 months.
Despite these benefits and initial ROI, both Cirilo and LeCroix don’t view adopting automation or adding a robot as the best option for every manufacturer, yet. Cirilo says in a production application it really depends on the manufacturers’ process; if the process isn’t ready for automation, they’re not going to see that ROI.
“What’s necessary for modern manufacturing isn’t robotics as much as it is process improvement. And automation is just one tooth in the cog of process improvement,” LeCroix explains.
At Phillips, Cirilo says they work with manufacturers to ensure they’re getting the best out of their investment, whether that’s in automation or something else. But tuning a process to make it better is where the work starts.
“If you better your processes that you overlook daily, then your production rate, the health of your workers, everything that you do inside your shop becomes better naturally,” Cirilo says. “We help manufacturers build productive value in their operations, and that often leads them to automation. But making sure the process is stable is our priority and offers the best ROI.”
The Path to Industry Adoption of Robotics and Automation
Automation is at a crucial point in industry right now. Cirilo and LeCroix compare it to where 5th axis machining and probing were 20 years ago. Machine shops slowly phased in these technologies, but now it’s the norm. Robotic technology and automation have already become much simpler and easier to understand, and as it continues to advance, it will spread throughout the industry.
“The technology is getting so much easier to operate and program, it’s more user-friendly now than it was 20 years ago,” says LeCroix. “Not everyone has an automation engineer on staff, so as more workers are able to learn the technology, then more manufacturers will start to adopt it.”
Cirilo agrees that the ease of programming has really helped automation and robotics grow. In the modern manufacturing world, companies expect simplicity and the smaller the learning curve, the more streamlined adoption will be.
“The technology curve in implementing automation has started to flatten. Especially in the machine tending space, automation is basically normalizing. It's standardized now, machine shops don’t have to go through the pain of a learning curve,” Cirilo adds. “I think that’s a huge selling point and that’s what is going to evolve the customer base for automation. Whether you do high mix, low volume or need to run production, robot integration is nearly the same.”
Even for those manufacturers and machine shops not currently adopting automation or robots, there’s a high level of curiosity in these technologies. LeCroix says that even if a business isn’t ready to adopt it, everyone seems to want to know more about automation and its capabilities, especially for long-term strategy planning.
“Adopters of automation love the technology. They see the return on it. In most cases, when they duplicate that process or add a new process, they automatically include automation,” says LeCroix. “Other manufacturers are hesitant to adopt something new. They are curious about it, but they’ve yet to pull the trigger. So, there’s still a long way to go for industry adoption.”
Robotic manufacturing and automation have become cost-effective, according to Cirilo and LeCroix. The next step now is to properly educate the workforce on it and make sure manufacturers are exposed to the technologies.
“With automation, everything’s possible. I can program or invent anything. But is it necessarily the right solution for the customer making the investment in the long run? I think that manufacturing automation has recognized that. Let's just standardize. Let's normalize this experience. Let's keep it simple and let that buying curve happen,” says Cirilo.
If you’re a manufacturer who is interested in robotics and automation and how it could improve your processes, reach out to the Phillips Robotics and Automation division. And to see live technology demonstrations of robots and automation technologies, consider attending the Manufacturing Technology Series of events.
Biography
Shane LeCroix
Automation Solutions Engineer
Phillips OPTO – Automation & Applications Division
Based in Athens, Alabama, Shane LeCroix brings over 30 years of industrial manufacturing experience to his role as Automation Solutions Engineer. His distinguished career includes impactful work as a Manufacturing Engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he supported critical Human Space Flight projects.
Shane’s technical foundation began with a degree in Machine Tool Technologies from Calhoun Community College, leading to successful positions as both an Applications Engineer and Sales Engineer. Today, he combines deep industry knowledge with a passion for innovation to deliver customized automation solutions that help manufacturers optimize processes, increase productivity, and stay competitive.
Rooted in the Tennessee Valley region, Shane shares his life with his wife Suzanne, daughter Olivia, and their beloved pets. His local ties give him a strong understanding of the challenges regional businesses face, allowing him to connect with customers and deliver results that truly matter.
Dave Cirilo
Senior Applications Engineer
Phillips OPTO – Automation & Applications Division
With 22 years of experience, Dave Cirilo, Senior Applications Engineer at Phillips, is a problem-solver in tooling design, toolpath generation, and advanced macro logic. From integrating robots into CNC machines to developing high-performance software, his innovative solutions boost productivity for customers across industries.
Outside of work, he's a holiday lights enthusiast, renowned for choreographed displays, and enjoys woodworking and coding custom websites for his community.