Investing in automated solutions in the manufacturing industry has become necessary in order to meet and exceed the increasingly high expectations of consumers in regards to the production of high-quality products in large volumes at reasonable costs. The integration of electronic devices, big data, and the internet of things (IoT) is what continues to drive automation, which is now essential to earn and maintain a competitive advantage.
As manufacturers automate an increasing number of processes, this includes the testing of applications’ performance. Automation testing, or using an automation tool to execute a test instead of having a human manually test performance, has many proven benefits as long as the tool fits the automation requirements. Yet, many quality assurance managers and engineers have been slow to incorporate automation into their testing methods, citing reasons such as high costs and use of resources for their hesitation.
For those managers, we’d like to point out the following benefits of automated testing in a manufacturing environment:
Efficiency
Efficiency is an important factor in manufacturing. When a testing process is automated, it allows for more manual work time to focus on improving performance rather than finding the problems or issues.
Speed
Speed is also an asset in manufacturing! An automated testing process is completed more quickly than a manual process, reducing the test cycle.
Accuracy
Using an automated testing process, the same exact test is run every time, without variation. With a manual process there are always slight variations that can produce wavering results. A manual process is more error prone.
Standardization
In today’s global manufacturing environment, a standardized test can be reused again and again regardless of location and the manufacturing process can be transferred anywhere.
Improved ROI
No human intervention is required in the testing process once it’s fully automated. Yes, there is an upfront cost involved but manufacturers must consider the cost over the lifetime of the automation tool compared to the costs associated with implementing a manual process over that same time period.
Compliance
When a testing process is automated it allows for quicker access to data that is often available to auditors in real time. Because each test is exactly the same, it minimizes the risk that the process will be out of compliance.
Automation testing, like any manufacturing automation process, has become an essential component of a modern manufacturing facility. The manufacturers that implement these processes will reap the benefits while those that continue to rely on antiquated manual testing methods will fall behind.
Please contact Fishman Corporation for more information on implementing automated testing for your business.