By 2040, the labour market in Germany will have a shortage of ten million people compared to today due to demographic change. To offset the consequences, 77 per cent of industrial decision-makers are already relying on „colleagues“ robots. These are the findings of the automatica Trend Index 2020.
In addition to corporations, smaller companies are also increasingly affected by this development: According to the forecast, 84 per cent believe that the widespread use of robot technology in medium-sized companies is not a question of „if“ but „when“. For the 2020 trend index, a market research institute commissioned by the world's leading trade fair automatica analysed a total of 100 specialists and managers in Germany surveyed, who decide on robotics and automation in industrial companies.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around a quarter of all people in employment currently work in the industrial sector alone - that is around eleven million people. At the same time, this segment currently employs a total of Around 216,000 industrial robots in use. This puts Germany in fifth place worldwide - according to the latest figures from the International Federation of Robotics. In terms of robot density, there are around 1,270 units per 10,000 employees in the automotive industry and around 340 in the manufacturing sector.
Robots and labour shortages
„Against the backdrop of demographic change and the changing world of work, robotics and automation are making a very important contribution to ensuring global competitiveness and keeping people in work for longer,“ says Patrick Schwarzkopf, VDMA Robotics and Automation. „Robots are excellent at taking on individual tasks. For example, workers working in a team with the robot are dangerous, unhealthy and monotonous tasks relieved. At the same time, the speed and precision of robots can significantly increase productivity.“
According to the survey, 77 per cent of industrial decision-makers confirm that robots are already playing a key role in responding to labour shortages and driving forward automation.
Main reasons for using robots
According to around 80 per cent of experts in industrial companies, the most important reasons for producing with robots in the future include
- Lifting heavy loads from people
- The handling of hazardous materials
- Taking on monotonous work
At the same time, 81 per cent report that the Programming robots tends to be easier and thus paving the way for its use in medium-sized companies.
[infotext icon]automatica Trend Index 2020„How robotics and automation are helping industry to remain competitive is demonstrated by the 16 to 19 June automatica in Munich. The trade fair provides an overview of all relevant solutions and products for increasing automated production and also brings together all future-oriented key technologies under one roof,“ says Falk Senger, Managing Director of Messe München.
The automatica trend index was conducted by a market research institute and consists of two sub-surveys:
For Part 1, a total of 100 specialists and managers in Germany who make decisions about robotics and automation in industrial companies were surveyed. The participants work in mechanical and plant engineering (37%), the automotive industry (22%), the electrical industry (14%), the food industry (9%) and other industrial sectors (18%).
For Part 2, a total of 7,000 participants in 7 countries were surveyed on a population-representative basis about how robots and digitalisation are changing the world of work: USA (N=1,000), China (N=1,000), Japan (N=1,000), Germany (N=1,000), France (N=1,000), Italy (N=1,000) and the UK (N=1,000).
Source: Institute for the History of the Future of Labour[/infotext]
Source: Munich Trade Fair Centre
