"What is going on?" wonders Jacob on a rainy afternoon while returning from his final day at his internship. Jacob is a brilliant third-year electronics and telecommunication engineering student who got an early opportunity to work as an intern during his semester break. He has been getting excellent grades during his previous semesters, but his internship has been an eye-opener. He has realized that even after being fantastic in his studies, his time in the industry has been filled with hurdles. Being a sincere student, he feels dejected due to the vast gap that exists between his curriculum and the expectations in the industry. That evening over dinner, Jacob is quiet, and his mother realizes something is wrong and decides to talk with him. At first, Jacob doesn't feel comfortable enough to open up to her, but with her persistence, he explains what is on his mind. Being a banking professional, she does not understand what he is trying to express, and she tries her best to motivate him. However, Jacob is still unconvinced and uncertain about many topics. His father, a senior and respected professional in automation, overhears this conversation between his wife and his son. He is instantly taken back to the days of his first job, where after graduating in electronics engineering, he was exposed to the world of automation. He instantly recollects many facets of what his son is going through and realizes that he needs to do something so that his son starts believing in engineering studies and how the industry operates. He faced a torrid time during his initial work years as he was unable to understand that even after being a high achiever in college, the activities in the industry were way too different, and the industry had not only varied but also very high expectations.

He decides that he will pass on all his knowledge to his son so that he is able to overcome these challenges without too many difficulties. He decides to have a detailed discussion with Jacob.

The following day after breakfast, Jacob realizes that his father is trying to get into a conversation. He understands that it must be the continuation of his conversation with his mother, and he is not wrong.

Both of them enjoy a long conversation about how automation is central to what he is studying and the career he will choose.

Figure 1.1 – Engineering disciplines have these fundamental elements

We will take you through their conversation in the following chapters.

How do you start your day? You wake up and most probably head to the bathroom to brush your teeth. You pick up the toothbrush and apply the toothpaste to it. You might also own an electronic toothbrush as well as a plastic cover to protect or keep your toothbrush bristles safe and clean. Heading to the breakfast table, you serve yourself delicious food. In addition, you use cutlery and plates to eat your food with. Having a bath and getting ready, you need a block of soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and a towel. You then open your closet and take out clothes. You like to utilize the refrigerator to make your packaged milk last longer. You also keep various food and beverages, such as butter, cottage cheese, meat, cheese, ketchup, ice creams, bread, and so many other things stocked up in your refrigerator. Heading out of the house for work or college, you either drive a car, motorbike, or bicycle, or take the subway, train, or bus. At work or college, you open a book and write in it with a pen, and you also use various stationery at your workplace. If you feel thirsty or hungry, you visit the store and pick up a bottle of water, a packet of chips, or packaged food. You might even wish to buy a soft drink. At lunch, you open your lunch box and enjoy your home-cooked meal. In the evening, you go out for a cup of tea or coffee. On coming home, you either open your laptop or turn on your smart TV to watch some web series or sports. You also load your washing machine and start the cleaning process. You might have a robotic cleaner to help with the sweeping and mopping. You then make your bed by removing the bed cover, putting on bed sheets and pillow covers, and setting your comforter. You might even put on your air conditioner before getting a good night’s rest.

Figure 1.2 shows many of the common devices and foods that you can use on waking up at home:

Figure 1.2 – Some of the devices and foods that we handle on waking up at home

All these products mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg of the enormous list of products that are the outcome of automation. Surprised? We are not joking; all these products are made in a factory following a process on different machines, maybe even different locations. In addition, the supply chain, logistics, and distribution play a phenomenal role in not only manufacturing the product but also enabling the organization to make it reach its desired destination and, eventually, its consumer.

Let us take the example of a supermarket and identify various products that we see on the shelves. In the vegetable corner, you find some fruit or vegetables that are wrapped in a thin film and sealed. Film wrapping is very common in the packaging industry to enable foods to be contamination-free and provide safe transit. These concepts are also applied to bottles, soda, soft drinks (bottles and cans), and oil cans, enabling easier handling, transport, and stocking. You have likely observed such packaging in many stores and supermarkets. Figure 1.3 shows how cans or bottles are shrink-wrapped in factories:

Figure 1.3 – Shrink-wrapped cans in factories

In addition, filling liquid in these bottles is also a very different kind of automation that requires accuracy and precision. We will walk you through these processes in further chapters. Ideally, the bottling line will incorporate sections such as blowing the bottle, filling the bottle with the desired fluid, labeling the bottle, and then capping it. When we reach the aisle with all the packaged foods as well as consumer and personal care products, such as lentils, flour, pulses, soup, ready-to-eat items, shampoo sachets, biscuits, cookies, chips and chocolates, we see perfectly packaged and weighed packets. These packets are also an outcome of complex machines and automation. Vertical form fill seal (VFFS) and horizontal form fill seal (HFFS) are the machines that are deployed in the factory for producing such products. These packaged products are shown in Figure 1.4:

Figure 1.4 – Packaged products that are manufactured on VFFS and HFFS machines in the factory

I would go one step further and say that all the products in the supermarket are made using some form of automation. Until now, we have just focused on the food and beverage and packaging industries. However, there are so many industries, such as automotive, textile, plastics, printing, and pharmaceuticals, that also have immense automation. We will touch upon the manufacturing landscape and automation capabilities in all these industries in the coming chapters.

By this time, you will have realized that everything that surrounds you is, in one way or another, related to automation and manufacturing.

The market has moved from a supplier market to a consumer market. All organizations have realized that customer-centric behavior enables higher growth and improves customer loyalty. Even for organizations working in the Business-to-Business (B2B) domain, it is not that different. An organization in the B2B domain is one where the organization directly sells goods and products to another organization and not to the consumer. Let us take a simple example of buying a laptop. An individual can buy a laptop online or from the store irrespective of the brand. Thus, companies such as Dell, HP, etc., would be an organization in the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) segment. However, electronic chips are needed to manufacture laptops, which might be delivered by a company like Intel. Therefore, Intel will sell its chips to HP, Dell, etc. Thus, Intel would work in the B2B domain. In most organizations, you will encounter the statement the customer is king. This is largely evident in the way products are made and offered to us today versus a few decades back. You must have seen that over the years, products have undergone a huge change. In the 1990s, food items were sold loose; however, due to hygiene requirements, ease of transportation, and storage, you mostly find products that are well packaged or you prefer buying packaged products. What has led to this change? As you might rightly point out, consumer and market demands are acting as drivers. There is a similar situation in the automotive industry. In the 1980s and 1990s, for instance, there were hardly any vehicles and variants in the Indian market, which was mostly dominated by a few manufacturers. Today, you have local and multinational brands offering you multiple variants. In simple terms, you are spoilt for choice.

All these changes are solely due to consumers demanding the supplier provide these possibilities. Today, it is just not enough for you to own a car or a motorbike; equally important are the features being offered and the cost-to-feature ratio. It is also possible that you might even pay a little more for that additional comfort.

Consumer awareness has increased. As a result, consumer demands on quantity, quality, safety, and price have all gone up. It can be very difficult to satisfy this need without automation.