What is the difference between automation and mechanization. Mechanization and automation of production processes. Ш timely supply of building and auxiliary materials of high quality

It is a procedure in which the control and management functions performed by a person are transferred to instruments and devices. Due to this, labor productivity and product quality are significantly increased. In addition, a reduction in the share of workers involved in various industrial sectors is ensured. Let us further consider what automation and automation of production processes are.

Historical reference

Independently functioning devices - the prototypes of modern automatic systems - began to appear in antiquity. However, until the 18th century, handicraft and semi-handicraft activities were widespread. In this regard, such "self-acting" devices have not received practical application. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. there was a sharp jump in volumes and levels of production. The industrial revolution created the prerequisites for improving the methods and tools of labor, adapting equipment to replace a person.

Mechanization and automation of production processes

The changes that caused affected primarily wood and metalworking, spinning, weaving mills and factories. Mechanization and automation were actively studied by K. Marx. He saw in them fundamentally new directions of progress. He pointed to the transition from the use of individual machines to the automation of their complex. Marx said that the conscious functions of control and management should be assigned to a person. The worker stands next to the production process and regulates it. The main achievements of that time were the inventions of the Russian scientist Polzunov and the English innovator Watt. The first created an automatic regulator for feeding a steam boiler, and the second created a centrifugal speed controller for a steam engine. Remained manual for quite a long time. Before the introduction of automation, the replacement of physical labor was carried out through the mechanization of auxiliary and main processes.

Situation today

At the present stage of human development, automation systems for production processes are based on the use of computers and various software. They contribute to reducing the degree of participation of people in activities or completely exclude it. The tasks of automating production processes include improving the quality of operations, reducing the time they require, reducing costs, increasing the accuracy and stability of actions.

Basic principles

Today, automation of production processes has been introduced into many industries. Regardless of the scope and volume of activities of companies, almost all of them use software devices. There are various levels of automation of production processes. However, the same principles apply to all of them. They provide conditions for the efficient execution of operations and formulate general rules for managing them. The principles in accordance with which the automation of production processes is carried out include:

Consistency. All actions within the operation must be combined with each other, go in a certain sequence. In the event of a mismatch, a violation of the process is likely.
Integration. The automated operation must fit into the overall environment of the enterprise. At one stage or another, integration is carried out in different ways, but the essence of this principle is unchanged. Automation of production processes in enterprises should ensure the interaction of the operation with the external environment.
Performance independence. An automated operation must be carried out independently. Human participation in it is not provided, or it should be minimal (only control). The employee must not interfere with the operation if it is carried out in accordance with the established requirements.

These principles are specified in accordance with the level of automation of a particular process. Additional proportions, specializations, and so on are established for operations.

Automation levels

They are usually classified according to the nature of the management of the company. It, in turn, can be:

strategic.
Tactical.
operational.

Accordingly, there is:

The lower level of automation (executive). Here management refers to regularly performed operations. Automation of production processes is focused on the performance of operational functions, maintaining the set parameters, maintaining the specified operating modes.
tactical level. This provides a distribution of functions between operations. Examples include production or service planning, document or resource management, and so on.
strategic level. It manages the entire company. Automation of production processes for strategic purposes provides a solution to predictive and analytical issues. It is necessary to maintain the activities of the highest administrative level. This level of automation provides strategic and financial management.

Classification

Automation is provided through the use of various systems (OLAP, CRM, ERP, etc.). All of them are divided into three main types:

Immutable. In these systems, the sequence of actions is set in accordance with the configuration of the equipment or process conditions. It cannot be changed during the operation.
Programmable. They can change the sequence depending on the configuration of the process and the given program. The choice of this or that chain of actions is carried out by means of a special set of tools. They are read and interpreted by the system.
Self-tuning (flexible). Such systems can select the desired actions in the course of work. Changes to the configuration of the operation occur in accordance with the information about the course of the operation.

All these types can be used at all levels separately or in combination.

Operation types

In every economic sector there are organizations that produce products or provide services. They can be divided into three categories according to "remoteness" in the resource processing chain:

Mining or manufacturing - agricultural, oil and gas companies, for example.
Organizations processing natural raw materials. In the manufacture of products, they use materials mined or created by companies from the first category. These include, for example, enterprises in the electronics, automotive industry, power plants, and so on.
service companies. Among them are banks, medical, educational institutions, catering establishments, etc.

For each group, operations related to the provision of services or the release of products can be distinguished. These include processes:

Management. These processes provide interaction within the enterprise and contribute to the formation of company relations with interested participants in the turnover. The latter, in particular, include supervisory authorities, suppliers, consumers. The group of business processes includes, for example, marketing and sales, interaction with customers, financial, personnel, material planning, and so on.
Analysis and control. This category is associated with the collection and generalization of information about the execution of operations. In particular, such processes include operational management, quality control, inventory assessment, etc.
Design and development. These operations are associated with the collection and preparation of initial information, project implementation, control and analysis of the results.
production. This group includes operations related to the direct release of products. These include, among other things, demand and capacity planning, logistics, and maintenance.

Most of these processes are now automated.

Strategy

It should be noted that the automation of production processes is complex and labor intensive. To achieve your goals, you need to be guided by a certain strategy. It contributes to improving the quality of operations performed and obtaining the desired results from the activity. Competent automation of production processes in mechanical engineering is of particular importance today. The strategic plan can be summarized as follows:

Advantages

Mechanization and automation of various processes can significantly improve the quality of goods and production management. Other benefits include:

Increasing the speed of repetitive operations. By reducing the degree of human involvement, the same actions can be carried out faster. Automated systems provide greater accuracy and maintain performance regardless of the length of the shift.
Improving the quality of work. With a decrease in the degree of participation of people, the influence of the human factor is reduced or eliminated. This significantly limits the variations in the execution of operations, which, in turn, prevents many errors and improves the quality and stability of work.
Increased control accuracy. The use of information technology allows you to save and take into account in the future a larger amount of information about the operation than with manual control.
Accelerated decision making in typical situations. This improves the performance of the operation and prevents inconsistencies in the next steps.
Parallel execution of actions. make it possible to carry out several operations at the same time without compromising the accuracy and quality of work. This speeds up the activity and improves the quality of the results.

Flaws

Despite the obvious advantages, automation may not always be appropriate. That is why a comprehensive analysis and optimization is necessary before its implementation. After that, it may turn out that automation is not required or will be unprofitable in an economic sense. Manual control and execution of processes may become more preferable in the following cases:

Conclusion

Mechanization and automation are undoubtedly of great importance for the manufacturing sector. In the modern world, fewer and fewer operations are performed manually. However, even today in a number of industries one cannot do without such work. Automation is especially effective in large enterprises that manufacture products for the mass consumer. So, for example, in automobile factories, a minimum number of people participate in operations. At the same time, they, as a rule, exercise control over the course of the process, without participating in it directly. Modernization of the industry is currently very active. Automation of production processes and production is considered today the most effective way to improve product quality and increase its output.

And etc.). Basic goals Mechanization of production- increasing labor productivity and freeing a person from performing difficult, time-consuming and tedious operations. Mechanization of production contributes to the rational and economical use of raw materials, materials and energy, reducing costs and improving product quality. Along with the improvement and updating of technical means and technology Mechanization of production is inextricably linked with an increase in the level of qualifications and organization of production, a change in the qualifications of workers, and the use of methods of scientific organization of labor. Mechanization of production is one of the main directions of technical progress, ensures the development of productive forces and serves as a material basis for increasing the efficiency of social production, which develops by intensive methods.

To technical facilities Mechanization of production include working machines with engines and their transmission devices that perform specified operations, as well as all other machines and mechanisms that do not directly participate in these operations, but are necessary so that a given production process can be carried out at all, for example, ventilation and pumping installations.

Depending on the degree of equipment of production processes with technical means and the type of work, there are partial and complex Mechanization of production

With partial Mechanization of production individual production operations or types of work, mainly the most labor-intensive, are mechanized, while maintaining a significant proportion of manual labor, especially in auxiliary loading and unloading and transport operations.

A higher level is the complex Mechanization of production, in which manual labor is replaced by machine labor at all the main operations of the technological process and auxiliary work of the production process. Integrated Mechanization of production is carried out on the basis of a rational choice of machines and other equipment operating in mutually agreed modes, linked in terms of productivity and ensuring the best performance of a given technological process. Manual labor with integrated Mechanization of production can be retained in separate non-labor-intensive operations, the mechanization of which is not essential for facilitating labor and is not economically feasible. The person also has the functions of managing the production process and control. Integrated Mechanization of production predetermines the possibility of using in-line production methods, improves its quality, ensures the preservation of uniformity, degree of accuracy and constancy of the specified parameters.

The next after the complex Mechanization of production the stage of improvement of production processes is their partial or complete automation (see. Production automation ).

The means of labor, being an integral part of the productive forces, are created and improved in the process of social production. The invention of new tools and the introduction of new technological processes are directly related to the development of natural science and are carried out on the basis of the knowledge and use of its laws. Before industrial revolution 18th-19th centuries the tools of labor remained manual and the number of working tools with which a person could act simultaneously was limited by his natural tools, i.e., the organs of his body. The forces of nature used included water, wind, and domesticated animals. In the manufacturing period preceding the industrial revolution, the division of handicraft labor and its professions, as well as the specialization of tools, reached such a high degree that prerequisites arose for the combination of tools in a machine and the replacement of the worker's hand with a tool by a mechanism. “As a machine,” K. Marx noted, “the means of labor acquires such a material form of existence that causes the replacement of human power by the forces of nature and empirical routine methods by the conscious application of natural science” (Marx K. to Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed. ., vol. 23, p. 397). Improvement of tools and methods of labor, the emergence of a universal steam engine, the use of machines and mechanisms to facilitate labor caused in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. a sharp jump in the level and scale of production. Replacing manual labor in the performance of technological and transport functions, mechanical means of labor were the starting point for technical progress in various industries and played an important role in the formation of the capitalist mode of production. The Industrial Revolution created the conditions for Mechanization of production, primarily weaving, spinning, metal and woodworking. The possibility of using the power of a steam engine to drive a number of working machines led to the creation of a wide variety of transmission mechanisms, which in many cases grew into a widely branched mechanical system.

With an increase in the size of the motor and transmission mechanisms, with the complication of working machines, with the advent of new materials that are difficult to process, there is an objective need to use various machines and mechanisms in the machine-building industry itself. By starting the production of machines by machines, large-scale industry thus created a technical basis equivalent to it. Throughout the 19th century Mechanization of production quickly penetrates not only into individual links of the production process, but also conquers one branch of industry after another, displacing the old traditional forms of production based on manual labor and primitive technology. Mechanized production is becoming widespread in all developed countries.

With the development of large-scale industry, the design is being improved, the power and productivity of means are increasing. Mechanization of production From the end of the 19th century along with the steam engine, a more economical and compact internal combustion engine, which made it possible to create new working and transport machines - tractors, cars, excavators, motor ships, aircraft, etc. New methods of energy conversion are emerging based on the use of steam and hydraulic turbines connected to electric current generators. The development and improvement of electrical machines leads in the first half of the 20th century. to the widespread introduction of group and individual electric drives of working machines in metal-cutting, woodworking, weaving and other machines, forging and pressing, mining, hoisting and transport machines, rolling mills, etc.

In the system of machines, the object of labor sequentially passes through a series of interconnected partial processes that are carried out by a chain of heterogeneous, but mutually complementary machines, mechanisms, and apparatuses. The system of mechanical means of labor leads to continuous flow production in a developed form.

Further development Mechanization of production is aimed at maximizing the intensification of production processes, shortening the technological cycle, freeing up labor, and implementing comprehensive mechanization in the most labor-intensive sectors of production.

Among the technical means Mechanization of production combined machines have been developed - combines, in which the units located in the technological sequence automatically act on the object of labor. The development of combination, complex mechanization and automation led to the creation automatic lines machines, automatic workshops and automatic plants with high production efficiency.

Under the conditions of capitalist society and the production relations characteristic of it, the instrument of labor, acting as a machine, immediately becomes a competitor of the worker, one of the main means of his exploitation and the most powerful weapon in the hands of the capitalists to suppress the indignations of the workers. “... The introduction of machines increased the division of labor within society, simplified the functions of the worker inside the workshop, increased the concentration of capital, and further dismembered the person” (Marx K., ibid., vol. 4, p. 158). The expediency of using new means of production under capitalism is ensured by the fact that their value must be lower than the value of the labor power they replace.

In a socialist society, machines and all other technical means of labor mechanization are created and used not for competitive purposes and not for the exploitation of the worker, but to increase labor productivity, the economic efficiency of social production, to facilitate and improve the conditions of labor processes, which is ultimately aimed at increasing material well-being and cultural level of the people. “Earlier,” V.I. Lenin wrote, “the whole human mind, all its genius created only in order to give some all the benefits of technology and culture, and to deprive others of the most necessary - enlightenment and culture. Now all the wonders of technology, all the achievements of culture will become the property of the whole people, and from now on the human mind and genius will never be turned into means of profit, into means of exploitation” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 35, p. 289).

Under the conditions of a planned socialist economy, the most favorable conditions are created for the rational use of Mechanization of production as the basis of technical progress in industry and agriculture. “Large-scale machine industry and its transfer to agriculture is the only economic basis for socialism...” (V. I. Lenin, Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 44, p. 135). In a socialist society Mechanization of production is a powerful instrument of man for the all-round facilitation of labor and the steady growth of social production. The introduction of mechanization in the socialist national economy also takes place when it results not only in a material effect, but also in an improvement in working conditions and an increase in its safety. Contributing to the elimination of heavy manual labor, shortening the working day and raising the cultural, technical and material level of the working people, Mechanization of production plays an important role in the implementation of the scientific organization of production, in erasing the essential differences between mental and physical labor.

IN THE USSR Mechanization of production was the basis for the industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture; it predetermines the rate of growth in the productivity of social labor on the basis of the further development of comprehensive mechanization and automation of production processes.

Implementation Mechanization of production depends primarily on equipping industry, construction, transport, and agriculture with the most advanced machines, mechanisms and devices (see table). The production of machines, mechanisms, installations and equipment in the leading branches of industry (power and electrical engineering, machine tool building, mining and chemical engineering) developed at the highest rates in the USSR. High growth rates are also characteristic of instrument making, the production of radio equipment, automation and computer equipment, household appliances and mechanisms.

Development of the production of some of the most important means of mechanization in the USSR

Level and efficiency Mechanization of production a certain branch of production or process is in practice evaluated according to various indicators. Such indicators can be: the level of mechanization of labor, the level of mechanization of work, the mechanization and power-to-weight ratio of labor, etc. The level (coefficient) of mechanization and labor is understood as the share of mechanized labor in the total labor costs for the manufacture of certain products or for the performance of work on the site, workshop, enterprise, etc. This indicator is determined by the ratio of time spent on mechanized and manual work. A similar purpose has an indicator of the degree of coverage of workers by mechanized labor, which is determined by the ratio of the number of workers performing work in a mechanized way to the total number of workers. The specificity of some types of production necessitates the introduction of such an indicator as the level (coefficient) of mechanization of work - the ratio of the volume of products made in a mechanized way to the total volume of products. This indicator is used in the foundry and forging industries, in transport and construction work, etc. The mechanical-labor ratio of labor is usually estimated by the cost of machines and mechanisms in production, per worker on average. The power-to-labor ratio (or, in some cases, the electrical-to-labor ratio) is expressed as the ratio of the amount of mechanical and electrical (or only electrical) energy consumed in the production process per 1 man-hour worked or per 1 worker. These indicators are used conditionally for a comparative assessment of the mechanization of individual processes. When choosing technical means Mechanization of production, the cost of which is included in the capital costs and is transferred to the cost of the product for the entire period of their use, the following are taken into account: to readjustment for other similar operations, ease of maintenance, technical inspection and repair.

Mechanization of production in the branches of the national economy of the USSR. The creation of a large-scale socialist industry capable of solving the most complex scientific and technical problems and national economic problems is the greatest achievement of the Soviets. people, the triumph of Lenin's ideas of socialist industrialization. The major measures for the mechanization of work in various branches of the national economy carried out during the years of Soviet power are of revolutionary importance. Thousands of samples of modern high-performance machine-tools have been developed and introduced into production. Machine systems are being created for the comprehensive mechanization and automation of the main production processes in industry, construction, agriculture and transport. On the basis of raising the technical level of production, the use of manual and heavy, as well as unskilled labor in all branches of the national economy is being consistently reduced. At the same time, the need for technical means to complete complex mechanization in all sectors is steadily increasing.

Mechanization of production in the energy sector is associated with the commissioning of large power plants and the creation of unified energy systems. Consolidation of the capacity of power plants makes it possible to significantly reduce the cost of labor, materials and fuel for the production of electricity, to apply effective means of monitoring, regulating and managing both individual units and power plants as a whole. The energy capacities of the USSR will increase mainly through the construction of thermal power plants with large power units with a capacity of 300, 500, 800 MW, and in the future with a capacity of 1000 MW and higher. The maintenance of such power units is completely mechanized, which significantly reduces the need for labor force per unit of installed capacity. Mechanization of production in the thermal power industry, it is aimed at improving the means of preparing, loading, supplying fuel, methods of water purification, ash removal, etc. Turbines with a capacity of 500 MW(Bratskaya HPP) and turbines with a capacity of 630 MW(for the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP). At nuclear power plants, reactor plants with a capacity of 1000 MW and more. A distinctive feature of nuclear energy is the comprehensive mechanization and automation of technological processes, which makes it possible, due to the reduction of labor and material costs, to ensure its high competitiveness in relation to traditional energy industries.

In the mining industry Mechanization of production is aimed at reducing the time of opening, preparation and commissioning of new deposits and horizons, as well as at reducing the cost of maintaining workings in working order, which is associated with the expansion of complexity in the mechanized processes of underground and open pit mining. In the mines, high-performance narrow-cut combines and plows are used, working in combination with moving face conveyors and individual metal or hydroficated roof supports (see Fig. Coal complexes ). As a result of the introduction of machines and mechanisms, in 1972 the level of mechanization of coal heaping in flat and inclined faces was over 90%; delivery of coal, underground haulage of coal and rock and loading of coal into the railway. wagons are fully mechanized. Ways are being introduced deserted coal mining, providing a significant increase in labor productivity. Developing coal mining hydraulically (see. Hydromechanization ). Developing rapidly open pit mining using an integrated Mechanization of production based on high-performance equipment: draglines, bucket-wheel excavators, transport and dump bridges, powerful dump trucks, electric locomotives, dump cars, diesel trolley trucks, etc.

In the gas and oil industry, the use of high-performance products Mechanization of production contributed to an increase in oil and gas production and an increase in their share in the country's fuel balance. The oil fields use powerful drilling equipment, including rigs for drilling deep wells, integrated hydroficated drilling rigs with discrete tripping, mechanization and automation of all drilling processes are being introduced. Oil-producing enterprises continue to be equipped with block-complete automated units, which provide significant savings in labor, money and time. An increase in the level of mechanization and industrialization of the construction of gas fields, underground gas storage facilities, gas processing plants is ensured by the use of block and block-complete technological installations, prefabricated buildings and structures with metal frames. For gas transportation, gas pipelines with a diameter of 1420 are widely used. mm at working pressure 7.5 MN/m 2 . As a result of the introduction of complex mechanization and automation, the compressor stations of gas pipelines being built in the Arctic and other hard-to-reach regions of the country operate practically without service personnel.

In metallurgy Mechanization of production is aimed at completing the mechanization of individual labor-intensive work and the implementation of a comprehensive Mechanization of production in blast-furnace, steel-smelting and rolling shops. The most difficult work at the hearths of blast furnaces, all the necessary operations for servicing tapholes, have been mechanized. The production of mechanized equipment for servicing blast furnaces with a volume of 3200 m 3, a complex of mechanized equipment for blast furnaces with a volume of 5000 m 3. The operation of new units with increased blast pressure and the use of oxygen makes it possible to accelerate the melting process, reduce fuel consumption and improve the quality of cast iron. In steelmaking, advanced filling machines are used, the processes of breaking and laying ladle linings, loading large-capacity electric furnaces are mechanized, the use of systems for automatically controlling the oxygen consumption in converters, monitoring the carbon content in metal, and systems for controlling the thermal regime of open-hearth furnaces, etc. is expanding. The converter method of steel smelting will be further developed using converters with a capacity of 250-300 T and continuous casting of steel with a high level of integrated Mechanization of production To improve the quality of steel, it is planned to develop such mechanized processes as metal processing with synthetic slags, out-of-furnace evacuation, electroslag and vacuum metal remelting. For new technological processes, machines and equipment have been created that operate on the principle of automatic control of production processes and complex mechanization of operations for preparing charge, loading aggregates and pouring metals. Natural gas is widely used in the steel industry. In rolling production, complex-mechanized mills for hot and cold rolling of sheet steel are put into operation with aggregate lines for applying metal and non-metal coatings to sheets; it is planned to create precision and special mills for the production of high-precision rolled products and economical profiles, mechanized and automated lines for finishing (adjusting), straightening, sorting, stacking and packaging of sheet and rolled products.

In mechanical engineering Mechanization of production is mainly related to the quantitative composition and structure of the metalworking equipment fleet, because the most time-consuming operations in the manufacture of products are the operations of machining parts. In mass machine-building production, complex mechanization of machining processes is carried out through the use of modular, special and specialized machine tools, automatic and semi-automatic machines. The fleet of machine tools for electrophysical and electrochemical processing methods is expanding, making it possible to replace many laborious, tedious and even unhealthy manual operations in the manufacture of dies, molds, turbine blades, carbide tools, as well as parts of a particularly complex shape or from materials that are difficult to process with conventional tools. , the use of machine tools with numerical control and adaptive devices is expanding, and in the future it is planned to create and use various types of programmable manipulators And robots. On Mechanization of production in mechanical engineering, the development of the production of blanks, in shape and size as close as possible to finished parts, will have a significant impact. For this purpose, the reconstruction of existing and the creation of new specialized enterprises for the production of castings and forgings is carried out. The specific gravity of metal forming is increasing (see. Forging and stamping production ). For foundry equipment will be created in the form of technological sets, for example, equipment for sand preparation areas, sets of equipment for investment casting, mechanized molding lines, pouring, casting knockouts, etc. The complex Mechanization of production in the processes of welding, heat treatment of parts, assembly of machines.

Significant impact on the level Mechanization of production in mechanical engineering, the unification and standardization of units and parts for general machine-building applications (bearings, gearboxes, couplings, flanges, chains, etc.), as well as normalized tools and standard equipment, the manufacture of which is organized at specialized enterprises, is being widely developed.

On lifting and transport and loading and unloading works Mechanization of production achieved by applying cranes , reloaders, means of floor handling equipment, containers , construction lifts , elevators , cableways, monorail feeding systems. The number of lifting and transport vehicles also includes small-scale mechanization: blocks, crampons, chain hoists, and other lifting mechanisms. The choice of mechanization means for lifting and transporting and loading and unloading operations is determined by the type of cargo (piece, long, liquid, bulk), type of vehicles (cars, ships, cars), containers, volume of work performed, distance of movement of goods and lifting height. Of great importance is the complexity and mutual conformity of the methods of lifting, moving, loading, unloading and stowage of goods at the points of departure and arrival. The volume of these types of work depends on the number of cargo transshipments. The level of mechanization of hoisting and transport and loading and unloading operations is determined by the ratio of the amount of goods processed with the help of mechanization to the total volume of processed goods. Important for reducing labor costs at industrial enterprises is the introduction of mechanization in order to completely replace manual labor in the intrashop and intershop loading and unloading of materials, parts, semi-finished products, loading and unloading railway. wagons, trucks and trailers, stacking semi-finished products and finished products in shop and factory warehouses. Key ways to implement an integrated Mechanization of production these works: the rational organization of the warehouse economy of enterprises, the maximum approximation of warehouses to consumer shops, the integration of transport and storage operations with the technological processes of the main production; equipment of loading bays

Article about the word Mechanization of production" in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia has been read 18323 times

MECHANIZATION OF PRODUCTION- the use of machines and mechanisms, allowing to carry out production processes with minimal manual labor. The essence of mechanization is the replacement of manual operations with operations performed by a machine under human control. Small-scale mechanization may be partial or complex; the last creates preconditions for production automation (see) and covers both the main, and auxiliary types of works.

M. p., being one of the conditions for increasing labor productivity, contributes to its significant easing, raising the cultural and technical level of workers, and reducing the differences between mental and physical labor.

M. production is created and introduced in the process of scientific and technical re-equipment of the national economy. The mechanization of manual labor is most widely introduced in such industries as coal, mining, and metallurgical industries.

One of the most important conditions for the development of industrial production is its mass character and large-scale production, carried out on the basis of standardization and unification of industrial products, individual parts and assemblies, as well as specialization and cooperation of enterprises in the manufacture of industrial products.

An indicator of the effectiveness of mechanization of production as a means of facilitating labor is a decrease in the number of unskilled workers in industry and agriculture and an increase in the number of highly qualified specialists who are fluent in the management of machines and mechanisms.

Owing to M. p., professions with hard physical labor disappear, as, for example, in the coal industry (luge worker, horse-racing), and others appear: the driver of a combine harvester, a mechanized cleaning complex, transport and delivery equipment, etc.

Labor in modern mechanized production is characterized by a reduction in the number of workers in areas of work that are unfavorable in terms of working conditions, a decrease in the energy component, a local nature of muscle load, and monotony against the background of a decrease in general motor activity and an increase in neuropsychic load.

In connection with the unevenness and incompleteness of the processes of small-scale production, there are still auxiliary operations with unskilled labor of workers. In conditions of incomplete L. p., the local nature of the muscular load is combined with the monotony and rapid pace of movements imposed by the machine, and also often with the static mode of muscular activity. Prolonged local muscle loads can lead to prof. pathologies from overvoltage, in particular to diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

With the introduction of mechanization, which reduces the dynamic work of a person, it is also necessary to pay attention to the reduction of static work. At the same time, mechanized labor is often combined with such unfavorable factors as noise, vibration, dust, gases, elevated air temperature, etc. Their main sources are hygienically irrational production processes, imperfection of technologies and equipment.

In parallel with the introduction of mechanization of production processes, normal working conditions should be ensured due to the thermal insulation of equipment, rationally organized ventilation, the correct placement of technol, equipment, the use of vibration and noise insulation, sealing dusty components and assemblies, etc.

Bibliography: Kosilov S. A. and Leonova L. A. Human performance and ways to improve it, M., 1974; Retn e in V. M. Problems of occupational health in complex automation, L., 1971; Physiological and hygienic assessment of physical labor in mechanized production, ed. A. I. Semenova, M., 1976.

Yu. P. Paltsev, D. I. Timokhin.

Mechanization and automation of production processes- This is a set of measures that provide for the widespread replacement of manual operations by machines and mechanisms, the introduction of automatic machine tools, individual lines and industries.

Mechanization of production processes means the replacement of manual labor by machines, mechanisms and other equipment.

The mechanization of production is constantly developing and improving, passing from lower to higher forms: from manual labor to partial, small and complex mechanization and further to the highest form of mechanization - automation.

In mechanized production, a significant part of labor operations is performed by machines and mechanisms, a smaller part - manually. This partial (non-complex) mechanization, in which there may be separate weakly mechanized links.

Integrated mechanization- this is a way to perform the entire complex of works included in a given production cycle, machines and mechanisms.

The highest degree of mechanization is automation of production processes, which allows you to carry out the entire cycle of work without the direct participation of a person in it, only under his control.

Automation is a new type of production, which is prepared by the cumulative development of science and technology, primarily by transferring production to an electronic basis, using electronics and new advanced technical means. The need for automation of production is caused by the inability of human organs to control complex technological processes with the necessary speed and accuracy. Huge energy capacities, high speeds, ultra-high and ultra-low temperature conditions turned out to be subject only to automatic control and management.

At present, with a high level of mechanization of the main production processes (80%) in most industries, auxiliary processes are still insufficiently mechanized (25-40), many works are performed manually. The largest number of auxiliary workers is used in transport and the movement of goods, in loading and unloading operations. If, however, we take into account that the labor productivity of one such worker is almost 20 times lower than that of a worker employed in complex-mechanized areas, then the acuteness of the problem of further mechanization of auxiliary work becomes obvious. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the mechanization of auxiliary work in industry is 3 times cheaper than the main one.

But the main and most important form is production automation. At present, computing machines are becoming more and more decisive in all areas of science and technology. In the future, these machines will become the basis of production automation and will control automation.

The creation of new automatic technology will mean a broad transition from three-link machines (working machine - transmission - engine) to four-link machine systems. The fourth link is cybernetic devices, with the help of which huge powers are controlled.

The main stages of automation of production are: semiautomatic devices, automatic lines, automatic lines, sections - and workshops - automatic machines, factories - and automatic factories. The first stage, which is a transitional form from simple to automatic machines, are semi-automatic machines. The principal feature of the machines of this group is that a number of functions previously performed by a person are transferred to the machine, but certain operations are still retained by the worker, which are usually difficult to automate. The highest step is the creation of factories - and factories - automatic machines, i.e. fully automated enterprises.

The main indicators characterizing level of mechanization and automation, are:

The coefficient of mechanization of production

where K mp - coefficient of mechanization of production;

V M - the volume of products produced with the help of machines and mechanisms;

V total - the total volume of manufactured products at the enterprise;

The coefficient of mechanization (automation) of labor (K ^.t)

where N M is the number of workers employed in mechanized (automated) work, people;

Np is the number of workers performing manual operations;

Coefficient of mechanization (automation) of works (Cr)

where V M is the amount of work performed in a mechanized (automated) way;

V total - the total amount of work;

The level of automation Y and in practice is often determined from the expression

where K a - the number of automatic equipment in pieces or its cost in rubles;

K is the quantity or cost of non-automatic equipment.

It should be noted that this indicator of the level of automation, determined on the basis of a comparison of the used automatic and non-automatic equipment, does not quite accurately characterize the level of automation in the enterprise.

To a certain extent, the level of mechanization of production characterizes such an indicator as the technical equipment of labor (Kt.v.) which is determined from the expression

where Fa - the average annual cost of the active part of fixed production assets;

N - the average number of employees of the enterprise or workers.

The economic and social significance of mechanization and automation of production lies in the fact that they make it possible to replace manual labor, especially heavy labor, with machines and automatic machines, increase labor productivity and, on this basis, ensure real or conditional release of workers, improve the quality of products, reduce labor intensity and production costs. , increase the volume of production and thereby provide the enterprise with higher financial results, which makes it possible to improve the well-being of workers and their families.