Since March, the pandemic has dictated how we do business and how we go about our daily lives. But with the end of 2020 in sight - a year that’ll no doubt live in infamy - many in the manufacturing industry are bracing themselves for the next big disruptor - the end of the Brexit transition period.
Credit: Universal Robots
Credit: Universal Robots
Manufacturers, of all sizes, will have a real challenge of weathering the coming storm. To navigate the next few months, they must create lasting change and bolster organisational agility, and proactively look to new solutions to solve these new operating challenges – and the answer lies with collaborative robots (cobots).
Automation means agility
A recent study from the International Federation of Robotics revealed that the UK is lagging behind other European nations in terms of automation. Therefore, UK manufacturers can no longer afford to view the technology as a luxury. To remain competitive, manufacturers - of all sizes - must look to automation as a way of shoring up efficiencies across operations. Once deployed, cobots can start paying back their investment on day one of implementation, increasing output and productivity.
For instance, Bloom-in-Box, a Lancashire-based flower packaging service, illustrates just how much impact automation can have. When the pandemic hit the UK earlier this year, the company was able to pivot and began making PPE to take advantage of new market opportunities and demand. This was only possible because cobots can be programmed and reprogrammed with ease – with a new task taking roughly 30 minutes. This means they can easily be switched between different tasks, so manufacturers aren’t locked into a specific production cycle and can adapt to changing production requirements.
Automation 101
Implementing Automating may sound like a daunting objective, but what does this really mean in practical terms? Firstly, the concept of a completely lights out factory is still science fiction - the reality is much more manageable. Evaluating different aspects of a production line and identifying the most ‘dirty, dull and dangerous’ tasks, is the first step introducing automation. As the name suggests, these are usually the tasks that are best suited to robots. In part, because it means human employees no longer have to take on strenuous or monotonous tasks. But also because a cobot replacement can do these tasks 24-7 while allowing their human colleagues to work on more valuable tasks.
Ease of set up goes further than this as no expert programmer is required after a short course staff can easily program a vast number of new tasks. Similarly, built-in safety functions mean that collaborative robots can work alongside human employees without the need for protective guard fencing, so cobot cells can be installed without having to shut down the factory floor for a risk assessment.
Aside from the practicalities of implementation, many SMEs understandably see cost as the biggest hurdle. However, investing in these tools is not as expensive as many believe, as the cost of a typical cobot is the same as the yearly salary of your average employee.
Many companies are wary of automation, as they are concerned that it will take jobs away from human employees. Of course, cobots are a powerful tool, but they were never designed to replace human employees. Instead, we’ll likely see a gradual evolution of roles within manufacturing – with day-to-day work becoming less monotonous, strenuous and more rewarding for the employee.
Time is running out
Regardless of the pandemic, or Brexit, the manufacturing industry has been under increased pressure for some time. As the need for mass customisation and faster, more complex, product cycles means that manufacturers have to constantly look to optimise production lines to meet demand. Furthermore, automation is no longer a novel technology and the UK is lagging well behind its European neighbours in terms of adoption. Therefore, manufacturers must prioritise automating aspects of their production line, or risk being left behind as automation becomes an even more fundamental part of manufacturing.
Cobots can give SMEs some much-needed agility – with little upfront cost, short set up time and little to no downtime for health and safety assessments - which could prove a deciding factor in the months to come.
- The author, Mark Gray, is Country Manager, UK & Ireland at Universal Robots.
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